Bombing of Kassel in World War II
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The Kassel World War II bombings were a set of Allied strategic bombing attacks which took place from February 1942 to March 1945. In a single deadliest raid on 22–23 October 1943, 150,000 inhabitants were bombed-out,[citation needed] at least 6,000 people died,[citation needed] the vast majority of the city center was destroyed, and the fire of the most severe air raid burned for seven days. When the US First Army captured Kassel on 3 April 1945, only 50,000 inhabitants remained of its 1939 population of 236,000.[citation needed]
Date1942–1945
Location
Kassel, Germany
| Kassel World War II bombings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Strategic bombing campaign in Europe | |||||
Two people observing fires ravaging the Bettenhausen district after bombing | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 United States United Kingdom |
 Nazi Germany | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
Carl Spaatz (May 1942 – ) Arthur Harris (1941–) |
Gauleiters, Karl Weinrich, Karl Gerland | ||||
Targets
As well as being the capital of the provinces of Hesse-Nassau and Kurhessen, Kassel had some important targets:
- Fieseler aircraft facility
- Henschel & Sohn facilities, maker of the Tiger I and King Tiger heavy tanks
- The Henschel & Sohn firm's locomotive plant
- engine plant
- motor transport plant
- railway works
- Military HQs at Wehrkreis IX, and Bereich Hauptsitz Kassel
- Central Germany HQ, highway & railway construction
- Regional Supreme Court
Bombing raids
| Date | Target | |
|---|---|---|
| 17/18 February 1942 | [specify] |  10 Wellingtons and 3 Stirlings to Emden, Hamburg, Kassel and Aachen. |
| 27/28 August 1942 | Henschel | 306 aircraft destroyed/seriously damaged 144/317 buildings, particularly in the city southwest. Three Henschel buildings were seriously damaged, and 43/251 were killed/injured.[1] |
| 8/9 September 1942 | [specify] | Nearly 100 aircraft hit several armament factories, and destroyed the railway station, the Red Palace, and the Museum Fridericianum, home of the Kassel State Library, along with 350,000 books, seven-eighths of the library's entire book collection.[2] |
| 2/3 October 1943 | [specify] | The Pathfinder Force (PFF) was not able to find the center of the city, and most bombs into Ihringshausen and Bettenhausen. In addition to considerable damage, an ammunition store was hit. |
| 3/4 October 1943 | [specify] | 547 aircraft used H2S radar; the main weight of bombs fell on the western suburbs and outlying towns and villages. |
| 22/23 October 1943 | city centre | 569 bombers dropped more than 1,800 tons of bombs (including 460,000 magnesium fire sticks) in a concentrated pattern.[3] For deception, the attack used Operation Corona radio spoofing and a Frankfurt diversionary raid. The blaze caused a minor firestorm similar in nature to that at Hamburg. Damage to the main telephone exchange and the city's water pipes hindered firefighting efforts. |
| 18/19 March 1944 | [specify] | 11 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid. |
| 30/31 March 1944 | [specify] | 34 Mosquitos on diversionary raids to Aachen, Cologne and Kassel. |
| 27/28 September 1944 | [specify] | 46 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid. |
| 28 September 1944 | Henschel motor transport plant | .png){kind=small} Mission 652: 243 of 262 dispatched B-24s bombed the Kassel/Henschel motor transport plant.[4] |
| 3/4 October 1944 | [specify] | 43 Mosquitos. |
| 15/16 October 1944 | [specify] | 2 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid. |
| 9/10 November 1944 | [specify] | 3 Mosquitos. |
| 27/28 December 1944 | [specify] | 7 Mosquitos on Oboe (navigation) trials (some flew over Kassel).[citation needed] |
| 6/7 January 1945 | [specify] | 20 Mosquitos. |
| 18/19 January 1945 | [specify] | 12 Mosquitos. |
| 21/22 January 1945 | [specify] | 76 Mosquitos |
| 2/3 March 1945 | [specify] | 67 Mosquitos on a training raid. |
| 8/9 March 1945 | [specify] | 176 aircraft; the last heavy raid by the RAF on Kassel. |
| 18/19 March 1945 | [specify] | 24 Mosquitos. |
| 20/21 March 1945 | [specify] | 16 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid. |
| External images | |
|---|---|
| Before and after the bombings After the bombing in 1943 |