Hello All, Thanks to Peter Clare I now have some Sqns to check, But he says they are only the ones that lost aircraft on this day, what I would like is a list of all Sqn on Air Ops on this day... The reason behind this is the fact that there are a lot of Casualties in Berlin War Cemetery all with the same DOD and I believe it was either a bombing on a pow camp or a train or marshing yards .... Regards Tom
Hi Tom - does this refer to a previous thread? I am just going through what I can find on-line to see if there is any help possible. According to the CWGC there were 34 British / South African soldiers killed that day who are buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery. If I'm reading your first post correctly you want to find out which squadrons bombed Berlin that day to see if any of them recorded dropping their bombloads on a railway marshalling area or a suburb known to house a POW camp (Stalag)? If so, I suppose you need to access the book Bomber Command Diaries which should provide detail on that's night's efforts against Berlin. (is it possible that the USAAF hit Berlin that day??)
(is it possible that the USAAF hit Berlin that day??) answered my own question (caution 2Mb file) - http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil/digital/pdf/book/davis_bombing_european.pdf The Eighth hit two marshaling yards in Munich on 25 February. Although executed visually, this raid otherwise fit the pattern of the other “area-like” missions of the month; its 561 effective sorties dropped 1,652 tons of bombs, 45 percent of them incendiaries, in a possible response to General Marshall’s urgings earlier in the month. The next day (26 February) the Eighth sent all three of its air divisions over the capital of the Reich (Berlin), where 1,089 effective sorties employed H2X to drop 2,778 tons of bombs, 44 percent of them incendiaries, through 10/10 clouds. Each division attempted to hit a separate rail station. The Schlesischer, Alexanderplatz, and Berlin-North stations were all located within two miles of the center of Berlin. The bombing started large fires and killed many civilians. RAF Mosquito nightintruder bombers attacking 12 hours later reported fires still burning. After the 26 February mission, with its 500,000 fire bomblets, the typical Berliner, with reason, would have been hard put to distinguish between RAF area bombing and AAF precision bombing. The mission lost only three bombers. The next day (27 February) both strategic air forces continued the assault. Bomber Command hit the city and yards of Mainz with a daytime mainforce attack that released 1,734 tons of explosives, including 1,033 tons of incendiaries. As that raid took place, 314 of the Eighth’s bombers hit the yards at Halle with more than 700 tons of ordnance—15 percent incendiaries—while 717 bombers smashed the main marshaling yard at Leipzig with an area-like raid that dropped 1,933 tons, 24 percent incendiaries. Both raids used H2X. Finally, on the last day of the month (28 February) the Eighth conducted an area-like attack on the yards at Kassel. Three hundred sixty effective sorties, with the aid of H2X, dumped 1,217 tons of bombs, 39 percent incendiaries, on the city.
Surely though, as the personnel that are buried in the cemetery, were brought there after wars end, from cemeteries/etc all over Germany, you cannot rule out that they were actually killed in separate battles that took place on that day, and not in one incident.
Good point - according to my second post, the attacks of 27th of February 1945 didn't actually centre on Berlin itself. However, they did aim for Mainz - city and yards (Bomber Command) / Halle - yards (Eighth AF) / Leipzig - main marshalling yards (Eighth AF). According to the CWGC notes for the cemetery: "Graves were brought to the cemetery from the Berlin area and from eastern Germany* (* Leipzig, Konigsberg, Iena, Dresden, Halle, Rostock, Teltow, Wismar, Mittenwalde, Neuburxdorf, Magdeburg, Grunberg, Doberitz, Buchholz, Halberstadt, Blankenburg, Gotha, Tannenburg, Potsdam, Weder, Tessau, Stralsund, Schweren, Munsdorf, Brandenburg and Schonwalde). The great majority of those buried here, approximately 80 per cent of the total, were airmen who were lost in the air raids over Berlin and the towns in eastern Germany. The remainder were men who died as prisoners of war, some of them in the forced march into Germany from camps in Poland, in front of the advancing Russians" The fact that in that cemetery there were only 2 burials recorded for deaths on the 26th, 34 for the 27th and none for the 28th of February would suggest that something extraordinary occured on the 27th (such as large attacks by the USAAF on areas covered by that cemetery's burials).
Stalag IVG Report of deaths: The Delegate of the Protecting Power regrets having to report the deaths of 24 British prisoners of war who, during the air-raid on Leipzig on February 27th, 1945, were killed. These POW were in well-built slip trenches with their German guards but received a direct hit and were killed immediately. A list of the names of these men, with addresses of next-of-kin is adjoined to this report. (Annexe I)
The National Archives | Access to Archives Halle was bombed for the first time on 27 February 1945, but ironically the only part of the factory to receive a hit was the prisoners' "lager."
Hi Dave & Allan, Thanks for the above the main reason I'm seeking this information is the fact that there are 5 4th Dorset Regiment Soldiers buried... They all have the same dod and looks like they were all at Arnhem.... Regards Tom
