Air raid on Bebra on December 4, 1944
The air raid of the USAAF to the North Hessian town Bebra on 4 December 1944, the first and only air strike on this place during World War II. The main target of the attack was the Bebra marshalling yard , through which a large part of the German supplies were handled.
attack
A total of 299 B-24 bombers from the US 8th Air Force USAAF set out for Bebra on that day . About 100 of the bombers had to abort the approach. The remaining 199 bombers dropped explosive and 39,160 stick bombs and leaflets on Bebra from 12:43 p.m. to 12:56 p.m. According to the operational planning, 2,786 high-explosive bombs and 58,410 stick incendiary bombs should have fallen on Bebra. The attack took place in cloudy cloudy weather, so that many bombers missed their target and numerous bombs hit the nearby Fulda floodplains.
The attack on Bebra took place from east to west and lasted only 13 minutes. Power and water lines as well as the telecommunications facilities were immediately destroyed. The target approach began over the Thuringian village of Dippach and ended shortly after Bebra. Bebra station is around five kilometers long, including the bypass and the transhipment hall. Within this bomb carpet of about 30 km in length, 2000 five-centimeter bombs and a number of stick bombs were dropped.
Around 500 five-centimeter bombs and several air mines were dropped on the city, the train station and the district of Bebra. Of these, 216 bombs fell on the urban area, 24 on the railway site and 260 in the open area. Countless stick bombs fell in the residential area northeast of the train station. Around 50 duds or time fuses fell in the city and rail area, 21 of which exploded within the first 24 hours. Fortunately, there were no more personal injuries as a result, the neighboring houses had already been evacuated.
Victim
There were 83 deaths within this carpet of bombs. 64 people were killed in Bebra, including 10 Wehrmacht soldiers, an Italian civilian worker and two prisoners of war.
Damage
Three churches, around 40 houses, a school and ten barns were totally destroyed in the attack. Around 400 houses were slightly damaged. 19 tracks were interrupted in Bebra station. 4/5 of the express goods hall burned out. As a result, a mixed freight train loaded with ammunition was affected, which burned out completely and exploded. The locomotive workshop was damaged 50%, two locomotive sheds 1/8 each.
See also
literature
- History Association Rotenburg: It got dark before night came.
- Jost C. Ulm: The diaries of Paul Bachmann.