Air raid on Hanau on January 6, 1945

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The air raid on Hanau on January 6, 1945 was a major attack on the city of Hanau during World War II . The aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command completely destroyed the medieval - early modern old town in the air raid .

attack

On the list of possible goals that the "Combined Strategic Target Committee" had compiled on November 7, 1944, Hanau was in 6th place. The aim of the RAF was the systematic destruction of civil land targets. 474 aircraft were involved in the attack. The bomber association approached Hanau via Cochem , Siegen , Giessen and Fulda .

The air raid alarm was triggered at 6:30 p.m. and the attack took place from 6:50 p.m. to 7:27 p.m. The main destinations were the city center and the main train station . Due to poor visibility, two Halifax bombers collided while approaching Hanau, and they crashed near Dillenburg . Since the cloud cover was closed, the flight crews had no view of the target and a significant number of the bombs did not hit. B. in Wachenbuchen and Mittelbuchen (today: Hanau-Mittelbuchen). There, too, the destruction was considerable. To this day, bomb craters - now overgrown - can be seen in the forests west of Hanau. The anti-aircraft defense was moderate, several German night fighters attacked the British unit.

Downtown

10 Mosquito XVI and XXV aircraft of No. 8 Group marked the target area, the inner city of Hanau, with green and red light bombs (so-called "Christmas trees") between 6:52 and 7:03 pm . They quickly disappeared into the clouds. 47 Lancaster bombers of No. 8 Group therefore marked the target area with "sky markers", light bodies that fell relatively slowly over the target area on parachutes. They also threw the first explosive bombs . They were followed by the "bomber stream": 304 Halifax bombers (HP.61 Halifax Mk.III), 57 Lancaster III bombers and 5 mosquitos dropped 581 tons of explosive bombs and 829 tons of incendiary bombs on the city center from 7:00 p.m. to 7:19 p.m.

Central Station

A second, parallel wave of attacks targeted the main station: 3 Mosquitos XVI of No. 8 Group marked the target area between 19:10 and 19:13. 48 or 49 Lancaster bombers of No. 1 group. Between 7:14 p.m. and 7:24 p.m., they dropped 222 tons of explosive bombs and 25 tons of incendiary bombs on the railway facilities. The main target was the track field of the freight yard .

Conclusion

A total of 800 tons of high explosive bombs, 470,000 stick bombs (846 tons) and 63 target marker bombs (7 tons) were dropped. This was the second heaviest air raid on Hanau during World War II. The most severe was the air raid on Hanau on March 19, 1945 .

Sacrifice and destruction

150 people died. The old town of Hanau, which at that time mainly consisted of easily combustible half-timbered buildings , burned down almost completely. But the Neustadt also suffered extensive damage. Numerous cultural monuments were destroyed or badly damaged, including the city ​​palace including the city hall, the old coin , the armory , the city ​​theater , the “infantry barracks” (today: the authorities ) and the Protestant church in Mittelbuchen. The bombers flying back could see the firelight of the burning Hanau from a distance of 120 km.

Four Halifax and two Lancaster bombers were lost in the attack. Two of the machines crashed in the district of Hanau neighboring Großauheim , one probably in the district of Hanau.

See also

literature

  • Hans-Günter Stahl: The aerial warfare over the Hanau area 1939-1945 (= Hanauer Geschichtsblätter 48). Hanau 2015. ISBN 978-3-935395-22-1 , esp .: pp. 327-381.

Remarks

  1. ↑ On the terms "Altstadt Hanau" and "Neustadt Hanau" see: here .
  2. ↑ Contrary to popular belief, the historic old town of Hanau was largely destroyed in the attack on January 6, 1945, and not just in the attack on March 19, 1945.
  3. ↑ Further details are not available.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Arthur Harris: Bomber Offensive - Sir Arthur Harris - Marshal RAF - The Memoirs of one often the greatest and most Controversial Commanders of World War II . London 1947. ND 1990, p. 147.
  2. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 274f.
  3. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 274.
  4. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 304.
  5. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 276.
  6. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 275.
  7. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 275.
  8. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 276.
  9. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 289.
  10. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 285.
  11. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 276.
  12. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 302ff.
  13. ↑ Stahl: Der Luftkrieg , p. 303.