Air raids on Bad Friedrichshall
The air raids on Bad Friedrichshall towards the end of the Second World War led to destruction in the Württemberg city of Bad Friedrichshall in the Heilbronn district . With less than 30%, the city was only slightly destroyed in comparison with the other communities in the area.
Importance as a target
The Bad Friedrichshall salt mine was claimed by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke for the bomb-proof manufacture of aircraft turbines. Forced laborers were employed in the mine, for which barrack camps were built in the Plattenwald. The SS set up the Kochendorf concentration camp as a satellite camp of the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp under the code name Eisbär , in which the first prisoners arrived in September 1944 for the concentration camp prisoners who were used to build and operate the turbine production .
In addition, the former Württemberg - Baden border station Bad Friedrichshall-Jagstfeld , today Bad Friedrichshall Hauptbahnhof , was already an important railway junction for passenger and freight traffic.
Air strikes
November 8, 1944
On November 8, 1944, a bomb hit the track of the Untere Kochertalbahn near the Kocher Bridge between Bad Friedrichshall and Oedheim . However, the train service could continue.
December 24, 1944
On Christmas Day 1944, Bad Friedrichshall was again the target of an Allied air raid. This should be done on the Kocherbrücke. An enemy bomber formation dropped around 100 high explosive bombs. However, the bridge remained intact, instead some houses were hit; 8 people were killed and 30 wounded. The Sebastianskirche was damaged.
December 27, 1944
Fighter-bombers shot at a passenger train on the railway bridge in Bad Friedrichshall on December 27, 1944. Several people were killed and injured in this attack.
February 2, 1945
Enemy planes attacked the railway bridge between Bad Friedrichshall and Bad Wimpfen several times . On February 2, 1945, however, the bridge was not hit and the explosive devices fell into the houses next to it. 16 people were killed in this attack and some buildings were badly damaged.
March 19, 1945
The Bad Friedrichshaller Hauptbahnhof, then Bad Friedrichshall-Jagstfeld station , was the target of an Allied bombing raid on March 19, 1945. The station building of the Württemberg-Baden border station and important railway junction for passenger and freight traffic burned out completely.
Late March 1945
The attempt to destroy the railway bridge over the Kocher only narrowly failed after two attacks at the end of March 1945. A bomber association dropped around 200 bombs. However, since none of the bridge piers was hit fully, the bridge could be repaired quickly. However, the salt railway bridge running next to it suffered a total write- off.
April 1, 1945
The army blew up in their retreat to the south on April 1, 1945 between 18:00 and 20:00 the stove bridge between Bad Friedrichshall and Oedheim. It was impossible to continue rail traffic.
April 7, 1945
Bad Friedrichshall-Hagenbach was badly damaged by several air raids and artillery shelling; 40 buildings were destroyed.
April 9 and 10, 1945
St. Sebastian's Church was the target of an air raid on April 9 and 10, 1945. During combat operations by approaching American troops, the church was set on fire by artillery. Attempts by a pastor to extinguish the fire were in vain. This was seriously injured, the church burned down to the foundation walls.
In the air raids in April 1945, the premises of local companies, such as the Bachert bell foundry , were also destroyed.
literature
- Bad friedrichshall. 1933-1983. City of Bad Friedrichshall, Bad Friedrichshall 1983
