Operation Jericho
The operation Jericho was an air raid on the Gestapo prison of Amiens on 18 February 1944, the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was planned in such a way that the guards in the accommodation area would be switched off and resistance members and other detainees should be able to escape. 102 prisoners were killed and a large number of the 258 who managed to escape were taken prisoner again.
The attack was carried out by No. 140 Wing of No. 2 bomber group of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force under the command of Group Captain Percy Pickard . Of 18 attacking de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito , 9 were lost, furthermore 12 of the accompanying Hawker Typhoons .
Historian Ducellier contradicts the British account that the aim of the operation was to rescue death row fighters and Allied agents with critical information. He sees the main reason for the attack in keeping the attention of the German security forces away from Normandy in the course of Operation Fortitude .
literature
- Robert Laman: The Jail Busters - The Secret Story of MI6, the French Resistance and Operation Jericho, 1944. Quercus editions, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78206-536-4 . (not viewed)
- JP Ducellier: The Amiens Raid Secrets revealed. Red Kite, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9554735-2-4 (not viewed)
Web links
- Operation Jericho - Mosquito Attack on Amiens Prison - 18th February 1944 on The People`s Mosquito
- Operation Jericho on The History Learning Site
Individual evidence
- ^ John Hall: RAF deliberately sacrificed the lives of more than 100 French prisoners in daring air-raid in order to protect D-DAY plans, new book claims. Mailonline, February 18, 2014, accessed on February 8, 2017.