Which RAF squadrons and aircraft types took part in the bombing of Berlin on the 25th of August 1940?
score:36
The definitive source you are looking for here would be the Royal Air Force Operations Record Books for the squadrons involved.
There are two parts to RAF Operations Record Books. There is the (usually) monthly 'diary' of the squadron's activities titled ‘detail of work carried out’, recorded on a collection of pre-printed 'Form 541' pages, and a monthly ‘summary of events’ recorded on 'Form 540'. These documents may be completed by hand or typed (or a combination of both).
The UK National Archives have helpfully provided sample pdf files on their website, to give you an idea of what is recorded on each.
- Sample detail of work carried out (Form 541) for 101 Squadron, December 1943
- Sample summary of events (Form 540) for 101 Squadron, December 1943
I had cause to research this raid some years back. As far as I could find, only 43 bombers, from 6 squadrons, took part in the raid on Berlin on 25-26 August 1940 (although by no means did all aircraft reach their target due to adverse weather conditions!).
The Operations Record Books were originally held in Air Ministry series AIR 27.
Since I did my research on this project, the series has been digitised, and the records are now available to download as pdf files (each file currently costs £3.50 unless you are viewing from a computer at the UK National Archives at Kew. However, there is a preview option that allows you to read some of the details from each file for free).
I have verified the UK National Archives record numbers for each of the files, and included them as links with each squadron below in case you are interested in downloading copies.
From my notes, the squadrons involved were:
51 Squadron
- AIR 27/491/22 detail of work carried out August 1940; and
- AIR 27/491/21 summary of events August 1940
61 Squadron
- AIR 27/576/18 detail of work carried out August 1940; and
- AIR 27/576/17 summary of events August 1940
78 Squadron
- AIR 27/660/4 detail of work carried out August 1940; and
- AIR 27/660/3 summary of events August 1940
99 Squadron
- AIR 27/788/20 summary of events August 1940
144 Squadron
- AIR 27/980/18 detail of work carried out August 1940; and
- AIR 27/980/17 summary of events August 1940
149 Squadron
- AIR 27/1000/22 detail of work carried out August 1940; and
- AIR 27/1000/21 summary of events August 1940
The aircraft types involved were (again from my notes):
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers
Handley Page Hampden bombers
Vickers Wellington bombers
(Image sources Wikimedia)
The breakdown by squadron was as follows:
51 Squadron
- 9 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers
61 Squadron
- 6 Handley Page Hampden bombers
78 Squadron
- 5 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers
99 Squadron
- 9 Vickers Wellington bombers
144 Squadron
- 6 Handley Page Hampden bombers
149 Squadron
- 8 Vickers Wellington bombers
From my notes, it appears that 44 Squadron were involved in attacks on a power station (designated target B57) and an aerodrome (designated target H324) on 25/26 August 1940. 50 Squadron were also involved in the attack on target B57. Most of the aircraft were unable to locate their targets (and many were even unable to locate their secondary targets).
I wasn't able to identify these targets at the time (this was in the early 1990s, long before the operational records were digitised, so we were working with paper files, many of which were either missing or incomplete). It is entirely possible that these targets were located in the vicinity of Berlin. If that is the case, that might explain the figures of 81/95 aircraft that are often quoted online.
It may now be possible to identify these targets using records that have been digitised since I did my research if anyone has the time.
According to this website, 45 Squadron were indeed in North Africa at that time, being based at Helwan in Egypt, with detachments at Erkoweit and Wadi Gazouza in Sudan.
Upvote:2
As an addition to the excellent answer we have, the Bomber Command War Diaries, ed. Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt, Midland Publishing, 1996, do have some basic details of the damage done.
Berlin was covered in thick cloud, which prevented accurate bombing, and a strong headwind was encountered on the return journey. The Hampdens were at the limits of their range in these circumstances, and three were lost, three more coming down in the sea due to fuel exhaustion.
The only bombs that fell within the boundaries of Berlin destroyed a wooden summer-house in the suburb of Rosenthal and slightly injured two people. Many bombs fell in the country to the south of Berlin, some on large farms owned by the city. The city residents' joke was that it was an attempt to starve them.
However, the raid had some psychological effect, as described by William Shirer, an American journalist working in Berlin. The population had been assured that Berlin would never be bombed, but aircraft were heard overhead, and the flak fired ineffectively.
More post
- 📝 Did any French generals or politicians argue for pressing the Saar offensive?
- 📝 Why does Western Europe tend to have small 'in between' countries?
- 📝 How many Bolsheviks were Jewish?
- 📝 Was *Green Eggs and Ham* really banned in China from 1965–1991?
- 📝 What is this stick that William III of England/Orange is holding in this portrait?
- 📝 In Montgomery, Alabama, how common was it to be arrested for sitting in the incorrect section of the bus?
- 📝 Are there historic examples of slave emancipation leading to mass starvation?
- 📝 "The signal on the Zibby is dead" - what is the meaning of "Zibby"?
- 📝 White on Polish coat of arms
- 📝 How did nobles upon the Grand Tour evade or mitigate the danger of banditry?
- 📝 What uniform is in this picture?
- 📝 What did whistling bombs actually sound like?
- 📝 Why were North American indigenous peoples underdeveloped?
- 📝 When did chairs with arms and backs develop in Europe?
- 📝 Who would have a good or fair command of Latin in medieval Western Europe?
- 📝 When and why China started to make a difference in the superpower arena?
- 📝 Where can I find fully translated letters from János Bolyai and Farkas Bolyai?
- 📝 What factors led to the rise of political parties in the United States?
- 📝 What are canonical sources about fifth century BCE Athens?
- 📝 Was Rudolph Hess a moderating influence on Hitler?
- 📝 What toilet facilities were available at large formal gatherings in 19th century America?
- 📝 To what degree has the historical effectiveness of non-violent resistance movements been impacted by parallel violent resistance movements?
- 📝 What social relationships existed between the popular mobility and the political elites in the revolutionary American colonies?
- 📝 1950s, UK-Soviet sporting event
- 📝 What effect did the Mafia have during World War 2?
- 📝 Was there ever a democracy where the three branches went to war?
- 📝 Why did Central and South American nations participate in WWII?
- 📝 Is today's Old City of Jerusalem the Jerusalem of the Crusades' period?
- 📝 Uniform identification: c20th male, General, mid/light green double breasted, red facing, red neck tags, blue/green shoulder boards
- 📝 Why couldn't the Ottoman Empire modernise at the same time as Meiji Japan did?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Which RAF squadrons and aircraft types took part in the bombing of Berlin on the 25th of August 1940?
- 📝 Why did antique guns and swords from the Franco-Prussian War make part of the demilitarization program to which Germany was subjected?
- 📝 Why weren't pickled fruits and vegetables part of (European) rations during the Age of Sail?
- 📝 Why were British ships not of the same quality as French and Spanish ships until the latter part of the 18th century?
- 📝 How true is the statement "Soviet troops got into Berlin riding American trucks, walking in American boots and using American trains"?
- 📝 How and why was the boundary between West and East Berlin decided to be where it was?
- 📝 In which document was the exact course of the northern part of the German-Polish border decided?
- 📝 What were the EMP effects, if any, of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
- 📝 How long did it take for a diplomat to travel between Berlin and Vienna in the 1770's?
- 📝 What exactly was East Prussia between 1933 and 1945? Was it part of a larger government, and which one?
- 📝 Why was the Red Army successful against the Japanese in 1939 but perform poorly against Finland 1939-40 and early part of WW2?
- 📝 Which Babylonian tablets contains the list of squares and cubes?
- 📝 Is there any instance of part of a country successfully seceding and then unifying with a neighbouring country in the last century?
- 📝 Why did few French and no Dutch pilots (but many Poles and Czechs) take part in the Battle of Britain?
- 📝 What were the thoughts of the Celts, Romans and other ancient European people about the standing stones which survive from prehistoric times?
- 📝 Which European countries did not have a revolution in the aftermath of the French Revolution and why?
- 📝 Which fruits and vegetables did Chinese migrants introduce to Australia during the gold rush?
- 📝 Which were the last castles to be besieged and fall in the United Kingdom?
- 📝 Were there any pilots that declined to carry out the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
- 📝 How did the conquering Mongols and Manchus of China end up becoming part of China?
- 📝 Which Allied aircraft scored the most air-to-air kills against the Me 262 in WWII?
- 📝 What Roman Republican legal structures lasted into the Empire and which ones didn't?
- 📝 Which have been the most and least successful Olympics in terms of economic impact?
- 📝 Which company offered this aircraft interior in the 60s?
- 📝 What caused women to lose their access to resources and become a part of men's possessions with the start of the agriculture era?
- 📝 How was the administration of the liberated part of The Netherlands organised between 12 September 1944 and 5 May 1945?
- 📝 What were the typical types of ships used in the Persian Navy in the 1730's and 1740's?
- 📝 What were the rights and statuses of different types of Roman colonies?
- 📝 Were the 1940-42 RAF bombing raids over Germany unescorted?
- 📝 What was the reason that Poland wanted a part of Germany north of Stettin/Szczecin and west of the Oder?