The Dresden Firestorm (1 Viewer)

[DeathHand]

The Dresden attack was to have begun with a USAAF Eighth Air Force bombing raid on 13 February 1945.

On 13 February 1945, bad weather over Europe prevented any USAAF operations, and it was left to RAF Bomber Command to carry out the first raid. It had been decided that the raid would be a double strike, in which a second wave of bombers would attack three hours after the first, just as the rescue teams were trying to put out the fires. Other raids were carried out that night to confuse Nazi air defences.

Set 1.

1. Dresden as it looked in 1910.

2. Another photo of Dresden before the 1945 bombings.

3. The first bombers that hit Dresden: British Avro Lancasters.

4. Next came the British Halifax bombers.

 

[DeathHand]

The main bomber force, called "Plate Rack", took off shortly after the Pathfinders. This was a group of 254 Lancasters carrying 500 tons of high explosives and 375 tons of incendiaries, or fire bombs. There were 200,000 incendiaries in all, with the high-explosive bombs ranging in weight from 500 pounds to 4,000 pounds — the so-called two-ton "cookies", also known as "blockbusters," because they had the power to destroy a city block. The high explosives were intended to rupture water mains, and blow off roofs, doors, and windows, creating an air flow that would feed the fires caused by the incendiaries that followed.

The sirens started sounding in Dresden at 21:51 (CET). Wing Commander Maurice Smith, flying in a Mosquito, gave the order to the Lancasters: "Controller to Plate Rack Force: Come in and bomb glow of red target indicators as planned. Bomb the glow of red TIs as planned.". The first bombs were released at 22:14, the Lancasters flying in low at 8,000 feet (2,400 m), with all but one Lancaster's bombs released within two minutes, and the last one releasing at 22:22. The fan-shaped area that was bombed was 1.25 miles (2.01 km) long, and at its extreme about 1.75 miles (2.82 km) wide.

Set 2.

5. Mosquito planes, like this one, were used to drop markers for the bombers to target on.

6. View of the city (known as the Old City) from the Old Town Hall.

7. Another view of the destruction.

8. The destruction was immense.

 

[Angelahh]

oh look at that all very fancy schmancy pants

 

[DeathHand]

The second attack, three hours later, was by Lancaster aircraft of 1, 3, 6 and 8 (Pathfinder Force) Groups, 8 Group being the Pathfinders. By now, the thousands of fires from the burning city could be seen more than 60 miles (97 km) away on the ground, and 500 miles (800 km) away in the air, with smoke rising to 15,000 feet (4,600 m).

The Pathfinders therefore decided to expand the target, dropping flares on either side of the firestorm, including the Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, and the Großer Garten, a large park, both of which had escaped damage during the first raid. The German sirens sounded again at 01:05, but as there was practically no electricity, these were small hand-held sirens that were heard within only a block. Between 01:21 and 01:45, 529 Lancasters dropped more than 1,800 tons of bombs.

Set 3.

9. A street in Dresden after the fires were out.

10. Bodies of Dresden residents found dead in an air raid shelter.

11. A woman found dead in an air raid shelter.

12. After the British bombers came the US Flying Fortress bombers.

 

[Angelahh]

bitches be saying that about the bombs i drop in my own commode

 

[DeathHand]

On the morning of 14 February 431 bombers of the 1st Bombardment Division of the United States VIII Bomber Command were scheduled to bomb Dresden at around midday. The bomber groups would be protected by the 784 P-51 Mustangs of VIII Fighter Command which meant that there would be almost 2,100 aircraft of the United States Eighth Air Force over Saxony during 14 February. 316 USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses bombed Dresden, dropping 771 tons of bombs.

Set 4.

13.

14. Recovered corpses piled up for cremation.

15. Another pile of dead civilians ready to be cremated.

16. Smoldering bodies - this image is the same as the one above.

 

[DeathHand]

In four raids between 13 February and 15 February 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and 527 of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city. The resulting firestorm destroyed fifteen square miles (39 square kilometres) of the city centre and caused tens of thousands of civilian casualties.

Set 5.

17. Collecting and ID'ing the dead.

18.

19. More of the people found dead in an air raid shelter.

 

[DeathHand]

According to official German report Tagesbefehl (Order of the Day) no. 47 ("TB47") issued on 22 March the number of dead recovered by that date was 20,204, including 6,865 who were cremated on the Altmarkt square, and the total number of deaths was expected to be about 25,000.

Another report on 3 April put the number of corpses recovered at 22,096. Three municipal and 17 rural cemeteries outside Dresden recorded up to April 30, 1945 a total of at least 21,895 buried bodies of the Dresden raids, including those cremated on the Altmarkt.

Set 6.

20. But in time, the city persevered and rebuilt what they could. Here, 1952, rail tracks are laid after the rubble and debris has been cleared.

21. But the scars of the 1945 bombings remain. This 2003 photo shows a section of building that was destroyed in 1945.

22. Street cars back in service after roads were cleared of rubble - 1946.

 

[DeathHand]

oh look at that all very fancy schmancy pants

???

 

[trustno1]

nice set....

 

[Angelahh]

???

ignore meh sorry!

very cool pics. mass casualties fucking hell you wouldnt think

 

[DeathHand]

ignore meh sorry!

very cool pics. mass casualties fucking hell you wouldnt think

Lols, no probs. I had to look back to see if I had posted any pics of pants.

 

[Angelahh]

Lols, no probs. I had to look back to see if I had posted any pics of pants.

maybeh i was fantasizing of your pants

 

[NightMare]

I love these history lessons! It is hard to see some of the pictures of the thousands of dead people. It is horrible to see what war can do to so many people. Just heart breaking.

 

[DeathHand]

I love these history lessons! It is hard to see some of the pictures of the thousands of dead people. It is horrible to see what war can do to so many people. Just heart breaking.

And I suppose that these air raids by the Allies were made all the worse considering that Dresden (and other cities like Hamburg) held no strategic military value and the bombings took place only months before the end of the war.

It was one thing to bomb the ancient city of Dresden (which had been previously spared from raids), but another thing to literally pound it into the ground and the civilians with it.

I have a cousin living in the States who was given a dishonorable discharge from the US Air Force during Vietnam. He was a bomber pilot and once in the air he realized that their target was a village packed with civilians (mostly refugees). The squad approached the target and he suddenly turned his bomber around and returned to base without dropping a single bomb.

 

[NightMare]

And I suppose that these air raids by the Allies were made all the worse considering that Dresden (and other cities like Hamburg) held no strategic military value and the bombings took place only months before the end of the war.

It was one thing to bomb the ancient city of Dresden (which had been previously spared from raids), but another thing to literally pound it into the ground and the civilians with it.

I have a cousin living in the States who was given a dishonorable discharge from the US Air Force during Vietnam. He was a bomber pilot and once in the air he realized that their target was a village packed with civilians (mostly refugees). The squad approached the target and he suddenly turned his bomber around and returned to base.

There is no purpose to wipe out whole towns of innocent people. those who believe that war gives them the right to kill anyone they wish are the ones they should hang from their toes. War is indeed a dirty game. It is hard to imagine bombing a helpless town full of innocent women and children. But that is reality and that is how wars won, and it will always be this way until there are no more people left of this earth to fight. My heart goes out to these countries, weather they are right or wrong, good or evil, there is still great loss of life and that is the sad part.

 

[devo]

Unbelievable destruction!

 

[KingFate]

One of the many reasons I find the whole concept of "war crimes" utter bullshit. The very same men who signed off on these bombings were the ones to put others to the rope.

 

[DeathHand]

One of the many reasons I find the whole concept of "war crimes" utter bullshit. The very same men who signed off on these bombings were the ones to put others to the rope.

Totally agreed. Some stuff I grabbed from Wiki:

"War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict (also known as international humanitarian law) giving rise to individual criminal responsibility. Examples of such conduct include "..."the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military, or civilian necessity".

Similar concepts, such as perfidy, have existed for many centuries as customs between civilized countries, but these customs were first codified as international law in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.

The legalities of war have sometimes been accused of containing favoritism toward the winners ("Victor's justice"), as some controversies have not been ruled as war crimes. Some examples include the Allies' destruction of civilian Axis targets during World War II, such as the firebombing of the German city of Dresden..."

 

[ErisKillton]