The Bombing of Dresden

The Tralfamadorian Version of The Bombing of Dresden

References

The Attacks

Firebombs

The Before

The Cost

Firebombing

In Words

The Firebombs

- Thin skinned, non-stabilized and lightweight container filled with fuel gel

Filler caps that prevent things from going in the chamber during transport

The caps are later replaced with igniters

When released from aircraft, the arming wires

are pulled from the fuzes.

Once the bomb impacts the target/ground, the container will rupture

spilling gel everywhere, as the fuzes detonate, and sets of the igniters, which in turn ignites the

gel

The fuel gel is typically napalm, or a magnesium

concentrate that is a thickened fuel and

gelling solution. It is a stringy and sticky

mixture that adheres to surfaces it lands on.

Dresden

The Art of Firebombing

1st Wave: Aircraft bombers drop high explosives on the targets to blow off the roofs of buildings, exposing the timbers within, and to also rupture water supplies

2nd Wave: Dropping of incendiary (fire) bombs on targets to start a conflagration

Small pause in the attacks as firefighters try to stop the fires

Followed by further incendiary bombs, and high explosives to

hamper the efforts of fire fighters until a self-sustaining fire storm is

created

Dresden

As the area burns, the extremely hot air from the fire rises rapidly to the top, while cold air rushes in at the bottom to fill in the vacuum,

sucking people into the fire. Thus, creating a self-sustaining firestorm.Under the extreme heat, many victims are cremated, or melted to

the pavement. Some die of smoke inhalation, carbon monoxide poisoning and suffocation.

Operation Thunderclap

In 1944, the Allies drew up a plan to bomb Berlin and other German cities to aid the Soviet advance in the east called “Operation Thunderclap.” Even though this operation was reconsidered, it was, in 1945, brought up again.

The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) determined that the Germans could reinforce the eastern front with 500 000 men from other fronts. Therefore, at the Yalta Conference on February 4th, 1945, the Allies determined that there was a need to hamper the movement of troops by paralyzing junctions in German cities with aerial bombardment.

Dresden

Dresden was one of the targeted cities for this objective.

“You needn’t worry about bombs, by the way. Dresden is an open city. It is undefended, and contains no war industries or troop concentrations of any importance.” (p.146)

Dresden

Target: Dresden

Feb 13, 1945: around 10pm – 1st Raid RAF commanded 796 Avro Lancasters unloaded 1478 tons of explosives and 1182 tons of incendiary bombs

Feb 14, 1945: 1:22am – 2nd Raid529 Lancasters dropped 1800 tons of bombs

Emergency units and fire fighters clogged the streets, believing the raid was over.

Feb 14, 1945: 12:17 – 12:30pm311 American B-17s dropped 771 tons of bombs

Feb 15, 1945: USAAF dropped 466 tons of bombs

TOTAL: Over 4000 tons of bombs

The CostDresden

• Of 28 410 houses in the inner city, 24 866 were destroyed

• Of 222 000 apartments, 75 000 were completely destroyed, and 11 000 were severely damaged

• The targeted main railway station was destroyed, but was working after a few days

• Officials could not bury the dead fast enough to prevent the outbreak of disease, so they had to pile bodies into pyres, which were burned

“But then the bodies rotted and liquefied, and the stink was like roses and mustard gas.” (p.214)

• The estimated deaths are from 35 000 people to 135 000 people

Bombing of Dresden: In Words…

We saw terrible things: cremated adults shrunk to the size of small children, pieces of arms and legs, dead people, whole families burnt to death, burning people ran to and fro, burnt coaches filled with civilian refugees, dead rescuers and soldiers, many were calling and looking for their children and families, and fire everywhere, everywhere fire, and all the time the hot wind of the firestorm threw people back into the burning houses they were trying to escape from.

~Lothar Metzger Berlin, May 1999

Dresden was like the moon now, nothing but minerals. The stones were hot. Everybody else

in the neighborhood was dead. So it goes.~Billy Pilgrim (p.178)

Dresden

"Most of those who remained below ground were to die painlessly, their bodies first brilliantly tinted bright orange and blue, and then, as the heat grew intense, either totally incinerated or melted into a thick liquid sometimes three or four feet deep."

~R.H.S. Crossman

References

http://militaryhistory.about.com/cs/worldwar2/a/dresdenfirestor_2.htm

http://www.rense.com/general19/flame.htm

http://timewitnesses.org/english/~lothar.html

http://www.ordnance.org/firebomb.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWdresden.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II

Many images taken from Google Images