Other Than Bomber Command?

[Carl Schwamberger]

After reading up a bit on the US 9th AF & its effort against the German logistics - the railroads & bridges, the airfields, ect.. with the shorter ranged medium bombers I'm a bit curious about the likely RAF equivalent. I suspect there were other bomber raids than the Lancasters against Berlin & so forth. Any folks here able to post a bit of information & some refrences on the subject I should read?

Thanks

[phylo_roadking]

Carl, as well as the "big raids", BC carried out a widescale campaign before and after them. 617 Sqn at least was employed on a series of "precision" attacks in 1943, 1944, and into 1945...the V-2 sites at Mimoyecque and Wizernes, the V-2 store at Siracourt, the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the power stations at San Polo D'Enza and Aquata Scrivia, the Kembs Dam gates (stopped the Germans opening them), the uboat pens at Poorteshaven, Ijmuiden, Hamburg and Farge, the Bielefeld viaduct, the Arnsberg viaduct, Nienburg Bridge, the Bremen bridges, and of course the SS HQ and barracks at Berchtesgaden.

In April 1944, 617 led nearly 200 other Lancs on a raid on the Pairs/Juvisy marshalling yards. Prior to D-Day, ten large BC raids were flown against other marshalling yards at Aulnoye, Rouen, Paris/Noissy, Paris/Ste Chappelle, Laon, Acheres, and Somain. Through May 19844, BC also targeted gun batteries up and down the French coast, including Calais, Cap Gris Nez, Merville, Mardyck, Dieppe, Boulogne. There was also the large raid against the German AFV maintenance yard at Mailly-le-Camp....and we can't forget the "softening up" ops against the coast immediately before D-Day...and a number of towns immediately after, including of course Caen. And at the end of the year, BC attempted to open a way through the Siegfried Line for the British by flattening Cleves.

But BC's heavies were also used for other duties as the war came to an end; the very last Heavy Force operation of the war for example was a large raid to mine the Skaggerak to prevent the Flensburg government decamping to Norway by sea. Earlier in the war, in 1942, BC's heavies even mined into the Baltic, mining the waters off Swinemunde. In 1942 there had also been the raid on the MAN diesel plant at Augsburg, the raid on the Henri Paul transformer plant at Le Cruesot, a special attack against shipping in Gdynia, and attacks down over the Alps on Italian factories including Fiat in Turin at the end of November 1942.

[Carl Schwamberger]

Phylo.. I might as well PMd you on this.

So, Bomber Command did the short ranged work as well... As I dimmly recall there was a RAF organization called 2d Tactical Air Force (correct ID ?) Was their role strictly tactical air support or did they have some sort of role in the interdiction battle?

[phylo_roadking]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Second ... _Air_Force

It was more a mixed fighter/fighter bomber formation, replacing the former Army Coop in 1943; so it technically was never a part of Bomber Command.

What you're perhaps thinking of is No.2 Group, Bomber Command...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._2_Group_RAF

On 3 September 1939, the day war broke out, a Blenheim from 2 Group made the first British operational sortie to cross the German frontier in the Second World War. The following day saw the Group's Blenheims make the first British bombing attack of the war.

In April 1940, Norway was invaded by the Germans. In response to a request for air support two Blenheim squadrons, Nos. 110 and 107, were placed on temporary detachment to RAF Lossiemouth, from where they could attack shipping and the German held airfield at Stavanger in southern Norway.

The Group carried out intensive operations against the advancing Germans following their breakthrough of 10 May 1940, suffering heavy losses.On 17 May, twelve crews of No. 82 Squadron left Watton to attack enemy columns near Gembloux. A severe flak barrage split the formation up, allowing Bf 109s to attack. Only one Blenheim, managed to return to Watton, the rest shot down. No.82 Squadron was again operational just three days later. During June, Blenheims began a new phase by bombing Luftwaffe airfields in France. In July the twelve Blenheim squadrons of 2 Group lost 31 aircraft, along with three Wing Commanders.

During the summer the light bomber force also supported defensive operations during the Battle of Britain, bombing German invasion barges concentrated in the Channel ports.

By mid 1941 the Group was engaged in daylight raids on coastal shipping and heavily defended objectives in Occupied Europe. At that stage stage of the war the Group’s Blenheims were near obsolete and sustaining heavy operational casualties. Nevertheless,operations continued unabated under Air Vice-Marshal D F Stevenson. No. 2 Group carried out a low-level attack on Bremen in 2 July 1941 in which the leader, Wing Commander Hughie Edwards of No. 105 Squadron, won the Victoria Cross.

In December 1942 Edwards led a combined force of Mosquitoes, Bostons and Venturas on ‘Operation Oyster’, a pin-point daylight raid on the Philips electrical works at Eindhoven in Holland. RAF losses were 14 aircraft brought down by flak and fighters. Substantial damage was inflicted on the factory, but with few casualties suffered by the Dutch workers and civilian population.

2 group supported the ill-fated Commando raid on Dieppe in August 1942. Mosquitoes Mk IV's also made the first daylight attack on Berlin.

At the end of May 1943 the Group left RAF Bomber Command to join the new Second Tactical Air Force, and came under Fighter Command control until the formation of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force five months later

2 Group Mosquitoes also made the famous wall-breaching operation against Amiens gaol in early 1944 which cost Group Captain Percy Pickard (of Target for Tonight film fame) his life. By the D-day landings, No. 2 Group consisted of four wings of Douglas Bostons, Mitchells, and Mosquito light and medium bombers.

During Operation Market Garden in September 1944 it the Group included 136, 138, & 140 Wings, flying Mosquitos. and 137 & 139 Wings, flying the B-25 Mitchell.

No. 2 Group flew just over 57,000 operational sorties at a cost of 2,671 men killed or missing and 396 wounded

No.1 Group had ceased to exist before the end of 1939....and 3, 4, and 5 Groups were the Heavy Force; in addition there was No. 6 Group, formed wholly of RCAF squadrons...and No. 8 Group, which was the Pathfinders. Grown within No.8 Group was the Mosquito-equiped Light Night Striking Force (Also sometimes called the Fast Night Striking Force)

The Light Night Striking Force was an outgrowth of the Pathfinder Force use of the Mosquito bomber. Both fast and long-ranged it could carry a sizeable bombload. Under 8 Group, the number of Mosquito squadrons was built up. These were used for harassing raids on Germany.

To the two (Oboe-equipped) Mosquito squadrons already in Pathfinder Force added a third (No. 139) in June 1943 which Bennett intended to use for diversionary raids to draw the German nightfighters away from the Main Force.[8]

In February 1944, an entirely Mosquito raid was successfully carried out against Düsseldorf. It was formed of the usual marker aircraft from 105 Squadron, 692 Squadron Mosquitos each carrying a single 4,000 lb "cookie"[note 2] and backup aircraft with 500 lb delayed action bombs.

With Harris' support, Bennett formed more Mosquito squadrons to expand the LNSF; giving him 9 bomber squadrons as well as the Oboe-equipped markers and 8 Group's own meteorological Mosquitos. Over two years, the LNSF achieved 27,239 sorties. Their best month was March 1945 with nearly 3,000. This was achieved for the loss of just under 200 aircraft lost on operations or "damaged beyond repair".[10]

The PFF flew a total of 50,490 individual sorties against some 3,440 targets. At least 3,727 members were killed on operations

The LNSF/FNSF flew the very last BC operation of the war, a raid on Kiel on the night of the 6th/7th of May 1945, again aimed at stopping the Flensburg government's departure north; a seven-squadron raid, it was recalled on the outbound leg.

[Clive Mortimore]

Phylo.. I might as well PMd you on this.

So, Bomber Command did the short ranged work as well... As I dimmly recall there was a RAF organization called 2d Tactical Air Force (correct ID ?) Was their role strictly tactical air support or did they have some sort of role in the interdiction battle?

In the 2nd Tactical Air Force was No2 Bomber Group. This group was equipped with squadrons of Bostons, Mosquitos and Mitchells. Prior to D-Day they undertook roles like bombing railway yards, bridges, known military bases etc. like their comrades in Bomber Command. After D-Day their role changed to one of providing the heavier tactical support like the bombing of troop concentrations and fixed defences.

[Carl Schwamberger]

Ok, so its No. 2 Group who histories I'd need to look for. Would there be a equivalent unit operating in the Med?

[phylo_roadking]

Carl - yes, "First Tactical Air Force"....better known as the Desert Air Force http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Air_Force

Regarding books - you could start on the Net first - Denis Richards' (And Hilary Saunders') Official History of the RAF in WWII is up on Hyperwar, all three volumes now, and is a great place to start -

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/U ... index.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/U ... index.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/U ... index.html

[Orwell1984]

Ok, so its No. 2 Group who histories I'd need to look for. Would there be a equivalent unit operating in the Med?

http://www.amazon.com/Group-R-A-F-Compl ... oup+bowyer
This is a good history on 2 Group.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Reich-Intrude ... +group+raf
Good general overview.
http://www.amazon.com/Day-Bomber-Arthur ... day+bomber
Written by a RAF crew member of 2 Group.

[Carl Schwamberger]

That should be a solid start for the reading. now all that is needed is time.

[Urmel]

Carl - yes, "First Tactical Air Force"....better known as the Desert Air Force http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Air_Force

Regarding books - you could start on the Net first - Denis Richards' (And Hilary Saunders') Official History of the RAF in WWII is up on Hyperwar, all three volumes now, and is a great place to start -

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/U ... index.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/U ... index.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/U ... index.html

But dated and not error-free.

[Urmel]

This is also relevant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Army_C ... on_Command