Duisburg was bombed a number of times by the Allies during World War II. The most devastating air raids on Duisburg occurred during October 1944 when the city was bombed by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Duisburg was a major logistical centre in the Ruhr Area and location of chemical, steel and iron industries, Duisburg was a primary target of Allied bombers. Not only the industrial areas but also residential areas were attacked by Allied bombs. As an entry to the Ruhr, the city received daily warnings of bombing raids in 1943. In the period 1939 to 1945 the Royal Air Force dropped a total of 30,025 LT of bombs on Duisburg.

Battle of the Ruhr

During the "Battle of the Ruhr" in 1943, 577 British bombers destroyed the old city on 12/13 May, with 1599 t of bombs: 96,000 people were made homeless.

Operation Hurricane

In October 1944, Duisburg became the main target in Operation Hurricane a joint RAF Bomber Command and USAAF Eighth Air Force operation. On 14 October 1944 just after daybreak, RAF Bomber Command sent "1,013 aircraft ... to [bomb] Duisburg with RAF fighters providing an escort. 957 bombers dropped [... 3,574 LT] of high explosive and [... 820 LT] of incendiaries on" the city for a loss of 14 aircraft. The same day the Eighth Air Force sent 1,251 heavy bombers escorted by 749 fighters to bomb targets in the area of Cologne. Later the same day, during the night of 14 October/15 October, 1,005 RAF bombers returned to Duisburg in two waves about two hours apart, and dropped a further 4,040 LT of high explosive and 500 t of incendiaries for the loss of seven aircraft. The same night a further 230 aircraft destroyed Brunswick. During Operation Hurricane nearly 9,000 t of bombs fell on Duisburg in less than 24 hours, but the damage to Duisburg is difficult to assess because much of the documentation including the final report (Endbericht), is not held by the Duisburg state archive (Stadtarchiv). Extant records mention "Very serious property damage. A large number of people buried." and that at the Thyssen Mines III and IV eight days production was lost.

Chronology