The many roles of
Bomber Command

Bomber Command is best known for its campaign against German industrial cities. However aircrews carried out many other types of mission.

During the British army’s retreat to Dunkirk in 1940, out-of-date, single-engine Battle light bombers fought courageously to hold off the attacking German forces. Few of the aircrews survived.

The Blenheim bomber crews flew extremely dangerous low-level daylight raids against shipping targets, early in the war and suffered very high casualties.

The British bombers also laid thousands of mines at sea that sank hundreds of enemy ships throughout the war.

Bomber Command’s precision raids included bombing Hitler’s V-rocket weapon development centre and launch sites, the famous ‘Dambusters’ raid and the sinking of the ‘Tirpitz’ battleship.

RAF bombers supported the Allied armies before and after the D-day landings, and flew many spectacular precision low-level daylight raids across Europe, hitting factories, rail and communications targets and even the Berlin radio station as Goering, the Head of the Luftwaffe, began to broadcast a speech in honour of the Nazi Party. It had been Goering who had declared at the beginning of the war “No enemy aircraft will fly over the Reich territory”.