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We're On Tonight
A description of what happened before and during and operation. The battle order was posted, the crew checked over their aircraft, the bomb load was planned, the crew received their briefing, dinner was eaten (bacon and eggs), they dressed,…
Raid Assessments
Five 'raid assessments' carried out at RAF Spilsby. Detail of problems encountered in each operation. Final sheet is an extract from Operations Record Book by three different Lancasters.
Sono passati i liberatori!
The flyer contrasts Allies' lofty ideals of 'bread and freedom' with the harsh reality of being at the receiving end of the bombing war. Testimonies from a mother, a printing shop the manager, an old soldier, and a common man are quoted: they reprove…
Bomb aimers briefing 25 February 1944
Shows two bomb loads each for a single aircraft. Details preselection settings and includes window, route and marking method. On the reverse marking and bombing instructions.
Bomb aimers briefing 25 February 1944 - Augsburg
Annotated 'Augsburg, MINOL Filled, SXUHOTML'. ) Shows four bomb loads for operation for seven, six, one and two aircraft respectively. Details preselection, delay and false height settings and other information. Includes weights, zero hour, Window,…
Bomb aimers briefing 11 November 1944
Shows three bomb loads for seven, two and five aircraft respectively. Details preselection and false height settings and other information including window. On the reverse, pathfinder force Mosquito marking, bombing instructions including height…
Bomb aimers briefing
Shows four bomb loads for the squadron with two for one aircraft each and the other two for eight and six aircraft. Includes preselection settings, weights, timings, method. On the reverse bombing notes including target marking continued.
Ronald Boone operations on 35 Squadron
Details of six operations carried in Halifax on 35 Squadron at Royal Air Force Graveley in May and early June 1943. Targets include Bochum, Essen, Wuppertal and Munster. States that notes were taken from the National Records Office London.
Ronald Boone operations on 77 Squadron
Details of nine operations carried out between February and May 1943 from RAF Elvington on 77 Squadron flying Halifax. Targets include Cologne, Berlin and several in the Ruhr.
Bombing operations November 1944
Three newspaper cuttings describing attacks on Essen, Harburg oil refinery, Spitfire and Typhoon attacks on bridges and Aschaffenburg. They are captioned 'Nov 11th 1944'.
Incendiary hail swamps the target
A newspaper cutting of a Lancaster dropping incendiary bombs over Duisburg. The text describes the event and a handwritten caption reads ' Oct 14th 1944'.
After the last fly-over of British planes
![MWrightJ[Ser#-DoB]-150527-12.jpg](https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/square_thumbnails/165/2152/MWrightJ[Ser -DoB]-150527-12.jpg "MWrightJ[Ser#-DoB]-150527-12.jpg")
A communique written by the Swiss authorities after a mass fly over of RAF aircraft. Two aircraft crashed, bombs and propaganda leaflets were dropped. The area most affected was Fribourg but three other areas reported bombing - Riggisberg, Flammart…
Interview with Romualdo Siccardi
Romualdo Siccardi (b. 1926) remembers the bombing of the Borgo San Paolo gas holder in Turin, November 1942, when he was 16. He mentions, briefly, makeshift shelters in basements deemed tantamount to death traps and gives a detailed account of the…
Interview with Aldo Magnaghi
Aldo Magnaghi (b. 1927) remembers the bombings of Milan and explains how his house was not directly hit but rather heavily damaged by blast waves. He describes phosphorus loaded incendiaries, their effects on wooden structures, and how civilians…
Interview with Günter Lucks
Günter Lucks (b. 1925) describes how he was forced to join the Hitler Youth in 1939, an event that caused a great deal of disturbance in a family with a strong communist background. When his parents moved out, because of his father’s job as…
Interview with Marta Papotti
Marta Papotti (b. 1937) remembers the bombings of Turin and how she and her family dashed to the shelter in the basement. She recalls the sense of community and describes people reciting the rosary or just chatting. She describes how her father, the…
Interview with Laura Perego
Laura Perego (b. 1919) tells how her village, on the outskirts of Milan, went through the war almost unscathed, despite being close to an ammunition dump and other potential targets. She remembers a mysterious, badly dressed man who lived in a nearby…
Interview with Rosetta Gobetti
Rosetta Gobetti (b. 1930) describes the bombing of a marsh near Isola della Scala, describing it as, probably, target mis-identification. She recalls a more severe bombing which destroyed many houses and killed 28 people. She gives a short…
Interview with Luigia Colussi
Luigia Colussi (b. 1925) gives a short account of her wartime life and describes how she persuaded German troops to release her father. She talks about the contrast between the attitude of adults (who prayed and were generally worried by the…
Interview with Carlo Bertolo
Carlo Bertolo (b. 1939) remembers a bombing of Turin when incendiaries were dropped. He recalls how one of them hit his house, but it was stopped by a trunk full of clothes before it could reach the shelter.
Interview with Anna Maria Baccolini
Anna Maria Baccolini (b. 1933) recalls the first bombing of Turin, aimed at the Lingotto industrial area. She describes the impressive sight of the city burning and highlights the effects of nearby hits. She remembers the tender gesture of her father…
Interview with Mirco Marelli
Mirco Marelli describes a bombing raid on the factory where he worked in 1941: when the alarm sounded, bombs started falling but he was too far from any of the shelters, so he and a friend took cover under a staircase. He highlights how shocking it…