WW2 Summer Bomber Ops

[K.Whyjelly]

Flying back to UK the other morning routing up through Austria into Southern Germany and then Belgium before making Blighty I pondered on the following thought. The sun came up at very early o,clock over Austria and the cover of darkness was gone (it was about 0300z). Did bomber ops in WW11 take into account the short amount of darkness in the summer months and as a result lead to less missions in the summer as opposed to those conducted in the winter when the protective cover of darkness lasted longer???

[windriver]

Yes.. certainly. Berlin was a good example. Harris in his book Bomber Command makes this point.

[WHBM]

The current elapsed sunset-sunrise times, for getting on for the shortest day of the year, are :

Brussels - 2158 to 0526
Vienna - 2057 to 0452.

Now knock off an hour at each end to give really good darkness and it still gives some 5 hours of darkness which at 210 mph will get you about 450 miles into enemy territory and back. Bear in mind that Germany is broadly south of the UK so will have longer nights in June (and longer days in December). So depart in the evening light, full darkness over the North Sea, time for the mission before sun up as you return over the North Sea.

Difficult for Berlin or Munich, but my father told me that, summer or winter, Hamm railway yards near Dusseldorf was a favourite target and that was well within range.

[Blacksheep]

Bear in mind that those are ground level times and that in summer twilight times are extended. The actual hours of true darkness at bombing altitudes are down to around four hours at most.