Overview
The later part of this week marked the beginning of what Sir Arthur Harris called the Battle of the Ruhr (5/6 March to 24 July 1943), relying on concentrated bombing of a specific area until that area was destroyed. As we will see, not all the targets were in the Ruhr, although around two thirds were, mainly to prevent the Germans from concentrating all their ground and air defense systems in that one area. Other reasons for choosing the Ruhr was the shorter distance to travel as the nights in Spring and Summer were shorter and the fact that the Oboe blind marking system was still effective at that range.
12 Sqn took part in 3 operations this week, to Berlin, Hamburg and Essen – one aircraft with all its crew were lost.
Extract from 12 Sqn Diary
Extract from Appendix to the Operational Record Book – 12 Sqn
RAF Wickenby - This week in history - World War 2 