22-28 July 1943

Overview

This was the week of the beginning of the attacks on Hamburg, which led to the fire storm resulting in the death of 40,000 people on the ground and the evacuation of over 1,200,000 more. It was also the first use of Window, strips of black paper, exactly 27 x 2 cms with thin aluminium foil stuck to one side, which completely confused the German radar, producing false echoes. This worked for a few weeks and losses were reduced, but the Germans soon adapted their tactics to counter this new technology.

Although Hamburg was outside the range of Oboe (see earlier post for description) it was thought to be suitable for H2S, the ground seeking radar, which seemed to work best when flying over water.

12 Sqn took part in two attacks to Hamburg and one to Essen this week and one aircraft was lost.