Bombing of Cologne in World War II

A total of 34,711 long tons (35,268 t) of bombs were dropped on the city,[2] and 20,000 civilians died during the war in Cologne due to aerial bombardments.

[6] The Admiralty perceived the propaganda justifications too weak an argument against the real and pressing threat of the U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Minimising the former demanded a densely packed stream, as the controllers of a night fighter flying a defensive 'box' could only direct a maximum of six potential interceptions per hour, and the flak gunners could not concentrate on all the available targets at once.

Earlier in the war, four hours had been considered acceptable for a mission; for this raid all the bombers passed over Cologne and bombed it in a window of 90 minutes, with the first having arrived at 0:47 am on 31 May.

It was anticipated that the concentration of bombing over such a short period would overwhelm the Cologne fire brigades and cause conflagrations similar to those inflicted on London by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz.

A posthumous Victoria Cross was awarded to Flying Officer Leslie Manser who sacrificed himself so his crew could abandon the Avro Manchester aircraft.