Bombing of Darmstadt in World War II

[2] Darmstadt had several major industrial targets including Merck and Rohm and Haas chemical works as well as military communications networks.

5 Group RAF failed when the Master Bomber had to return to base and his deputies were shot down en route.

5 Group RAF on the night of the 11/12 September 1944, when 226 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos were directed to the medieval city centre, as houses there were mainly built of wood.

[8] The RAF lost 12 Lancasters, 5.3 per cent of the bomber force,[8] having encountered an unusually large number of German fighters.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary Campaign Diary for September 1944 states:The Darmstadt raid, with its extensive fire destruction and its heavy casualties, was held by the Germans to be an extreme example of RAF 'terror bombing' and remains a sensitive subject because of the claimed absence of any major industries in the city.