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| Bombing of Vienna
in World War II |
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Until
1944,
Vienna
was out of reach of British long-range bombers, which is why it was
often referred to as the “Reich's Air Raid Shelter”. Only after the
Allied invasion of Italy was the city within the reach of the
American bomber flotillas that had their main base in
Foggia. |
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| The first air raid on Vienna took place
on 17
March 1944.
The primary goal of the raid was to halt fuel production in the
Floridsdorf refinery and to mine the
Danube
waterway. In
June 1944,
following the
Normandy Invasion the greater part of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe)
was transferred to the West. Yet American and British air forces were to
take their worst losses during this period. This was because the
remaining
Luftwaffe forces around Vienna were few in number but the pilots
were very well trained. As a result, one tenth of 550 bombers were shot
down.
The air defences of Vienna were aided by a ring of
anti-aircraft batteries set up around the city and three pairs of
so-called
Flak towers. these were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses built
right in the city. Due to the increasing lack of fuel, by autumn
1944,
artillery on the ground was the only defence against air raids. It
typically took some 5,000 small calibre and 3,400 large calibre shells
to bring down one bomber. During the day, one out of 125 planes was shot
down on average. During the night, this dropped to only one out of 145.
However, roughly one third of the bombers and escorts suffered heavy
damage. |
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| This mission would have made a
double mission if we would have returned. It was Friday the 13th
of October 1944, a day I will never forget. The target for the
day was Vienna, Austria with maximum effort of 6 squadrons of 7
aircraft each to make a group effort of 42 airplanes. We had the
number 2 place in the squadron which put us in front. But, on
takeoff the left fuel cell in the wing funneled the fuel out as
the cap was not secured properly, so we aborted and landed. The
standby plane was all ready and waiting so we unloaded, taking
our flak vests with us to the standby aircraft. After we boarded,
we noted the plane had a set of vests aboard, but we kept all
these plus the ones we wore. We laid the other set on the floor
for extra safety from flak. When we returned to the squadron we
took the seventh place in the flight, known as Tailend-Charley,
and we were off to our target. The aircraft was named Our Gal
serial number 44-41152, Model J. |
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Enroute to target,
Vienna,
13 October 1944 |
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We had cloud cover under us most
of the way, which helped in some ways, but we had to keep a
sharp eye for fighters coming out of the clouds. As we came near
the IP, the turning point to the target, the sky was clear over
the target, which also gave the Jerrys a clear target. The flak
was very heavy 88mm, 105mm and 155mm. Although we flew at
different altitudes, 20,000 feet and up, we were flying at about
24,000 feet and there was so much flak that it rattled the
aircraft continually. Whatever happened to number three of our
squadron, we do not know, as the aircraft slid back and on bomb
release dropped its bombs onto the number six aircraft. The
explosion off our right wing was terrific. As I picked myself
off the floor I put on my parachute.
After putting on my parachute, I noted the damage, a large hole
in the right side of the aircraft just forward of where I was
standing manning the waist gun. Also the number three engine was
windmilling out of control and was sitting cocked in the cowling,
which caused a lot of drag. About this same time, shells (155mm)
went through the Bombay without exploding, leaving the fuel to
soak the four of us in the rear with 100 octane fuel. We were
sure that we had bought the end. Eddie-Joe put on his goggles
and watched for a signal from the skipper while sitting in a
spray of fuel. Next was a fire in number one engine and then on
to number two engine. When the tail section started to melt, we
got Lenny out of his turret and about the same time Eddie-Joe
gave the signal to abandon the aircraft. |
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Photo taken on 13 October 1944 from Capt.
R. E. Smith’s ship during the time over the target at Vienna.
Nose gunner, S/Sgt. J. C. Easier was hit and injured in the
left arm by flack at the target. |
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| We had opened the hatch earlier,
just in case of an urgent bailout. We were ready with our
parachutes on and checked and had agreed on the order we would
go out. I was designated first to go out and dropped out. I free
fell about 5,000 feet and pulled my parachute ring. The
parachute snapped out and a buckle on the straps hit me in the
mouth, breaking a tooth off at gum line. The few minutes that I
was riding the parachute down I saw the rest of the crew down
the line and, as I neared the ground, I saw farm workers running
to about where I would land. Landing in a cornfield, I gathered
my parachute up and stuck it into a corn shock and sat down to
put on my shoes. When flying I wore heated shoes with flight
boots to keep my feet warm. But just in case, I had wired a pair
of shoes to a snap-ring on the seat ring of my harness. As I
unwired my shoes and was putting them on, the field workers came.
They ran by at first but then a fellow with a double barrel
shotgun came and laid it on my nose. The language barrier was
there and I thought this would be it. I got up and was given my
parachute and boots to carry and marched off toward a small
hamlet with old double barrel jabbing me in the back. It
appeared that he was quite provoked at us because we were “terror-fligers.”
Part way I met the bombardier assigned to our crew for this
mission, Vern Drower. The uniformed military took us on into the
village and I was glad to get rid of shotgun. |
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| Text source in extracts: John
C. Schumacher’s Story of WW II |
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| Tactics and effects |
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Until the end of the war, British and
American forces did not find a consensus about the ways of attacking.
The Royal Air Force staged their raids mostly during the night time when
the risks of losses from anti-aircraft fire and German fighter planes
were lower but on the other hand conditions for precise strikes were
worse. British planes did not fly in strict formation and every crew had
to find and hit its target by itself. The United States Army Air Force,
though, flying in strict formation and accompanied by fighter planes to
fend off enemy aircraft attacks, mostly attacked by daylight to blow
their strikes with more precision. Bombs were dropped on command by the
formation leader. Since the forces did not agree on their tactics of
attacking, this resulted in “Around-the-clock-bombing” as raids occurred
at any time of the day.
Unlike some German cities, such as Dresden, there was almost no area
bombing but the attacks had tactical reasons. To a certain degree,
though, the effects of the raids were overestimated, because some
factories were moved to bomb-proof sites such as caves (e.g. the
Seegrotte near Hinterbrühl) or hidden in other ways. The military
industry even boosted its production, also by use of forced labour of
concentration camp inmates and POWs. Only fuel production came to a
virtual standstill, as refineries could not easily be transferred and
the transportation of crude oil on the Danube was no longer possible.
For traffic junctions, bypasses had been established well before the
bombings started. So traffic was hindered but did not come to a halt
until the very last days of the war. |
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| Early 1945 |
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| By early 1945 Vienna had already faced
1800 bombs. In February and March 1945, 80,000 tons of bombs were
dropped by US and British aircraft, killing about 30,000 people and
destroying more than 12,000 buildings. The city was being starved of
electricity, gas and water. 270,000 people were left homeless. |
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| 12 March 1945 |
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| On 12 March 1945 (the anniversary of the
"Anschluss"), the biggest air raid on the territory of what is now
Austria took place with 747 bombers and 229 fighter planes. The main
target, the Floridsdorf refinery, took no severe hits. Instead there was
heavy damage in the centre of the city which is only 15 flight seconds
away from Floridsdorf. The Vienna State Opera was burnt in the raid. All
decorations and 150,000 costumes were destroyed. The Burgtheater, too,
was hit and burnt and there was heavy damage of the Albertina, the
Heinrichshof (on Ringstraße) and the Messepalast (Trade Fair Palace).
Worst of all, the Philipphof (a block of appartements opposite to the
Albertina and the State Opera House) collapsed, burying some 200 people
who had sought shelter from the raid in its cellars. Most of the victims
have never been unearthed and there has not been another building set up
on the site. Instead, the Mahnmal gegen Krieg und Faschismus (Memorial
against War and Fascim) by Alfred Hrdlicka has been erected there. |
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| St. Stephen's
Cathedral |
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St. Stephen's Cathedral escaped damage
for most of World War II. This lasted until 11 April 1945. This is the
date when looters set fire to neighborhood shops and sparks ignited the
roof of the cathedral.
In the resulting inferno, a large portion of the upper sacristy, the
southern Heidenturm, the groin vault of the choir, and windows in the
West facade were severely damaged. The 1100 pound Pummerin, the largest
church bell in Austria, was destroyed, along with a famous organ built
in 1886 by the organbuilding Walcker dynasty. Only the clapper of the
bell survived.
On 12 April, just one day later, 22-ton bombs shattered on the floor of
the church. |
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| Insgeschen. |
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Text source in extracts: |
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| WIKIPEDIA - the free
encyclopedia |
| Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia
with more than 100 languages, where everyone can
contribute with their knowledge |
| de.wikipedia.org |
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| further Information about |
| Bombing of Vienna |
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