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![RAF Bomber Target Indicators, Hamburg](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18700.png?v=1710362385-1710362457)
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RAF Bomber Target Indicators, Hamburg
A shower of target indicators (TIs) dropped during the RAF bombing raids of the German city of Hamburg in July-August 1943. The raid caused a firestorm which killed over 44,000 civilians. (Imperial War Museums Collection)
![Battle of the Ruhr](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18808.png?v=1716346263-1712776751)
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Battle of the Ruhr
The Battle of the Ruhr or the Ruhr Air Offensive (March-July 1943) was a sustained bombing campaign by the British and the United States air forces against the industrial heartland of Germany during the Second World War (1939-45). The offensive...
![Allied Bombing of Germany](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18762.png?v=1720595107-1712137805)
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Allied Bombing of Germany
The Allied strategic bombing of Germany during World War II (1939-45) involved British and U.S. bomber planes attacking industrial cities, factories, railways, airfields, and dams. Over 600,000 civilians died as a consequence. The campaign...
![Lancaster Bomber](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18650.png?v=1720897563-1709668427)
Definition
Lancaster Bomber
The Avro 683 Lancaster bomber was a four-engine heavy bomber flown by the Royal Air Force and allies during the Second World War (1939-45). Lancasters were particularly used in nighttime bombing raids and could carry the heaviest bombs ever...
![B-17 Flying Fortress](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18776.jpg?v=1713139382-1712083247)
Definition
B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was a four-engined heavy bomber plane used by the air forces of the United States and Britain during the Second World War (1939-45). The B-17 had unusually heavy defensive armament, 13 machine guns in total...
![Operation Chastise](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18670.png?v=1712748063-1709840927)
Definition
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise, the 'Dambusters' raid, was an attack by a squadron of RAF Lancaster bombers on the dams of the Ruhr basin in Germany in May 1943. Led by Squadron Leader Guy Gibson, the bombers breached two dams causing enormous flooding...
![Operation Gomorrah](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18688.png?v=1712748003-1710272007)
Definition
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah (aka the Battle of Hamburg or Hamburg Air Offensive) was a sustained area bombing campaign of the German port of Hamburg in four night attacks by the Royal Air Force and two daytime attacks by the United States Air Force...
![Golden Age of Piracy](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/14704.png?v=1723748883)
Definition
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730) refers to a period when robbery on the high seas and at colonial ports reached an unprecedented level. Although not all historians agree on the precise time frame, it is generally applied to those pirates...
![The Thousand-bomber Raid on Cologne in 1942](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18732.png?v=1714739043-1711814259)
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The Thousand-bomber Raid on Cologne in 1942
Cologne (Köln) was the first German city to experience a "1,000-bomber raid" by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War (1939-45). The attack took place on the night of 30 May 1942 and was planned as a demonstration of the destruction...
![The Bombing of Dresden in 1945](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/c/p/360x202/18758.png?v=1722536343-1711567765)
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The Bombing of Dresden in 1945
The bomber raid on Dresden was a controversial and highly destructive combined operation by Royal Air Force Lancaster bombers and United States Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress bombers on 13, 14, and 15 February and 2 March 1945. The raid was...