Part of Western Allied Campaign in Romania and Strategic bombing campaign in Europe
B-24 Liberator bombers of the 455th Bombardment Group over Bucharest on 4 April 1944
Date
April 4 to August 26, 1944
Location
Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania
Belligerents
Fifteenth Air Force No. 205 Group
Royal Romanian Air Force Luftwaffe
Commanders and leaders
Carl Spaatz Arthur Tedder
Gheorghe Jienescu Alfred Gerstenberg
Casualties and losses
Civilians: 5,524 killed, 3,373 wounded
Main article: Bombing of Romania in World War II
v
t
e
Romanian military actions in World War II
Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
Diosig
Treznea
As part of the Axis (1941–1944)
Bucharest
Constanța
München
Uman
Odessa
Azov
Sevastopol
Rostov
Kerch
Kharkov
Blue
Edelweiss
Stalingrad
Uranus
Winter Storm
Little Saturn
Western Allied Campaign in Romania (Tidal Wave, Bucharest)
Kerch-Eltigen
Dnieper
Dnieper–Carpathian
Uman–Botoșani
1st Jassy–Kishinev
Crimea
Lublin–Brest
2nd Jassy–Kishinev
As part of the Allies (1944–1945)
Turda
Păuliș
Debrecen
Budapest
Bratislava–Brno
Prague
The Bucharest World War II bombings were primarily Allied bombings of railroad targets and those of the Oil Campaign of World War II, but included a bombing by Nazi Germany after the 1944 coup d'état. Bucharest stored and distributed much of Ploiești's refined oil products.[1][2]
The first operation was a sequence of 17 aerial bombardments, starting with the one of April 4, 1944. The bombings were carried out over a period of about 4 months by the United States Air Force and the British Royal Air Force, with approximately 3,640 bombers of different types, accompanied by about 1,830 fighters. As collateral damage, 5,524 inhabitants were killed, 3,373 were injured, and 47,974 were left homeless.[3] The second operation was executed by the German Luftwaffe in retaliation for Romania having changed sides (immediately after the fall of the fascist regime headed by Ion Antonescu), and took place on August 23–26, 1944.[4]
Taking into account the large number of victims and damage caused, the aerial bombings of 1944 represent the greatest tragedy in the history of Bucharest in the twentieth century.[5]
^Stout 2011, p. 190.
^Dobrovicescu, Lucian. "Aprilie 1944. Moartea vine din cer: Bombardamentele aliate asupra României" [April 1944. Death comes from the sky: Allied bombing of Romania] (in Romanian). Historia. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
^"Bombardarea Bucureștilor în '44: mii de morți și sute de clădiri făcute praf" [The bombing of Bucharest in '44: thousands killed and hundreds of buildings destroyed]. Adevărul (in Romanian). February 22, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
^Armă, Alexandru (2019). "24 august 1944: Avioanele germane bombardează Bucureștiul" [August 24, 1944: German planes bomb Bucharest] (in Romanian). Historia. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
^Armă, Alexandru (2016). Rănile unui oraș: București bombardat (4 aprilie–26 august 1944) [Wounds of a city: Bucharest bombed (April 4–August 26, 1944)] (in Romanian). București: Editura Vremea. ISBN 978-9736457852. OCLC 988771379.
and 26 Related for: Bombing of Bucharest in World War II information
The BucharestWorldWarIIbombings were primarily Allied bombingsof railroad targets and those of the Oil Campaign ofWorldWarII, but included a bombing...
The bombingof Kobe inWorldWarII on March 16 and 17, 1945, was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States against military and...
The Allied bombingof Hamburg during WorldWarII included numerous attacks on civilians and civic infrastructure. As a large city and industrial centre...
The bombingof Warsaw inWorldWarII started with the aerial bombing campaign of Warsaw by the German Luftwaffe during the siege of Warsaw in the invasion...
(1983) "Bombing Policy in the Rome and Pre-Normandy Invasion Aerial Campaigns ofWorldWarII: Bridge-Bombing Strategy Vindicated – and Railyard-Bombing Strategy...
The bombingof Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during...
of Cologne was bombedin 262 separate air raids by the Allies during WorldWarII, all by the Royal Air Force (RAF). A total of 34,711 long tons of bombs...
During WorldWarII, the industrial town of Essen, was a target of Allied strategic bombing. The Krupp steelworks was an important industrial target, Essen...
the Second WorldWar, Dublin was first bombed early on the morning of 2 January 1941, when German bombs were dropped on the Terenure area of south Dublin...
The bombingof Romania inWorldWarII comprised two series of events: until August 1944, Allied operations, and, following the overthrow of Ion Antonescu's...
World War. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch army to surrender. Bombing began...
The bombingof Yokkaichi inWorldWarII (四日市空襲, Yokkaichi kūshū) on June 18, 1945, was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States...
center in Italy, and the country's second largest city, Milan was subjected to heavy bombing during WorldWarII, being the most bombed city in Northern...
bombingof Podgorica inWorldWarII was carried out by the Allies from 1943 to 1944 at the request of the Yugoslav Partisans. Between the two World Wars...
The Bombingof Akita inWorldWarII (秋田空襲, Akita-kūshū), also known as the Tsuchizaki Air Raid (土崎大空襲, Tsuchizaki-Dai-kūshū), on the night of August 14...
During WorldWarII, the Estonian capital Tallinn suffered from many instances of aerial bombing by the Soviet air force and the German Luftwaffe. The...
The Bombingof Hamamatsu inWorldWarII (浜松空襲, Hamamatsu Kushu) was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States of America against...
The Bombingof Hiratsuka inWorldWarII (平塚大空襲, Hiratsuka dai-kūshū) was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States against military...