After two years of effort, RAF Bomber Command developed the techniques to inflict huge losses on an enemy city by means of a massive bombing attack and the creation of a firestorm. In late July, Bomber Command attacked Hamburg, Germany’s second-largest city, and devastated it.
This photograph of a residential neighborhood in Hamburg was taken from an RAF bomber shortly after the war ended. Most of the gutted shells you see were once multi-story apartment buildings. (You can tell this photo was taken after the war, because the streets have been cleared of rubble.)
- Listen now:
Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening War Theme
“British Grenadiers”
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by the Regimental Band of the Royal Regiment of Canada. Public domain recording.
Closing War Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.