Despatch on War Operations, 23rd February, 1942, to 8th May, 1945This is a document of immense historical significance. Published here with an introduction by Sebastian Cox, a German viewpoint from Horst Boog, and a formerly confidential air staff memorandum commenting on the Despatch, it constitutes one of the most important records relating to the Second World War. Was Harris a hero or a war criminal? Today, because of his role in overseeing the large-scale bombing of German civilian targets, Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris is one of the most controversial figures of the Second World War. This Despatch, his official report on his war operations, gives Harris's own point of view in more detail than any other document. For many years Harris's Despatch was classified. When it was declassified it remained unpublished and was, in practice, accessible only to a small number of people who were 'in the know'. Now, for the first time, it is available in a form which will allow the general public to form its own opinion. In this document matter of fact descriptions of the destruction of entire cities sit side-by-side with technical considerations of bombing technique, defensive tactics, and striking power. Harris's concise, carefully-argued report was accompanied by numerous detailed statistical tables and graphs and these are all reproduced here. |
Contents
List of Illustrations | viii |
Editorial Preface by Sebastian Cox | ix |
Introduction by Sebastian Cox | xi |
Harris A German View by Horst Boog | xxxvi |
Aircraft Armaments and Results of the Bomber Offensive | xlvii |
The Despatch | 4 |
6 | |
Part I Introduction | 7 |
Part II The Course of the Campaign | 9 |
Part III Summary of the Bombing Effort and Results | 33 |
Part IV Conclusions | 39 |
Part V Statistics and Graphs | 41 |
Appendices | 63 |
Air Staff Memorandum | 205 |
Other editions - View all
Despatch on War Operations, 23rd February, 1942, to 8th May, 1945 Sir Arthur Travers Harris No preview available - 1995 |
Common terms and phrases
accuracy achieved aiming point Air Force Air Ministry Air Staff aircrew airfields Appendix April armament attacks August Battle of Berlin became Berlin Bomber Command bomber force bomber offensive bomber stream bombsight carried cent centres cities cloud concentration countermeasures crews D-Day damage December Despatch device dropped effect effort enemy defences enemy fighters enemy's equipment Essen factories February File Ref flares Flying Control forecast fuze German Graph ground Group guns Halifax Halifax III Harris Harris's heavy bombers incendiary increased jamming January July June Lancaster loss Luftwaffe main force MANDREL March markers marking meteorological method minelaying mines months Mosquito navigation night fighter number of aircraft OBOE organisation Paras Pathfinder Force period planned Pointblank Directive possible PRO AIR production radar raids re-equipment route Ruhr September sorties squadrons stations Stirlings strategic bombing success tactical technique tonnage tons towns turret U-Boat visual weather conditions Wellington