Cologne Raid - Flying Officer Friend

Flying Officer Friend, a Lancaster bomb-aimer, gives an account of a raid on Cologne, describing the flight across Holland and the sight of the burning city from the air.

Flying Officer Friend describes the sight of Holland from the air, and a glow on the horizon which was eventually discovered to be Cologne burning. He describes smoke and flames as seen from the bomb-aimer’s position, recalls his briefing on selection of a target, comments on the bomb load and describes the sight of bombs exploding below, burning buildings and other aircraft.