Target folder, operation number GO. 1189, Hamburg, 1942-1944

Target information folder prepared by the Air Ministry Target Section, giving details of the Tiefstack thermal electric power station and the Hamburg gas works.,

Hamburg was a major port and industrial area and was targeted many times by the RAF and USAAF throughout the war as it was relatively easy for navigators to locate. The heaviest raids occurred during the last week of July 1943. Beginning on the night of 24/25 July, the RAF launched Operation GOMORRAH, with 3 night-time raids of nearly 800 RAF aircraft attacking the city. At the same time the United States Army Air Forces conducted day-time raids. The sustained bombing resulted in a ferocious firestorm, killing an estimated 37,000 civilians and wounding 180,000 more, virtually destroying most of the city.