+ Symbol key Symbol Air force German Luftwaffe German OKW V-2 forces NOTE: V-2 rocket air operations were conducted by various German Army units, but operational orders were issued by a Joint Services (OKW) command. Polish Air Force French Air Force United Kingdom Royal Air ForceBomber Command Campaign diary Italian Regia Aeronautica Soviet Union Red Army Air Force Finnish Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force Romanian Air Force Royal Hungarian Air Force United States Army Air Forces1942: January , February , March , April , May , June , July , August , September , October , November , December 1943: January , February , March , April , May , June , July , August , September , October , November , December 1944: January , February , March , April , May , June , July , August , September , October , November , December 1945: January , February , March , April , May , June , July , August , September NOTE: The Chronicles for inaccurately list the BATTY mission as an Aphrodite mission United States Artillery Observers Royal Bulgarian Air Force
This World War II timeline of European Air Operations lists notable military events in the skies of the European Theater of Operations of World War II from the Invasion of Poland to Victory in Europe Day. The list includes combined arms operations, defensive anti-aircraft warfare, and encompasses areas within the territorial waters of belligerent European states.Air offensive or defensive operations does not include cargo operations such as Operation Carpetbagger or reconnaissance from air.
__NOTOC__ 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945
1939 1 September: At 4:40am the Luftwaffe starts World War II with the terror bombing of the Polish city of Wieluń. At 8:00am German ground forces cross the Polish border launching the invasion of Poland.
1 September: The Luftwaffe begins Operation Wasserkante, the first air attacks against Warsaw, as part of the invasion of Poland.
2 September: Single PZL.23B of the 21st Bomber Squadron of Polish Military Aviation bombs a factory in Ohlau. The attack represented the first Allied bombing raid to be conducted against a target in territory within the Third Reich.
3 September: Flying officer Andrew McPherson is the first Royal Air Force pilot to cross the German coast after the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi Germany. Flying a Bristol Blenheim from 139 Squadron, his mission is to identify German maritime targets around Wilhelmshaven.
3 September: The RAF launches its first raid of the war over Germany territory. Eighteen Handley Page Hampdens and nine Vickers Wellingtons are sent to attack the German warships moored at the Wilhelmshaven naval base. However poor visibility prevents the bombers from finding any targets before nightfall so they return.
4 September: The RAF launches another bombing operation against German shipping. Fourteen Wellingtons from 9 and 149 Squadrons attack Brunsbuttel and 15 Bristol Blenheims from 107 and 110 Squadrons raid Wilhelmshaven bay. Five Blenheims and three Vickers Wellingtons are shot down through a combination of Messerschmitt Bf 109s and flak. They become the first British aircraft losses on the Western Front. Among those killed was pilot Flying Officer Brian Lightoller, the youngest son of Titanic survivor Charles Lightoller.
4 September: The first British airman to be taken prisoner was Sergeant George Booth, a RAF Observer from 107 Squadron. He was captured after his Bristol Blenheim was shot down over the German coast.
13 September: The Bombing of Frampol was the war's first area bombardment
20 September: The first recorded RAF "kill" of the Second World War is the shooting down of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 by air observer Sergeant F Letchford aboard a Fairey Battle flown by Flying Officer LH Baker from 88 Squadron.88 Squadron history , Ministry of Defence
20 September: The first recorded kill of the French Armee de l'Air is credited to Sergeant André-Armand Legrand, flying a Curtis H75A-1 in the Groupe de Chasse II/5 La Fayette, for downing a Messerschmitt Bf 109E of the Luftwaffe 3/JG 53 over Überherrn.Brindley, John F. (1971). French Fighters of World War Two, p. 52. Hylton Lacy, London.
27 September: The Luftwaffe ceases its bombing campaign against Warsaw after its Polish garrison surrenders to German forces. Approximately 1,150 sorties were flown by a wide variety of aircraft, including obsolete Junkers Ju 52/3m bombers.
30 November: The Winter War between Soviet Union and Finland starts. Three hours after the Red Army had crossed the border and started the Winter War, Helsinki is bombed. Throughout the war, the Soviet Air Force has the air superiority and several cities in Finland are targeted.
18 December: The first use of radar for defence (an "experimental Freya radar") gave warning of RAF bombers near the German Bight as they made an attack on Wilhelmshaven. However the German fighters were not permitted to intercept until visual confirmation was made - the bombers were attacked after they had dropped their bombs.
1940 21 April: A bombing raid on Norway kills the first American military officer killed in World War II.
13 May: Luftflotte 3 (supported by Luftflotte 2) in the Battle of France executed the heaviest air bombardment to date (300 sorties)--the most intense by World War II Luftwaffe.
14 May: Under cover of Adolf Galland's air wing and after dummy paratroopers were airdropped (imitating battle noises after landing), Fort Eben-Emael was taken by glider troops during the Battle of Belgium.
14 May: The Rotterdam Blitz ended the Battle of the Netherlands
15 May: A kill shared by French pilot René Mouchotte and Englishman Jack Charles becomes the 1,000th victim of RAF Biggin Hill fighters--Vickers threw a "fabulous party"
15 May: The RAF lost the 100th of its France-based bombers. In 72 hours, it had lost half of its offensive force.
15/16 May: In the first large-scale World War II strategic bombing and the first attack on the German "backcountry", just 24 of 96 dispatched bombers found the Ruhr Area power stations and refineries.
19 May: French fighters strafed advanced columns of Operation Abendsegen
27 May 1940: Heinkels bombarded the Dunkirk perimeter followed by Stukas and Dorniers: opposition included the "first major encounter" by Spitfires of No. 74 Squadron RAF.
27/28 May: A No. 10 Squadron RAF Armstrong Whitworth Whitley tail gunner was the first in the RAF to down a German fighter.
2 June: Robert Stanford Tuck led a wing of Spitfires from RAF Martlesham Heath, the first "big formation" of the war, against eight Heinkel He IIIs and about 25 Messerschmitt Bf 109s over the Calais area.
3 June: Operation Paula was Nazi Germany's "single attempt at strategic air warfare during the French campaign."
7-8 June: French Air Force raid is the first air raid against Berlin.
9 June: Germany attains air supremacy in the Battle of France
June 11/12: First British bombing of Italy with a raid on Turin.
26 June: The RAF Advanced Air Striking Force disbanded after beginning operations in France in May
24 July: Ferrying of Luftwaffe aircraft to the Channel Coast ended the first phase of the Battle of Britain
9 August: The Birmingham Blitz began and (along with Hull Blitz) became the basis for the RAF dehousing bombing policy in 1942.
25 August: First RAF raid on Berlin
7 September: The Blitz bombing of Britain began with 57 nights of air raids
8 September: Three Dornier Do 17 bombers are downed by a single shot from a "Territorial gun crew" near Farnington.
9 September: A bombing raid on Tel Aviv caused 137 deaths.
19 October: Four SM.82 bombers attacked American-operated oil refineries in the British Protectorate of Bahrain, damaging the local refineries.Air Raid! A Sequel Aramco World Magazine, Volume 27, Number 4, July/August 1976. The raid also struck Dhahran in Saudi Arabia, but causing little damage.
15 September: In a single day, the Luftwaffe loses 60 aircraft over England during the Battle of Britain
14 November: In the Coventry Blitz Luftwaffe aircraft cause significant, and infamous, damage to Coventry, killing nearly 700 people and destroying Coventry Cathedral.
30 November: The second phase of The Blitz began against British industrial and port cities
1941 10 February : Operation Colossus, the first British paratrooper raid, blew up a strategic aqueduct in Calitri southern Italy.
31 March/1 April: A bombing raid on Emden is the first use of the HC "cookie" blockbuster bomb
15 April: The Belfast Blitz kills 1000, the greatest loss of British lives outside London from a night raid.
10 May: The longest blitz air raid on London killing 2324 people and 11,000 houses.
22 June - 3 July: In the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa, the Luftwaffe achieved air superiority by destroying some 2,000 Soviet aircraft, at a loss of only 35 aircraft (of which 15 were non-combat-related).
8 July First use of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in Europe; against Wilhelmshaven
8–9 August: The Red Army Air Force began a limited bombing offensive with a raid on Berlin.McBride, Gisela R.: Through my eyes: memoirs of Hitler's Berlin. Hamilton Books, 2006, page 209.
15 August: Robert Stanford Tuck led the first air mission by fighters based in eastern England against enemy-occupied territories in a "Rhubarb" sweep of the Netherlands for ground targets by two Hawker Hurricanes .
18 August: A 18 Squadron Blenheim dropped an artificial leg over France for captured Wing Commander Douglas Bader.
7/8 September: The heaviest RAF raid on Berlin to date, with 197 bombers, with 15 bombers lost.
7 November: A large raid on Berlin lost 20 bombers and caused little damage. The head of Bomber Command, Richard Peirse, was subsequently replaced in February 1942 by Arthur Harris.
7/8 December: 251 bombers target Aachen and Brest—the Brest attack was the first operational use of the Oboe navigation system
18 December: Blenheim aircraft conducted the first night intruder attack, successfully striking Soesterberg airfield in the Netherlands with bombs and attacking two German bombers in the air with guns
1942 16 February: The first regular operations with the American Douglas Boston bomber were conducted.
8/9 March: The first city raid following 14 February Area bombing directive bombed Essen.
13/14 March: Gee radio navigation was first used during a bombing of Cologne.
25/26 March: In the largest force (254 aircraft) sent to a single target to date, bombers of an Essen mission were drawn off by decoy fire from Rheinberg.
28/29 March: The Bombing of Lübeck was the 1st major success for RAF Bomber Command against a German city.
8/9 April: The largest force to date (272 aircraft) bomb Hamburg.
17 April: The Augsburg Raid is the first to attempt low-level daylight bombing for accuracy - in this case against the factory producing engines for U-boats. Half of the 12 bombers were shot down for little damage caused.
23–29 April: The first period of the Baedeker Blitz bomb the provincial cities of Exeter, Bath, Norwich, and York.
23–27 April: Bombing of Rostock.
30 May: The first use of the bomber stream and the first British large scale operation, as part of Operation Millennium the first "Thousand Bomber" raid is sent against Cologne, Germany. Of the 1,047 aircraft sent, nearly 900 bombed the target area - the whole raid passing over in 90 minutes.
1/2 June: The second thousand-bomber raid is launched, this time targeting Essen. 956 aircraft were dispatched but the target was obscured and bombing was not effective.
11–12 June: First American daylight raid over European soil, against petroleum wells in Ploiești, Romania, along with objectives in Bulgaria, the first stages of American Bombing offensive.
25/26 June: The third "Thousand bomber" raid bombs Bremen, a new record of RAF Bomber Command losses (48 of 1,067 aircraft).