List of air operations during the Battle of Europe

Symbols German Luftwaffe German OKW V-2 forces Polish Air Force French Air Force United Kingdom Royal Air Force

1940: May-June (Battle of France) July-December June-October (Battle of Britain) 1941: January-April May-August September- December 1942: 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(D-Day), July, August, September, October, November, December 1945 January, February, March, April 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 Forces

1942: 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 August 13, 1944 inaccurately list the BATTY mission as an APHRODITE mission 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.

1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945

1939
September 1: The 4:40 am Bombing of Wieluń began World War II at the start of the Invasion of Poland and was the first World War II terror bombing

September 4: F/O Andrew McPherson and crew were the first RAF members to fly into enemy airspace: targets were German warships at Wilhelmshaven,

September 4: The first RAF bombing attack of the war was made on German shipping at Brunsbuttel: two Wellingtons became the first aircraft shot down on the Western Front.

September 4: The first POW was Sergeant George Booth, RAF Observer on a Blenheim when it was shot down over the German coast.

September 13: The Bombing of Frampol was the war's first area bombardment

December 18: 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. Not until visual confirmation was made were German fighters launched - they intercepted the bombers after they had dropped bombs.

1940
April 21: A bombing raid on Norway kills the first American military officer killed in World War II.

May 13: 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.

May 14: 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 in Belgium.

May 14: The Rotterdam Blitz ended the Battle of the Netherlands

May 15: A kill shared by French pilot Rene Mouchotte and Englishman Jack Charles becomes the 1,000th victim of Biggin Hill fighters--Vickers threw a "fabulous party"

May 15: The RAF lost the 100th of its France-based bombers - half the attacking force was lost in 72 hours.

May 15/16: In the 1st large-scale World War II strategic bombing and the 1st attack on the German "backcountry", just 24 of 96 dispatched bombers found the Ruhr Area power stations and refineries.

May 19: French fighters strafed advanced columns of Operation Abendsegen

 May 27, 1940: Heinkels bombarded the Dunkirk perimeter followed by Stukas and Dorniers: opposition included the "first major encounter"  by Spitfires of No. 74 Squadron RAF.

May 27/28: A No. 10 Squadron RAF Whitley tail gunner was the first in the RAF to down a German fighter.

June 2: Robert Stanford Tuck led a wing of Spitfires from RAF Martlesham Heath, the first "big formation" of the war, against 8 Heinkel IIIs and about 25 Messerschmitt Bf-109s over the Calais area.

June 3: Operation Paula was Nazi Germany's "single attempt at strategic air warfare during the French campaign."

June 7–8: French Air Force raid is the first against Berlin.

June 9: Germany attains air supremacy in the Battle of France

June 11/12: First British bombing of Italy with a raid on Turin.

June 26: The RAF Advanced Air Striking Force disbanded after beginning operations in France in May

July 24: Ferrying of Luftwaffe aircraft to the Channel Coast ended the first phase of the Battle of Britain

August 9: The Birmingham Blitz began and (along with Hull Blitz) became the basis for the RAF dehousing bombing policy in 1942.

August 25: First RAF raid on Berlin

September 7: The Blitz bombing of Britain began with 57 nights of air raids

September 8: Three Dornier 17 bombers are downed by a single shot from a "Territorial gun crew" near Farnington.

September 15: In a single day, the Luftwaffe loses 60 aircraft over England during the Battle of Britain

November 30: The second phase of The Blitz began against British industrial and port cities

1941
January 21: As revenge for the British raids on Berlin, Germany started the Baby Blitz (planned since November 27).

10 February : Operation Colossus, the first British paratrooper raid, blew up an Italian aqueduct.

March 31/April 1: A bombing raid on Emden is the first use of the 4000 lb HC "cookie" blockbuster bomb

April 15: The Belfast Blitz kills 1000, the greatest loss of British lives outside of London from a night raid

June 22 - July 3: 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).

August 8–9: The Red Army Air Force began a limited bombing offensive with a raid on Berlin.

c. August 15: Robert Stanford Tuck led the first air mission by fighters based in eastern England against enemy-occupied territories in a "Rhubarb" sweep of Holland for ground targets by two Hawker Hurricanes.

August 18: A 18 Squadron Blenheim dropped an artificial leg over France for captured Wing Commander Douglas Bader.

November 7: A large raid on Berlin lost 20 bombers and caused little damage. The head of Bomber Command was subsequently replaced in February 1942.

December 7/8: 251 bombers target Aachen and Brest—the Brest attack was the first operational use of the Oboe navigation system

December 18: Blenheim aircraft conducted the first night intruder attack, successfully striking Soesterberg airfield in Holland with bombs and attacking two German bombers in the air with guns

1942
February 16: The first regular operations with the American Boston bomber were conducted.

March 8/9: The first city raid following the February 14 Area bombing directive bombed Essen.

March 13/14: Gee radio navigation was first used during a bombing of Cologne.

March 25/26: 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

March 28/29: The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II was the 1st major success for RAF Bomber Command against a German city.

April 8/9: The largest force to date (272 aircraft) bomb Hamburg

April 17: 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.

April 23–29: The first period of the Baedeker Blitz bomb the provincial cities of Exeter, Bath, Norwich, and York.

April 23–27: Bombing of Rostock.

May 30: 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.

June 11–12: First American daylight raid over European soil, against petroleum wells, in Ploiești Romania amongst objectives in Bulgaria the first stages of American Bombing offensive

June 25/26: The third "Thousand bomber" raid bombs Bremen, a new record of RAF Bomber Command losses (48 of 1,067 aircraft)

July 4: The first American bombing mission over enemy-occupied territory in Europe used 20 Boston bombers (plus 6 RAF-crewed Bostons) to attack the Alkmaar, Hammsted, and Valkenburg airfields -- only two reached the target area (two shot down, the others heavily damaged)

August 15: 82nd Airborne is the first US airborne division. (the first combat jumps were 8 November 1942 by the 509th Parachute Battalion in the North Africa Operation Torch).

August 17: The 87th bomber Squadron, led by Ira Eaker of the VIII Bomber Command, conducted the first "heavy bomber" attack on the European continent.

August 17: In a mission against the Rouen/Sotteville marshalling yard and the first all-US bombing raid, 2nd Lt Sam F Junkin becomes the first American pilot to down a German fighter

August 17: 12 B-17s of the 97 BG (including one with Eaker aboard) bombed the Sotteville railyard 3 mi North of Rouen, France, in the "first combat action" of the Eighth Air Force and the first B-17 bombing of Europe.

August/September: Case Blue included area bombardment during the Battle of Stalingrad

September 2/3: The first use of the 8000 lb High Capacity bomb (Blockbuster bomb) was against Karlsruhe.

October 24: 88 aircraft use independent routes over France to rendezvous at Lake Annecy for a daylight raid on Milan

December 12: B-17 303d Bombardment Group surrendered to the Luftwaffe and was assigned to Kampfgeschwader 200 in September 1943.

December 22: An unsuccessful Bombing of Frankfurt am Main in World War II was the first use of the Master Bomber tactic.

1943
January 27: The first World War II US mission flown against the German homeland bombs Wilhelmshaven.

March 5/6: The first raid of the Battle of the Ruhr flew RAF Bomber Command's 100,000th sortie of World War II, with 160 acres destroyed and 53 Krupps buildings bombed at Essen.

April 16/17:A force of 327 Lancasters and Halifaxes set out to destroy the Skoda arms factory at Plzen, Czechoslovakia.271 aircraft raided Mannheim as a diversion the same night. The force mistook the mental hospital near Dobrany to be the factory at Plzen. The raid sustained the heaviest losses until that point in the air war.



April 13: The Eighth Air Force's largest mission to date (115 B-17s) destroys half of the Focke-Wulf factory buildings in Bremen

May 5: P-47s are first used for escorting bombers.

May 17: Operation Chastise bouncing bombs breached the Möhne and Eder Dams

June 11/12: The first two Operation Pointblank raids included a successful mass trial of H2S radar on Münster

June 13: The heaviest fighter attacks to date against the Eighth Air Force claim 26 B-17s bombing Bremen & Kiel U-boat facilities.

c. June: A 100 BG B-17 surrendered and then escaped.

June 20/21: Operation Bellicose targets Würzburg radar production and is the first bombing of a V-2 rocket facility.

July 19: The first Allied World War II bombing of Rome drops 800 tons of bombs on Littoro and Clampino airports, causing immense damage and 2000 deaths

July 24: After the US developed an airborne radar immune to Window, the first use of the countermeasure (40 tonnes—92 million strips) were dropped during a Hamburg bombing mission.

July 29 First use of unguided air-to-air rockets against American combat box formations of heavy bombers by JG 1 Oesau and JG 11, attacking with Bf 109Gs and Fw 190As each armed with pairs of Werfer-Granate 21 rocket ordnance, developed from the 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 ground barrage rocket system.

August 1: Flying from North Africa Operation Tidal Wave bombs the oil refineries at Ploiești. A large number of the bombers are loft for little strategic benefit. Five Medals of Honor are awarded to American aircrew.

August 13: The first Ninth Air Force raid on Austria bombed the Wiener Neustadt Bf 109 factory

August 17: The double-strike USAAF Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission was the third shuttle bombing. British aircraft operate diversionary attacks.

August 17/18: The Operation Hydra bombing of V-2 facilities at Peenemünde began Operation Crossbow.

August 18: The counterattack against Operation Hydra included the first operational use of Schräge Musik by German fighters

August 27: The first mission against a "Heavy" Crossbow site bombed the Watten V-2 rocket bunker

October 10: As a result of the June "surrender/escape" of a 100 BG B-17, out of the 13 B-17s of 100 BG attacking a railyard in Münster, only the B-17F of Robert Rosenthal survives to return safely to Thorpe Abbotts in England.

October 14: The Second Raid on Schweinfurt (Black Thursday) resulted in 122 damaged bombers and 650 MIA/KIA.

November 1: A Combined Bomber Offensive progress report estimates that 19/19/9 German towns & cities have been virtually destroyed/severely damaged/more effectively damaged – another report claims 10% of German war potential had been destroyed

November 2: The USAAF 12th Air Force conducted the first large Allied aerial attack against Zadar, Italy

November 2: A raid targeting the Wiener Neustadt Messerschmitt plant damaged the nearby Raxwerke V-2 rocket facility.

November 3: A Wilhelmshaven raid is the first Eighth Air Force blind-bombing mission to completely destroy the aiming point, the Eighth's first 500-plane mission, and the first use by the US of H2X radar

November 18/19: The "Battle of Berlin" aerial campaign bombing began

November 22/23: The largest force sent to bomb Berlin to date (764 aircraft) conducted the most effective World War II raid on Berlin

December 2: 100 Ju-88s bombed the port of Bari, hitting a secret store of US mustard gas (83 of the sailors died within a month). Autopsies indicated excess white blood cells, and the discovery led to the use of the gas to combat leukemia (the secret regarding the storage at Bari of mustard gas was subsequently declassified in 1959).

December 5: B-26s of the Ninth Air Force attacked three V-1 ski sites near Ligescourt, the first No-Ball missions.

1944
January 21: The unsuccessful Operation Steinbock, the first mass bombing of London, began the Baby Blitz

January 30: The first U.S. Intruder operation was conducted by P-47s and accurately preceded the bombers to strike fighters at Villaorba airfield.

February 19/20: Handley Page Halifax IIs and Vs were permanently withdrawn from operations to Germany after 14.9% of those that did not turn back were lost on a raid to Leipzig.

February 20–25: The Argument plan was executed during Big Week and included 734 aircraft that had flown in the October 1943 Second Raid on Schweinfurt

March 6: The first large scale US attack on Berlin (some 600 bombers) dropped 1600 tons of bombs - 160-170 of 800-900 fighters are shot down

March: As Seversky predicted in 1942, Bomber Command's 16 area bombardment raids of the Battle of Berlin (air) are unsuccessful at "substantially" reducing population and morale

March–April: Bombing stopped aircraft production at Cantiere Navale Triestino

April 24: The APS-15 "Mickey" radar was first used on a Ploiești mission.

June 2: The first US shuttle bombing mission, Operation Frantic Joe, bombed Debrecen ( German fighters subsequently attack the bombers on Soviet airfields at Focşani)

June 2–5: In preparation for Operation Overlord, Operation Cover bombed transportation and airfield targets in Northern France and "coastal defenses, mainly located in the Pas de Calais coastal area, to deceive the enemy as to the sector to be invaded".

June 8: The first use of the Azon guided bomb targeted the Melun bridge

June 8/9: The first use of Tallboy bombs pierced the roof of the Saumur railway tunnel and blocked the expected movement of a German Panzer Division

June 12 0418 hrs: The Robot Blitz began with a V-1 flying bomb striking Swanscombe June 14/15: The first V-1 was shot down by a fighter

July 3: 74 US military personnel died in (the most for one London event) when a V-1 flying bomb struck Sloane Court East / Turks Row.

July 7: The first of 638 modified V-1 flying bombs that reached Britain (of about 1,200) were air-launched from Heinkel He 111s (403 were downed)

July 23/24: The first major raid (629 aircraft) on a German city for two months bombs Kiel

July 25: Mission 494 (1581/500 bombers/fighters) supporting Operation Cobra was the most effective saturation bombing/carpet bombing/area bombardment of the Normandy Campaign, killing US General McNair.

July 26 The first aerial victory for a jet fighter in air combat history occurs as a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a of Erprobungskommando 262 mortally damages a de Havilland Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft of No. 540 Squadron RAF.

August 27: The RAF restarted daylight bombing of Germany (first since 12 August 1941) with an attack on the Homberg Fischer-Tropsch plant in Hamburg.

August 13 & 17: Le Havre (Mission 549) and La Pallice (Mission 559) were the targets for the first uses of the BAT guided bomb

September 8: Operation Penguin began with the first V-2 rocket launches against Paris and London

September 17: The last UK-USSR-Italy-UK shuttle bombing was completed as 72 B-17s and 59 P-51s flew from Italy without bombs to the UK; 70 B-17s 57 P-51s land safely in the UK.

September: The Soviets shot down Allied aircraft during the Airdrops in aid of the Warsaw Uprising.

1945
January 1: Operation Bodenplatte supported the last major German offensive, Operation Nordwind, and resulted in the defeat of the Luftwaffe

January & February: Fake mailbags of the OSS Morale Operations' Operation Cornflakes with two million Das Neue Deutschland (The New Germany) propaganda newspapers were airdropped into the wreckage of bombed German mail trains, and the envelopes were forwarded by unwitting German authorities.

February: A captured B-24 joined a US formation as a and was escorted away by the Tuskegee Airmen.

February 3: The largest raid on Berlin ever by the USAAF, led by the 100th Bomb Group B-17 of Major Robert Rosenthal, with the notorious Volksgerichtshof justice Roland Freisler killed during the raid, as a significant German casualty.

February 13–15: The controversial Bombing of Dresden in World War II firestorm consumes the picturesque centre of the city.

March 12: A Dortmund raid of 1108 aircraft was the heaviest World War II raid on a European city.

March 14: The first of 41 Grand Slam bombs used in the war is dropped on the Bielefeld viaduct

February: To open Operation Veritable/Grenade, Operation Clarion began attacks on 200 targets with 20,000 bombers and escort fighters.

March 17: V-2 rockets were fired at the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen

March 18: Against Mission 894 attacking Berlin (1,329 bombers and 733 fighters), the Luftwaffe makes its most concentrated and successful attacks to date with Me 262s.

March 22: 200 Piper L-4 Grasshoppers each carried one armed infantryman (instead of an observer) across the Rhine to establish a US 3rd Army bridgehead near Oppenheim. (light aviation became a major part of the Army Field Artillery fire detection center on June 4, 1942)

March 24: Operation Varsity provided airborne support for Operation Plunder
 * Daylight and night Red Army Air Force Bombing offensive from Stalingrad in Soviet Union to Germany Battle of Berlin

April 25: The last Eighth Air Force full-scale mission in the ETO hit the Škoda Works at Pilsen in Czechoslovakia (B-17s), while B-24s bombed rail complexes surrounding Hitler's Berchtesgaden.

April: "…at the end of April 1945, the order went out to the squadrons to stop offensive operations. Then the order went out to fill the bomb bays of our [US] bombers with food packages to be delivered to the starving population of the Netherlands. I…watched the crews happily taking off on their last mission of the War, not to kill people but to feed them."(tbd)

May 3: The RAF Second Tactical Air Force attacked 3 ships carrying concentration camp prisoners.

c. May 7: The final European dogfight of World War II between an L-4 Grasshopper (using .45 caliber pistols) and a German Fieseler Fi 156 Storch forced the German aircrew to land and surrender.