Ruhr air offensive

Ruhr air offensive, the first of the three major bombing offensives mounted by RAF Bomber Command during 1943–4 (see also Hamburg and Berlin) in pursuance of the Allied POINTBLANK Combined Bomber Offensive directive. It opened with an attack on Essen by 442 bombers on the night of 5/6 March 1943 and ended with a raid on Gelsenkirchen on the night of 9/10 July, although targets outside the Ruhr continued to be attacked during the battle. The comparatively short distance from the UK, and the use of electronic navigation systems (OBOE and H2S radar) acted in Bomber Command's favour. Even so, the industrial haze over the region, combined with the German use of decoy targets, meant that bombing accuracy continued to suffer, although much destruction was wrought among the towns and cities and the offensive did force the Germans to move much of their vital war industry to more remote rural areas. During the last phase of the battle the German night fighters, equipped with improved radar and electronic warfare aids, were steadily reinforced, and these became increasingly effective, accounting for more bombers than the anti-aircraft defences did. Thus the RAF's availability of heavy bombers and crews fell from 726 on 11 June to 623 on 9 July. It was growing aircraft losses which forced Harris to end the offensive in spite of the continued glowing reports, which post-war bombing surveys revealed to be over-optimistic, on the damage being done to Germany's main industrial centre.

Charles Messenger

Bibliography

Aders, G. , History of the German Night Fighter Force 1917–1945 (London, 1979).
Messenger, C. , ‘Bomber’ Harris and the Strategic Bombing Offensive, 1939–1945 (London, 1984).