Template:POTD/2015-07-27
A US newsreel covering the Allied bombing of Hamburg, Germany, in World War II. Hamburg, home of numerous shipyards, U-boat pens, and the Hamburg-Harburg area oil refineries, was a regular target of Allied strategic bombing missions.
One of these missions, code-named Operation Gomorrah, was flown over a period of eight days in between 24 July and 3 August 1943. Initial missions saw the use of blockbuster and delayed action bombs and the introduction of new countermeasures against anti-aircraft guns. On the 27 July raid, unusually dry conditions and concentrated bombing created a firestorm which incinerated more than 21 square kilometres (8 sq mi) of the city. This was followed by two subsequent missions. Overall, the bombings killed 42,600 civilians, wounded 37,000, and destroyed much of the city.Video: United Newsreel