Hamburg Gets its 3rd 2,000-ton Hammering
Title
Hamburg Gets its 3rd 2,000-ton Hammering
Description
A continuation of another cutting. It is annotated 'No 4 29-7-43'.
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Two newspaper cuttings
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Contributor
Identifier
SWilliamsonF1311249v10003-0007
Transcription
[inserted] No 4 29-7-43 [/inserted]
[missing letters]urg Gets Its 3rd 2,000-ton Hammering
From COL 8. PAGE ONE
Germany’s greatest port, was still 45 miles from its target.
Every night since the 24th our crews have seen these fires, for Mosquito bombers have been over Hamburg on the three nights when a heavy attack was not made.
Crews of the heavy bombers of the United States Eighth Army Air Force saw them, too, when making their massive precision attacks in daylight on July 25 and 26.
All ours [sic] crews reported on Thursday night that Hamburg’s defences had once again been heavily reinforced.
The Germans must have brought in guns and searchlights from other places just as likely to be bombed, the danger to Hamburg being so evident that the enemy, weighing one risk against another, did not dare to leave the city’s defences as they were a week ago, though even at that time they were among the most formidable in Germany.
Enormous Damage
At a cost of 29 aircraft of Bomber Command and a number of American bombers – much less than the number of German fighters which these bombers themselves had shot down – enormous industrial damage had already been done before Thursday night’s third 2,300 tons attack was made.
A first examination of new photographs of Hamburg was made on Thursday. In these cloud and smoke covers much of the port, and all the damage cannot be seen
The damage that can be seen is very widespread, but most severe in the St. Georg, Billwarder, Ausschlag, and Grasbrook districts. In St. Georg, which contains the main railway station – this has been hit – and docks and harbours scarcely a building has not been damaged.
The area bombed includes the Ebano Asphaltwerke, producing great quantities of benzine, kerosene, and other oils.
Too Late
This factory is to the south of Hamburg, several miles from the centre of the town – an indication of the great size of the industrial and dock areas against which these repeated mass attacks have been made.
The Billwarder district lies beside the St. Georg district, to the south-east, and is nearly all docks and industrial buildings beside the River Elbe. The Grasbrook district is another docks area.
Nothing like a full count of the industrial damage can yet be made, but already there is a significant list of factories and plants to which very severe damage has been done.
Among other factories severely damaged is the Rhenania Ossag lubricating oil plant, the H. Sieg metal and aluminium castings works, the Tiefstack town gas works, the Norddeutsche Oelmuhlenwerke in the Altona district, the Hansa motor works, and the Hermann Michaelson iron and steel castings works.
Like the 2,300-tons attack on Hamburg on the night of July 27, Thursday night’s attack was as concentrated and as rapid as the highly trained and practiced organisation of Bomber Command could make it.
The first of the three heavy night attacks on Hamburg took 50 minutes, the second took 45 minutes – a cut which set thousands of new problems for thousands of men to solve – and this last attack took 45 minutes again.
From one bomber station comes a story which shows what this saving of five minutes meant in terms of skilled work and high speed.
Late in the afternoon an internal glycol leak was found in Halifax “S.” After an urgent conference it was decided to change the cylinder block on the starboard inner engine. Time was very short and the job was a difficult one.
Chief’s Praise
Equipment had to be brought from the far side of the airfield, nearly two miles away, to “S for Sugar’s” disposal point. To make things worse the light was fading.
But five fitters under a flight mechanic, Flight-Sergeant J. Coxhill, of Liverpool, finished in four hours and 20 minutes a job which normally takes at least six hours, an hour and 40 minutes saved – but just ten minutes too late.
The ground crew were screwing up the engine cowling as the other Halifaxes on the station were taking off. The flying crew were in the Halifax, all set, the engines were run up, the pilot was preparing to taxi to the runway.
The ground crew got a cheer from others standing round for the work they had done, and then the pilot was signalled – he was too late to take part in the attack.
But all the same the Squadron Commander issued a message of congratulations to Flight-Sergeant Coxhill and his crew.
“It is strongly recommended,” he wrote, “that the high efficiency and zeal shown by these men should be brought to the notice of all concerned.”
“It was the finest show I have ever seen,” the station engineer officer said.
There was scattered but thick cloud on the first part of the route to Hamburg, but the clouds disappeared as the crews neared their target, and over Hamburg the sky was clear and visibility very good.
Three Fighters Down
“It was like attacking a fortress,” a squadron-commander said, “but once again, as on earlier nights, the speedy and weighty attack began to consume even these greatly reinforced defences before many minutes were passed.
“Night fighters were very active not only along the route but among the shells and searchlights over Hamburg itself.”
One bomber group alone destroyed three of the enemy and probably a fourth. Smoke rose to as great a height as on previous nights, often up to four miles.
[page break]
FIRES AID PILOTS
Express Staff Reporter Gordon Young cabled last night:-
Fires still smouldering from previous 2,300-ton raids aided R.A.F. pilots over Hamburg last night.
Apart from those sections which are blazing Hamburg now looks like a shattered graveyard.
British tourists who used to saunter through its wide streets, or enjoy the night life in its garish pleasure resorts, would not know the place today.
Because it is only a few hundred yards from the port, the famous Reeperbann, with its waxwork shows and music-halls, is now only a mass of rubble and broken glass.
The whole area between the railway station and harbour is just two square miles of death and desolation.
The huge offices of the Hamburg-Amerika Line, on Binnen Alster, have been bombed out.
Today, as new fires blazed, the conscripted workers were starting all over again the work of clearing up debris which they had not nearly finished after last raids.
All they tried to do today was to clear narrow pathways through the mountains of rubble covering the roads to make various parts of the town accessible.
Footnote by Reuter: A Danish consular official said today that it is estimated that the number of dead in Hamburg totals 20,000.
Thirty bombers were missing in Monday night’s raid.
[missing letters]urg Gets Its 3rd 2,000-ton Hammering
From COL 8. PAGE ONE
Germany’s greatest port, was still 45 miles from its target.
Every night since the 24th our crews have seen these fires, for Mosquito bombers have been over Hamburg on the three nights when a heavy attack was not made.
Crews of the heavy bombers of the United States Eighth Army Air Force saw them, too, when making their massive precision attacks in daylight on July 25 and 26.
All ours [sic] crews reported on Thursday night that Hamburg’s defences had once again been heavily reinforced.
The Germans must have brought in guns and searchlights from other places just as likely to be bombed, the danger to Hamburg being so evident that the enemy, weighing one risk against another, did not dare to leave the city’s defences as they were a week ago, though even at that time they were among the most formidable in Germany.
Enormous Damage
At a cost of 29 aircraft of Bomber Command and a number of American bombers – much less than the number of German fighters which these bombers themselves had shot down – enormous industrial damage had already been done before Thursday night’s third 2,300 tons attack was made.
A first examination of new photographs of Hamburg was made on Thursday. In these cloud and smoke covers much of the port, and all the damage cannot be seen
The damage that can be seen is very widespread, but most severe in the St. Georg, Billwarder, Ausschlag, and Grasbrook districts. In St. Georg, which contains the main railway station – this has been hit – and docks and harbours scarcely a building has not been damaged.
The area bombed includes the Ebano Asphaltwerke, producing great quantities of benzine, kerosene, and other oils.
Too Late
This factory is to the south of Hamburg, several miles from the centre of the town – an indication of the great size of the industrial and dock areas against which these repeated mass attacks have been made.
The Billwarder district lies beside the St. Georg district, to the south-east, and is nearly all docks and industrial buildings beside the River Elbe. The Grasbrook district is another docks area.
Nothing like a full count of the industrial damage can yet be made, but already there is a significant list of factories and plants to which very severe damage has been done.
Among other factories severely damaged is the Rhenania Ossag lubricating oil plant, the H. Sieg metal and aluminium castings works, the Tiefstack town gas works, the Norddeutsche Oelmuhlenwerke in the Altona district, the Hansa motor works, and the Hermann Michaelson iron and steel castings works.
Like the 2,300-tons attack on Hamburg on the night of July 27, Thursday night’s attack was as concentrated and as rapid as the highly trained and practiced organisation of Bomber Command could make it.
The first of the three heavy night attacks on Hamburg took 50 minutes, the second took 45 minutes – a cut which set thousands of new problems for thousands of men to solve – and this last attack took 45 minutes again.
From one bomber station comes a story which shows what this saving of five minutes meant in terms of skilled work and high speed.
Late in the afternoon an internal glycol leak was found in Halifax “S.” After an urgent conference it was decided to change the cylinder block on the starboard inner engine. Time was very short and the job was a difficult one.
Chief’s Praise
Equipment had to be brought from the far side of the airfield, nearly two miles away, to “S for Sugar’s” disposal point. To make things worse the light was fading.
But five fitters under a flight mechanic, Flight-Sergeant J. Coxhill, of Liverpool, finished in four hours and 20 minutes a job which normally takes at least six hours, an hour and 40 minutes saved – but just ten minutes too late.
The ground crew were screwing up the engine cowling as the other Halifaxes on the station were taking off. The flying crew were in the Halifax, all set, the engines were run up, the pilot was preparing to taxi to the runway.
The ground crew got a cheer from others standing round for the work they had done, and then the pilot was signalled – he was too late to take part in the attack.
But all the same the Squadron Commander issued a message of congratulations to Flight-Sergeant Coxhill and his crew.
“It is strongly recommended,” he wrote, “that the high efficiency and zeal shown by these men should be brought to the notice of all concerned.”
“It was the finest show I have ever seen,” the station engineer officer said.
There was scattered but thick cloud on the first part of the route to Hamburg, but the clouds disappeared as the crews neared their target, and over Hamburg the sky was clear and visibility very good.
Three Fighters Down
“It was like attacking a fortress,” a squadron-commander said, “but once again, as on earlier nights, the speedy and weighty attack began to consume even these greatly reinforced defences before many minutes were passed.
“Night fighters were very active not only along the route but among the shells and searchlights over Hamburg itself.”
One bomber group alone destroyed three of the enemy and probably a fourth. Smoke rose to as great a height as on previous nights, often up to four miles.
[page break]
FIRES AID PILOTS
Express Staff Reporter Gordon Young cabled last night:-
Fires still smouldering from previous 2,300-ton raids aided R.A.F. pilots over Hamburg last night.
Apart from those sections which are blazing Hamburg now looks like a shattered graveyard.
British tourists who used to saunter through its wide streets, or enjoy the night life in its garish pleasure resorts, would not know the place today.
Because it is only a few hundred yards from the port, the famous Reeperbann, with its waxwork shows and music-halls, is now only a mass of rubble and broken glass.
The whole area between the railway station and harbour is just two square miles of death and desolation.
The huge offices of the Hamburg-Amerika Line, on Binnen Alster, have been bombed out.
Today, as new fires blazed, the conscripted workers were starting all over again the work of clearing up debris which they had not nearly finished after last raids.
All they tried to do today was to clear narrow pathways through the mountains of rubble covering the roads to make various parts of the town accessible.
Footnote by Reuter: A Danish consular official said today that it is estimated that the number of dead in Hamburg totals 20,000.
Thirty bombers were missing in Monday night’s raid.
Collection
Citation
“Hamburg Gets its 3rd 2,000-ton Hammering,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 16, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.omeka.net/collections/document/38135.