Operation Crossbow
Encyclopedia
Crossbow was the code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
campaign of Anglo
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
"operations against all phases of the German long-range weapons programme
Vergeltungswaffe
V-weapons also, known in the original German as Vergeltungswaffen , were a particular set of long range artillery weapons designed for strategic bombing during World War II, particularly terror bombing and/or aerial bombing of cities. They comprised the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 rocket and the V-3...
—operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight". The original 1943 code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
Bodyline was replaced with Crossbow on November 15, 1943. Post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
, Crossbow operations became known as Operation Crossbow as early as 1962, particularly following the 1965 film of the same name
Operation Crossbow (film)
Operation Crossbow is a British 1965 spy thriller and World War II film, made from a story from Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli and filmed at MGM-British Studios...
.
Strategic bombing
- For a list of bombing targets, see the Operation Crossbow navigation box (below).
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
became convincing, the War Cabinet
Churchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
Defence Committee (Operations) directed the campaign's first planned raid (the Operation Hydra attack of Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
in August 1943). Following Operation Hydra, a few Crossbow attacks were conducted on the "Heavy Crossbow" bunkers of Watten (V-2) and Mimoyecques (V-3) through November. "CROSSBOW Operations Against Ski Sites" began on December 5 with the NOBALL code name used for the targets (e.g., 'Noball 27' was the site, 'Noball No. 93' was in the Cherbourg area, 'Noball No. 107' was at Grand Parc, and 'noball' V1 site No.147 was at Ligescourt
Ligescourt
Ligescourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ligescourt is situated on the D12 road, some north of Abbeville.-Population:-External links:*...
).http://www.checksix-fr.com/bibliotheque/index.php?page=detail&ID=5046
). The US formed its own Crossbow Committee under General Stephen Henry (New Developments Division) on December 29, 1943, and the US subsequently developed bombing techniques for ski sites in February/March 1944 at the Air Corps Proving Ground
Operation Crossbow Site
The Operation Crossbow Site is a historic location at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. During the war a reconstruction of a German V-1 flying bomb launch site was built to test the measures needed to destroy the actual bases in France....
(a June plan to attack V-1 launch sites from aircraft carriers
Project Danny
Project Danny was a World War II plan for United States Marine Corps F4U Corsair fighter aircraft to attack German V-1 flying bomb launch sites in northern France...
with USMC fighters was disapproved). V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
facilities were also bombed in 1944, including smaller facilities such as V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
storage depots and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
plants, such as the Mery-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
V-2 storage depot on August 4, 1944 and, by the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, which bombed 5 LOX
Lox
Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...
plants in Belgium on August 25, 1944 and aborted the next day "to hit liquid oxygen plants at La Louviere, Torte and Willebroeck, Belgium...due to clouds."
Bombing priority
At the request of the British War CabinetChurchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
, on April 19, 1944, Dwight Eisenhower-directed Crossbow attacks have absolute priority over all other air operations, including "wearing down German industry" and morale
Area bombing directive
The Area Bombing Directive was a directive from the wartime British Government's Air Ministry to the Royal Air Force which ordered RAF bombers to attack the German industrial workforce and the morale of the German populace through bombing German cities and their civilian inhabitants.- Background...
"for the time being", which he confirmed after the V-1 assault began on the night of June 12/13, 1944: "with respect to CROSSBOW targets, these targets are to take first priority over everything except the urgent requirements of the [Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
] battle; this priority to obtain until we can be certain that we have definitely gotten the upper hand of this particular business" (Eisenhower to Arthur Tedder, June 16).
Carl Spaatz
Carl Spaatz
Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz GBE was an American World War II general and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He was of German descent.-Early life:...
responded on June 28 to "complain that CROSSBOW was a 'diversion' from the main task of wearing down the Luftwaffe and bombing German industry" and to recommend instead that CROSSBOW be a secondary priority since "days of bad weather over Germany's industrial targets
Combined Bomber Offensive
The Combined Bomber Offensive was an Anglo-American offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was against German Air Force targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1944...
would still allow] enough weight of attack for the rocket sites and the lesser tactical crises." By July 10, Tedder had published a list of Crossbow targets which assigned 30 to RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, 6 to Tedder's tactical forces, and 68 to Spaatz' USSTAF; after which Spaatz again complained, so Eisenhower allowed 'spare' bombing of non-Crossbow targets: "Instructions for continuing to make CROSSBOW targets our first priority must stand, but...when...the entire strategic forces cannot be used against CROSSBOW, we should attack — (a) Aircraft industry, (b) Oil
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
, (c) ball bearing [German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Kugellagerwerke
ZF Sachs
ZF Sachs AG is a German manufacturer of automotive parts, producing powertrain and suspension components. It was formerly known as Fichtel & Sachs, Mannesmann Sachs and Sachs...
], (d) Vehicular production" (Eisenhower, July 18). On August 25, 1944, the Joint Crossbow Target Priorities Committee (established July 21) prepared the "Plan for Attack on the German Rocket Organization When Rocket Attacks Commence"—in addition to bombing of storage, liquid-oxygen, and launch sites; the plan included aerial reconnaissance operations.
Following the last V-1 launch from France on September 1, 1944, and since the expected V-2 attacks had not begun, Crossbow bombing was suspended on September 3 and the campaign against German oil facilities
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
became the highest priority. The V-1 threat from occupied France ended on September 5, 1944, when elements of the 7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment
The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
The Royal Canadian Hussars is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. The unit is based in Montreal.-Lineage:...
and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Canadian Army from 1940 to c.1945.- History :The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940...
contained the German military units of the Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais , Nord for short, is one of the 27 regions of France. It consists of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, in the north and has a border with Belgium. Most of the region was once part of the Southern Netherlands, within the Low Countries, and gradually became part of France...
area with their surrender following on September 30.
Resumption of bombing
Crossbow bombing resumed after the first V-2V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
attack and included a large September 17th raid on Dutch targets suspected as bases for Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
s, which were air-launching V-1s. Modified V-1s (865 total) were "air-launched" from September 16th, 1944 to January 14th, 1945. The British had initially considered that an earlier July 18–21, 1944 effort of 50 air-launched V-1s had been "ground-launched" from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, particularly near Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. In addition to air-launched V-1s, launches were from ramps built in Holland in 1945. Allied reconnaissance detected two sites at Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
and Ypenburg, and along with a third at Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, they launched 274 V-1s at London from March 3–29. Only 125 reached the British defences, and only 13 of those reached the target area. Three additional sites directed their fire on Antwerp. After using medium bombers against V-2 launch site in the Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos is an area and a forest in the centre of The Hague, Netherlands. It reaches from the Center of The Hague near Malieveld to the city of Wassenaar...
on March 3, the RAF attacked the Holland V-1 sites with two squadrons. A RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
unit used Spitfires against Ypenburg on March 20 and 23, while a 2nd Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
unit used Typhoons against Vlaardingen on March 23. Counterattacks on Holland V-1 and V-2 sites ended on April 3, and all Crossbow countermeasures ended on May 2 with the end of World War II in Europe
End of World War II in Europe
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
.
V-1 defence
On January 2, 1944, Roderic HillRoderic Hill
Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill KCB, MC, AFC & Bar, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II, and a past Rector of Imperial College...
submitted his plan to deploy 1,332 guns for the air defence
Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain was a RAF command comprising substantial Army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and the Solent against the V-1 "Robot Blitz" (the "Diver Operations Room" was at RAF Biggin Hill). V-1s that hadn't run out of fuel or veered off course were attacked by select units of Fighter Command (No. 150 Wing RAF) operating high speed fighters, the anti-aircraft guns of Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the anti-aircraft artillery units of the British Isles.-History:...
, and approximately 1,750 barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
s of Balloon Command around London." Flabby was the code name for medium weather conditions when fighters were allowed to chase flying bombs over the gun-belt to the balloon line, and during Operation Totter, the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
fired ‘Snowflake’ illuminating rocket flares from the ground to identify V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s to RAF fighters. After the Robot Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
began on the night of June 12/13, an RAF fighter first intercepted a V-1 on June 14/15. Moreover, anti-aircraft guns increased the rate of downed V-1s to 1 per 77 rounds fired after "the first few weeks of proximity fuse operation" (Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones, CH CB CBE FRS, was a British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert who played an important role in the defence of Britain in -Education:...
). By June 27, "over 100,000 houses had been damaged or destroyed by the V-1... and shattered sewage systems threatened serious epidemics unless fixed by winter."
Of the 638 air-launched V-1s that had been observed (e.g., by the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
), guns and fighters downed 403 and the remainder fell in the London Civil Defence Region (66), at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(1), or elsewhere (168, including Southhampton on July 7). Additionally, the gunners on W/Cdr. S.G. Birch's Lancaster claimed they downed a V-1 over the target area on a March 3, 1945, raid on the Ladbergen
Ladbergen
Ladbergen is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approximately 25 km south-west of Osnabrück and 20 km north-east of Münster.-Geography:...
aqueduct.
V-2 countermeasures
The Bodyline Scientific Committee (19 members, including Duncan SandysDuncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...
, Edward Victor Appleton
Edward Victor Appleton
Sir Edward Victor Appleton, GBE, KCB, FRS was an English physicist.-Biography:Appleton was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire and educated at Hanson Grammar School. At the age of 18 he won a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge...
, John Cockcroft
John Cockcroft
Sir John Douglas Cockcroft OM KCB CBE FRS was a British physicist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus with Ernest Walton, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power....
, Robert Watson-Watt
Robert Watson-Watt
Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, KCB, FRS, FRAeS is considered by many to be the "inventor of radar". Development of radar, initially nameless, was first started elsewhere but greatly expanded on 1 September 1936 when Watson-Watt became...
) was formed in September 1943 regarding the suspected V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
, and after the 1944 crash of a test V-2 in Sweden, "transmitters to jam the guidance system of the rocket" were prepared. A British sound-ranging system provided "trajectory [data] from which the general launching area could be determined," and the microphone(s) in East Kent
East Kent
East Kent and West Kent are one-time traditional subdivisions of the English county of Kent, kept alive by the Association of the Men of Kent and Kentish Men: an organisation formed in 1913...
reported the times of the first V-2 strikes on September 8, 1944: 18:40:52 and 18:41:08. On March 21, 1945, the plan for the "Engagement of Long Range Rockets with AA Gunfire" which called for anit-aircraft units to fire into a radar-predicted airspace to intercept the V-2 was ready, but the plan was not used due to the danger of shells falling on Greater London. Happenstance instances of Allied aircraft engaging launched V-2 rockets include the following:
- on February 14, 1945, a No. 602 Squadron RAFNo. 602 Squadron RAFNo 602 Squadron is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron. Originally formed in 1925 as a light bomber squadron, its role changed in 1938 to army co-operation and in 1939 to that of a fighter squadron....
SpitfireSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
wingman fired at a V-2 just after launch - on October 29, 1944, Lieutenants Donald A. Schultz and Charles M. Crane in a P-38 LightningP-38 LightningThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
attempted to photograph a launched V-2 above the trees near the River Rhine, - on January 1, 1945, a 4th Fighter Group pilot observed a Big BenProject Big Ben"Big Ben" was the World War II code name for the British project to reconstruct and evaluate captured German missiles such as the V-2 rocket. On July 31, 1944, after the UK agreed to exchange Supermarine Spitfires for the wreckage of a V-2 in Sweden during World War II, experts at Farnborough...
"act up for firing near LochemLochemLochem is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. it is also the hebrew word for soldier or warrior. On 1 January 2005, the municipality merged with the municipality of Gorssel.- Population centres :Small hamlets are printed in italics....
... the rocket was immediately tilted from 85 deg. to 30 deg", - a B-24 Liberator of the 34th Bombardment Group over the Low CountriesLow CountriesThe Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
at ~10,000 feet saw a rocket climb through the formation like "a telephone pole with fire squirting from out of its tail. ...a left waist gunner in our squadron let fly a burst and down it went". The unit painted a V-2 on the B-24 such as one would mark a downed enemy aircraft.
After the last combat V-2 launch on March 27, 1945, the British discontinued their use of radar in the defence region to detect V-2 launches on April 13.
Crossbow was the code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
campaign of Anglo
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
"operations against all phases of the German long-range weapons programme
Vergeltungswaffe
V-weapons also, known in the original German as Vergeltungswaffen , were a particular set of long range artillery weapons designed for strategic bombing during World War II, particularly terror bombing and/or aerial bombing of cities. They comprised the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 rocket and the V-3...
—operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight". The original 1943 code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
Bodyline was replaced with Crossbow on November 15, 1943. Post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
, Crossbow operations became known as Operation Crossbow as early as 1962, particularly following the 1965 film of the same name
Operation Crossbow (film)
Operation Crossbow is a British 1965 spy thriller and World War II film, made from a story from Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli and filmed at MGM-British Studios...
.
Strategic bombing
- For a list of bombing targets, see the Operation Crossbow navigation box (below).
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
became convincing, the War Cabinet
Churchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
Defence Committee (Operations) directed the campaign's first planned raid (the Operation Hydra attack of Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
in August 1943). Following Operation Hydra, a few Crossbow attacks were conducted on the "Heavy Crossbow" bunkers of Watten (V-2) and Mimoyecques (V-3) through November. "CROSSBOW Operations Against Ski Sites" began on December 5 with the NOBALL code name used for the targets (e.g., 'Noball 27' was the site, 'Noball No. 93' was in the Cherbourg area, 'Noball No. 107' was at Grand Parc, and 'noball' V1 site No.147 was at Ligescourt
Ligescourt
Ligescourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ligescourt is situated on the D12 road, some north of Abbeville.-Population:-External links:*...
).http://www.checksix-fr.com/bibliotheque/index.php?page=detail&ID=5046
). The US formed its own Crossbow Committee under General Stephen Henry (New Developments Division) on December 29, 1943, and the US subsequently developed bombing techniques for ski sites in February/March 1944 at the Air Corps Proving Ground
Operation Crossbow Site
The Operation Crossbow Site is a historic location at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. During the war a reconstruction of a German V-1 flying bomb launch site was built to test the measures needed to destroy the actual bases in France....
(a June plan to attack V-1 launch sites from aircraft carriers
Project Danny
Project Danny was a World War II plan for United States Marine Corps F4U Corsair fighter aircraft to attack German V-1 flying bomb launch sites in northern France...
with USMC fighters was disapproved). V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
facilities were also bombed in 1944, including smaller facilities such as V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
storage depots and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
plants, such as the Mery-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
V-2 storage depot on August 4, 1944 and, by the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, which bombed 5 LOX
Lox
Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...
plants in Belgium on August 25, 1944 and aborted the next day "to hit liquid oxygen plants at La Louviere, Torte and Willebroeck, Belgium...due to clouds."
Bombing priority
At the request of the British War CabinetChurchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
, on April 19, 1944, Dwight Eisenhower-directed Crossbow attacks have absolute priority over all other air operations, including "wearing down German industry" and morale
Area bombing directive
The Area Bombing Directive was a directive from the wartime British Government's Air Ministry to the Royal Air Force which ordered RAF bombers to attack the German industrial workforce and the morale of the German populace through bombing German cities and their civilian inhabitants.- Background...
"for the time being", which he confirmed after the V-1 assault began on the night of June 12/13, 1944: "with respect to CROSSBOW targets, these targets are to take first priority over everything except the urgent requirements of the [Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
] battle; this priority to obtain until we can be certain that we have definitely gotten the upper hand of this particular business" (Eisenhower to Arthur Tedder, June 16).
Carl Spaatz
Carl Spaatz
Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz GBE was an American World War II general and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He was of German descent.-Early life:...
responded on June 28 to "complain that CROSSBOW was a 'diversion' from the main task of wearing down the Luftwaffe and bombing German industry" and to recommend instead that CROSSBOW be a secondary priority since "days of bad weather over Germany's industrial targets
Combined Bomber Offensive
The Combined Bomber Offensive was an Anglo-American offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was against German Air Force targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1944...
would still allow] enough weight of attack for the rocket sites and the lesser tactical crises." By July 10, Tedder had published a list of Crossbow targets which assigned 30 to RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, 6 to Tedder's tactical forces, and 68 to Spaatz' USSTAF; after which Spaatz again complained, so Eisenhower allowed 'spare' bombing of non-Crossbow targets: "Instructions for continuing to make CROSSBOW targets our first priority must stand, but...when...the entire strategic forces cannot be used against CROSSBOW, we should attack — (a) Aircraft industry, (b) Oil
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
, (c) ball bearing [German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Kugellagerwerke
ZF Sachs
ZF Sachs AG is a German manufacturer of automotive parts, producing powertrain and suspension components. It was formerly known as Fichtel & Sachs, Mannesmann Sachs and Sachs...
], (d) Vehicular production" (Eisenhower, July 18). On August 25, 1944, the Joint Crossbow Target Priorities Committee (established July 21) prepared the "Plan for Attack on the German Rocket Organization When Rocket Attacks Commence"—in addition to bombing of storage, liquid-oxygen, and launch sites; the plan included aerial reconnaissance operations.
Following the last V-1 launch from France on September 1, 1944, and since the expected V-2 attacks had not begun, Crossbow bombing was suspended on September 3 and the campaign against German oil facilities
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
became the highest priority. The V-1 threat from occupied France ended on September 5, 1944, when elements of the 7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment
The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
The Royal Canadian Hussars is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. The unit is based in Montreal.-Lineage:...
and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Canadian Army from 1940 to c.1945.- History :The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940...
contained the German military units of the Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais , Nord for short, is one of the 27 regions of France. It consists of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, in the north and has a border with Belgium. Most of the region was once part of the Southern Netherlands, within the Low Countries, and gradually became part of France...
area with their surrender following on September 30.
Resumption of bombing
Crossbow bombing resumed after the first V-2V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
attack and included a large September 17th raid on Dutch targets suspected as bases for Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
s, which were air-launching V-1s. Modified V-1s (865 total) were "air-launched" from September 16th, 1944 to January 14th, 1945. The British had initially considered that an earlier July 18–21, 1944 effort of 50 air-launched V-1s had been "ground-launched" from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, particularly near Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. In addition to air-launched V-1s, launches were from ramps built in Holland in 1945. Allied reconnaissance detected two sites at Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
and Ypenburg, and along with a third at Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, they launched 274 V-1s at London from March 3–29. Only 125 reached the British defences, and only 13 of those reached the target area. Three additional sites directed their fire on Antwerp. After using medium bombers against V-2 launch site in the Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos is an area and a forest in the centre of The Hague, Netherlands. It reaches from the Center of The Hague near Malieveld to the city of Wassenaar...
on March 3, the RAF attacked the Holland V-1 sites with two squadrons. A RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
unit used Spitfires against Ypenburg on March 20 and 23, while a 2nd Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
unit used Typhoons against Vlaardingen on March 23. Counterattacks on Holland V-1 and V-2 sites ended on April 3, and all Crossbow countermeasures ended on May 2 with the end of World War II in Europe
End of World War II in Europe
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
.
V-1 defence
On January 2, 1944, Roderic HillRoderic Hill
Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill KCB, MC, AFC & Bar, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II, and a past Rector of Imperial College...
submitted his plan to deploy 1,332 guns for the air defence
Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain was a RAF command comprising substantial Army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and the Solent against the V-1 "Robot Blitz" (the "Diver Operations Room" was at RAF Biggin Hill). V-1s that hadn't run out of fuel or veered off course were attacked by select units of Fighter Command (No. 150 Wing RAF) operating high speed fighters, the anti-aircraft guns of Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the anti-aircraft artillery units of the British Isles.-History:...
, and approximately 1,750 barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
s of Balloon Command around London." Flabby was the code name for medium weather conditions when fighters were allowed to chase flying bombs over the gun-belt to the balloon line, and during Operation Totter, the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
fired ‘Snowflake’ illuminating rocket flares from the ground to identify V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s to RAF fighters. After the Robot Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
began on the night of June 12/13, an RAF fighter first intercepted a V-1 on June 14/15. Moreover, anti-aircraft guns increased the rate of downed V-1s to 1 per 77 rounds fired after "the first few weeks of proximity fuse operation" (Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones, CH CB CBE FRS, was a British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert who played an important role in the defence of Britain in -Education:...
). By June 27, "over 100,000 houses had been damaged or destroyed by the V-1... and shattered sewage systems threatened serious epidemics unless fixed by winter."
Of the 638 air-launched V-1s that had been observed (e.g., by the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
), guns and fighters downed 403 and the remainder fell in the London Civil Defence Region (66), at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(1), or elsewhere (168, including Southhampton on July 7). Additionally, the gunners on W/Cdr. S.G. Birch's Lancaster claimed they downed a V-1 over the target area on a March 3, 1945, raid on the Ladbergen
Ladbergen
Ladbergen is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approximately 25 km south-west of Osnabrück and 20 km north-east of Münster.-Geography:...
aqueduct.operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight".
The original 1943 code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
Bodyline was replaced with Crossbow on November 15, 1943. Post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
, Crossbow operations became known as Operation Crossbow as early as 1962, particularly following the 1965 film of the same name
Operation Crossbow (film)
Operation Crossbow is a British 1965 spy thriller and World War II film, made from a story from Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli and filmed at MGM-British Studios...
.
Strategic bombing
- For a list of bombing targets, see the Operation Crossbow navigation box (below).
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
became convincing, the War Cabinet
Churchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
Defence Committee (Operations) directed the campaign's first planned raid (the Operation Hydra attack of Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
in August 1943). Following Operation Hydra, a few Crossbow attacks were conducted on the "Heavy Crossbow" bunkers of Watten (V-2) and Mimoyecques (V-3) through November. "CROSSBOW Operations Against Ski Sites" began on December 5 with the NOBALL code name used for the targets (e.g., 'Noball 27' was the site, 'Noball No. 93' was in the Cherbourg area, 'Noball No. 107' was at Grand Parc, and 'noball' V1 site No.147 was at Ligescourt
Ligescourt
Ligescourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ligescourt is situated on the D12 road, some north of Abbeville.-Population:-External links:*...
).http://www.checksix-fr.com/bibliotheque/index.php?page=detail&ID=5046
). The US formed its own Crossbow Committee under General Stephen Henry (New Developments Division) on December 29, 1943, and the US subsequently developed bombing techniques for ski sites in February/March 1944 at the Air Corps Proving Ground
Operation Crossbow Site
The Operation Crossbow Site is a historic location at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. During the war a reconstruction of a German V-1 flying bomb launch site was built to test the measures needed to destroy the actual bases in France....
(a June plan to attack V-1 launch sites from aircraft carriers
Project Danny
Project Danny was a World War II plan for United States Marine Corps F4U Corsair fighter aircraft to attack German V-1 flying bomb launch sites in northern France...
with USMC fighters was disapproved). V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
facilities were also bombed in 1944, including smaller facilities such as V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
storage depots and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
plants, such as the Mery-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
V-2 storage depot
on August 4, 1944 and, by the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, which bombed 5 LOX
Lox
Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...
plants in Belgium on August 25, 1944 and aborted the next day "to hit liquid oxygen plants at La Louviere, Torte and Willebroeck, Belgium...due to clouds."
Bombing priority
At the request of the British War CabinetChurchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
, on April 19, 1944, Dwight Eisenhower-directed Crossbow attacks have absolute priority over all other air operations, including "wearing down German industry" and morale
Area bombing directive
The Area Bombing Directive was a directive from the wartime British Government's Air Ministry to the Royal Air Force which ordered RAF bombers to attack the German industrial workforce and the morale of the German populace through bombing German cities and their civilian inhabitants.- Background...
"for the time being", which he confirmed after the V-1 assault began on the night of June 12/13, 1944: "with respect to CROSSBOW targets, these targets are to take first priority over everything except the urgent requirements of the [Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
] battle; this priority to obtain until we can be certain that we have definitely gotten the upper hand of this particular business" (Eisenhower to Arthur Tedder, June 16).
Mets' footnote 55 on p. 389 for p. 237 claims the Eisenhower memo which had the "qualifier that land battle emergencies would take priority" (Mets paraphrasing) was on June 29 (not June 16 per Carter & Mueller):
Carl Spaatz
Carl Spaatz
Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz GBE was an American World War II general and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He was of German descent.-Early life:...
responded on June 28 to "complain that CROSSBOW was a 'diversion' from the main task of wearing down the Luftwaffe and bombing German industry" and to recommend instead that CROSSBOW be a secondary priority since "days of bad weather over Germany's industrial targets
Combined Bomber Offensive
The Combined Bomber Offensive was an Anglo-American offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was against German Air Force targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1944...
would still allow] enough weight of attack for the rocket sites and the lesser tactical crises." By July 10, Tedder had published a list of Crossbow targets which assigned 30 to RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, 6 to Tedder's tactical forces, and 68 to Spaatz' USSTAF; after which Spaatz again complained, so Eisenhower allowed 'spare' bombing of non-Crossbow targets: "Instructions for continuing to make CROSSBOW targets our first priority must stand, but...when...the entire strategic forces cannot be used against CROSSBOW, we should attack — (a) Aircraft industry, (b) Oil
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
, (c) ball bearing [German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Kugellagerwerke
ZF Sachs
ZF Sachs AG is a German manufacturer of automotive parts, producing powertrain and suspension components. It was formerly known as Fichtel & Sachs, Mannesmann Sachs and Sachs...
], (d) Vehicular production" (Eisenhower, July 18). On August 25, 1944, the Joint Crossbow Target Priorities Committee (established July 21)
prepared the "Plan for Attack on the German Rocket Organization When Rocket Attacks Commence"—in addition to bombing of storage, liquid-oxygen, and launch sites; the plan included aerial reconnaissance operations.
Following the last V-1 launch from France on September 1, 1944, and since the expected V-2 attacks had not begun, Crossbow bombing was suspended on September 3Gruen and the campaign against German oil facilities
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
became the highest priority. The V-1 threat from occupied France ended on September 5, 1944, when elements of the 7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment
The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
The Royal Canadian Hussars is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. The unit is based in Montreal.-Lineage:...
and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Canadian Army from 1940 to c.1945.- History :The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940...
contained the German military units of the Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais , Nord for short, is one of the 27 regions of France. It consists of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, in the north and has a border with Belgium. Most of the region was once part of the Southern Netherlands, within the Low Countries, and gradually became part of France...
area with their surrender following on September 30.
Resumption of bombing
Crossbow bombing resumed after the first V-2V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
attack and included a large September 17th raid on Dutch targets suspected as bases for Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
s, which were air-launching V-1s. Modified V-1s (865 total) were "air-launched" from September 16th, 1944 to January 14th, 1945.
The British had initially considered that an earlier July 18–21, 1944 effort of 50 air-launched V-1s had been "ground-launched" from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, particularly near Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. In addition to air-launched V-1s, launches were from ramps built in Holland in 1945. Allied reconnaissance detected two sites at Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
and Ypenburg, and along with a third at Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, they launched 274 V-1s at London from March 3–29. Only 125 reached the British defences, and only 13 of those reached the target area. Three additional sites directed their fire on Antwerp. After using medium bombers against V-2 launch site in the Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos is an area and a forest in the centre of The Hague, Netherlands. It reaches from the Center of The Hague near Malieveld to the city of Wassenaar...
on March 3, the RAF attacked the Holland V-1 sites with two squadrons. A RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
unit used Spitfires against Ypenburg on March 20 and 23, while a 2nd Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
unit used Typhoons against Vlaardingen on March 23. Counterattacks on Holland V-1 and V-2 sites ended on April 3, and all Crossbow countermeasures ended on May 2 with the end of World War II in Europe
End of World War II in Europe
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
.
V-1 defence
On January 2, 1944, Roderic HillRoderic Hill
Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill KCB, MC, AFC & Bar, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II, and a past Rector of Imperial College...
submitted his plan to deploy 1,332 guns for the air defence
Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain was a RAF command comprising substantial Army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and the Solent against the V-1 "Robot Blitz" (the "Diver Operations Room" was at RAF Biggin Hill).Collier V-1s that hadn't run out of fuel or veered off course were attacked by select units of Fighter Command (No. 150 Wing RAF) operating high speed fighters, the anti-aircraft guns of Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the anti-aircraft artillery units of the British Isles.-History:...
, and approximately 1,750 barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
s of Balloon Command around London."
Flabby was the code name for medium weather conditions when fighters were allowed to chase flying bombs over the gun-belt to the balloon line, and during Operation Totter, the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
fired ‘Snowflake’ illuminating rocket flares from the ground to identify V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s to RAF fighters. After the Robot Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
began on the night of June 12/13, an RAF fighter first intercepted a V-1 on June 14/15. Moreover, anti-aircraft guns increased the rate of downed V-1s to 1 per 77 rounds fired after "the first few weeks of proximity fuse operation" (Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones, CH CB CBE FRS, was a British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert who played an important role in the defence of Britain in -Education:...
).
By June 27, "over 100,000 houses had been damaged or destroyed by the V-1... and shattered sewage systems threatened serious epidemics unless fixed by winter."
Of the 638 air-launched V-1s that had been observed (e.g., by the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
), guns and fighters downed 403 and the remainder fell in the London Civil Defence Region (66), at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(1), or elsewhere (168, including Southhampton on July 7). Additionally, the gunners on W/Cdr. S.G. Birch's Lancaster claimed they downed a V-1 over the target area on a March 3, 1945, raid on the Ladbergen
Ladbergen
Ladbergen is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approximately 25 km south-west of Osnabrück and 20 km north-east of Münster.-Geography:...
aqueduct.operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight".
The original 1943 code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
Bodyline was replaced with Crossbow on November 15, 1943. Post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
, Crossbow operations became known as Operation Crossbow as early as 1962, particularly following the 1965 film of the same name
Operation Crossbow (film)
Operation Crossbow is a British 1965 spy thriller and World War II film, made from a story from Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli and filmed at MGM-British Studios...
.
Strategic bombing
- For a list of bombing targets, see the Operation Crossbow navigation box (below).
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
became convincing, the War Cabinet
Churchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
Defence Committee (Operations) directed the campaign's first planned raid (the Operation Hydra attack of Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
in August 1943). Following Operation Hydra, a few Crossbow attacks were conducted on the "Heavy Crossbow" bunkers of Watten (V-2) and Mimoyecques (V-3) through November. "CROSSBOW Operations Against Ski Sites" began on December 5 with the NOBALL code name used for the targets (e.g., 'Noball 27' was the site, 'Noball No. 93' was in the Cherbourg area, 'Noball No. 107' was at Grand Parc, and 'noball' V1 site No.147 was at Ligescourt
Ligescourt
Ligescourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ligescourt is situated on the D12 road, some north of Abbeville.-Population:-External links:*...
).http://www.checksix-fr.com/bibliotheque/index.php?page=detail&ID=5046
). The US formed its own Crossbow Committee under General Stephen Henry (New Developments Division) on December 29, 1943, and the US subsequently developed bombing techniques for ski sites in February/March 1944 at the Air Corps Proving Ground
Operation Crossbow Site
The Operation Crossbow Site is a historic location at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. During the war a reconstruction of a German V-1 flying bomb launch site was built to test the measures needed to destroy the actual bases in France....
(a June plan to attack V-1 launch sites from aircraft carriers
Project Danny
Project Danny was a World War II plan for United States Marine Corps F4U Corsair fighter aircraft to attack German V-1 flying bomb launch sites in northern France...
with USMC fighters was disapproved). V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
facilities were also bombed in 1944, including smaller facilities such as V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
storage depots and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
plants, such as the Mery-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
V-2 storage depot
on August 4, 1944 and, by the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, which bombed 5 LOX
Lox
Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...
plants in Belgium on August 25, 1944 and aborted the next day "to hit liquid oxygen plants at La Louviere, Torte and Willebroeck, Belgium...due to clouds."
Bombing priority
At the request of the British War CabinetChurchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
, on April 19, 1944, Dwight Eisenhower-directed Crossbow attacks have absolute priority over all other air operations, including "wearing down German industry" and morale
Area bombing directive
The Area Bombing Directive was a directive from the wartime British Government's Air Ministry to the Royal Air Force which ordered RAF bombers to attack the German industrial workforce and the morale of the German populace through bombing German cities and their civilian inhabitants.- Background...
"for the time being", which he confirmed after the V-1 assault began on the night of June 12/13, 1944: "with respect to CROSSBOW targets, these targets are to take first priority over everything except the urgent requirements of the [Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
] battle; this priority to obtain until we can be certain that we have definitely gotten the upper hand of this particular business" (Eisenhower to Arthur Tedder, June 16).
Mets' footnote 55 on p. 389 for p. 237 claims the Eisenhower memo which had the "qualifier that land battle emergencies would take priority" (Mets paraphrasing) was on June 29 (not June 16 per Carter & Mueller):
Carl Spaatz
Carl Spaatz
Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz GBE was an American World War II general and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He was of German descent.-Early life:...
responded on June 28 to "complain that CROSSBOW was a 'diversion' from the main task of wearing down the Luftwaffe and bombing German industry" and to recommend instead that CROSSBOW be a secondary priority since "days of bad weather over Germany's industrial targets
Combined Bomber Offensive
The Combined Bomber Offensive was an Anglo-American offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was against German Air Force targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1944...
would still allow] enough weight of attack for the rocket sites and the lesser tactical crises." By July 10, Tedder had published a list of Crossbow targets which assigned 30 to RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, 6 to Tedder's tactical forces, and 68 to Spaatz' USSTAF; after which Spaatz again complained, so Eisenhower allowed 'spare' bombing of non-Crossbow targets: "Instructions for continuing to make CROSSBOW targets our first priority must stand, but...when...the entire strategic forces cannot be used against CROSSBOW, we should attack — (a) Aircraft industry, (b) Oil
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
, (c) ball bearing [German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Kugellagerwerke
ZF Sachs
ZF Sachs AG is a German manufacturer of automotive parts, producing powertrain and suspension components. It was formerly known as Fichtel & Sachs, Mannesmann Sachs and Sachs...
], (d) Vehicular production" (Eisenhower, July 18). On August 25, 1944, the Joint Crossbow Target Priorities Committee (established July 21)
prepared the "Plan for Attack on the German Rocket Organization When Rocket Attacks Commence"—in addition to bombing of storage, liquid-oxygen, and launch sites; the plan included aerial reconnaissance operations.
Following the last V-1 launch from France on September 1, 1944, and since the expected V-2 attacks had not begun, Crossbow bombing was suspended on September 3Gruen and the campaign against German oil facilities
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
became the highest priority. The V-1 threat from occupied France ended on September 5, 1944, when elements of the 7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment
The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
The Royal Canadian Hussars is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. The unit is based in Montreal.-Lineage:...
and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Canadian Army from 1940 to c.1945.- History :The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940...
contained the German military units of the Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais , Nord for short, is one of the 27 regions of France. It consists of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, in the north and has a border with Belgium. Most of the region was once part of the Southern Netherlands, within the Low Countries, and gradually became part of France...
area with their surrender following on September 30.
Resumption of bombing
Crossbow bombing resumed after the first V-2V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
attack and included a large September 17th raid on Dutch targets suspected as bases for Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
s, which were air-launching V-1s. Modified V-1s (865 total) were "air-launched" from September 16th, 1944 to January 14th, 1945.
The British had initially considered that an earlier July 18–21, 1944 effort of 50 air-launched V-1s had been "ground-launched" from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, particularly near Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. In addition to air-launched V-1s, launches were from ramps built in Holland in 1945. Allied reconnaissance detected two sites at Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
and Ypenburg, and along with a third at Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, they launched 274 V-1s at London from March 3–29. Only 125 reached the British defences, and only 13 of those reached the target area. Three additional sites directed their fire on Antwerp. After using medium bombers against V-2 launch site in the Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos is an area and a forest in the centre of The Hague, Netherlands. It reaches from the Center of The Hague near Malieveld to the city of Wassenaar...
on March 3, the RAF attacked the Holland V-1 sites with two squadrons. A RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
unit used Spitfires against Ypenburg on March 20 and 23, while a 2nd Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
unit used Typhoons against Vlaardingen on March 23. Counterattacks on Holland V-1 and V-2 sites ended on April 3, and all Crossbow countermeasures ended on May 2 with the end of World War II in Europe
End of World War II in Europe
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
.
V-1 defence
On January 2, 1944, Roderic HillRoderic Hill
Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill KCB, MC, AFC & Bar, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II, and a past Rector of Imperial College...
submitted his plan to deploy 1,332 guns for the air defence
Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain was a RAF command comprising substantial Army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and the Solent against the V-1 "Robot Blitz" (the "Diver Operations Room" was at RAF Biggin Hill).Collier V-1s that hadn't run out of fuel or veered off course were attacked by select units of Fighter Command (No. 150 Wing RAF) operating high speed fighters, the anti-aircraft guns of Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the anti-aircraft artillery units of the British Isles.-History:...
, and approximately 1,750 barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
s of Balloon Command around London."
Flabby was the code name for medium weather conditions when fighters were allowed to chase flying bombs over the gun-belt to the balloon line, and during Operation Totter, the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
fired ‘Snowflake’ illuminating rocket flares from the ground to identify V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s to RAF fighters. After the Robot Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
began on the night of June 12/13, an RAF fighter first intercepted a V-1 on June 14/15. Moreover, anti-aircraft guns increased the rate of downed V-1s to 1 per 77 rounds fired after "the first few weeks of proximity fuse operation" (Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones, CH CB CBE FRS, was a British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert who played an important role in the defence of Britain in -Education:...
).
By June 27, "over 100,000 houses had been damaged or destroyed by the V-1... and shattered sewage systems threatened serious epidemics unless fixed by winter."
Of the 638 air-launched V-1s that had been observed (e.g., by the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
), guns and fighters downed 403 and the remainder fell in the London Civil Defence Region (66), at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(1), or elsewhere (168, including Southhampton on July 7). Additionally, the gunners on W/Cdr. S.G. Birch's Lancaster claimed they downed a V-1 over the target area on a March 3, 1945, raid on the Ladbergen
Ladbergen
Ladbergen is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approximately 25 km south-west of Osnabrück and 20 km north-east of Münster.-Geography:...
aqueduct.
V-2 countermeasures
The Bodyline Scientific Committee (19 members, including Duncan SandysDuncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...
, Edward Victor Appleton
Edward Victor Appleton
Sir Edward Victor Appleton, GBE, KCB, FRS was an English physicist.-Biography:Appleton was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire and educated at Hanson Grammar School. At the age of 18 he won a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge...
, John Cockcroft
John Cockcroft
Sir John Douglas Cockcroft OM KCB CBE FRS was a British physicist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus with Ernest Walton, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power....
, Robert Watson-Watt
Robert Watson-Watt
Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, KCB, FRS, FRAeS is considered by many to be the "inventor of radar". Development of radar, initially nameless, was first started elsewhere but greatly expanded on 1 September 1936 when Watson-Watt became...
) was formed in September 1943 regarding the suspected V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
, and after the 1944 crash of a test V-2 in Sweden, "transmitters to jam the guidance system of the rocket" were prepared. A British sound-ranging system provided "trajectory [data] from which the general launching area could be determined," and the microphone(s) in East Kent
East Kent
East Kent and West Kent are one-time traditional subdivisions of the English county of Kent, kept alive by the Association of the Men of Kent and Kentish Men: an organisation formed in 1913...
reported the times of the first V-2 strikes on September 8, 1944: 18:40:52 and 18:41:08.
On March 21, 1945, the plan for the "Engagement of Long Range Rockets with AA Gunfire" which called for anit-aircraft units to fire into a radar-predicted airspace to intercept the V-2 was ready, but the plan was not used due to the danger of shells falling on Greater London. Happenstance instances of Allied aircraft engaging launched V-2 rockets include the following:
- on February 14, 1945, a No. 602 Squadron RAFNo. 602 Squadron RAFNo 602 Squadron is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron. Originally formed in 1925 as a light bomber squadron, its role changed in 1938 to army co-operation and in 1939 to that of a fighter squadron....
SpitfireSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
wingman fired at a V-2 just after launch - on October 29, 1944, Lieutenants Donald A. Schultz and Charles M. Crane in a P-38 LightningP-38 LightningThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
attempted to photograph a launched V-2 above the trees near the River Rhine,Kennedy - on January 1, 1945, a 4th Fighter Group pilot observed a Big BenProject Big Ben"Big Ben" was the World War II code name for the British project to reconstruct and evaluate captured German missiles such as the V-2 rocket. On July 31, 1944, after the UK agreed to exchange Supermarine Spitfires for the wreckage of a V-2 in Sweden during World War II, experts at Farnborough...
"act up for firing near LochemLochemLochem is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. it is also the hebrew word for soldier or warrior. On 1 January 2005, the municipality merged with the municipality of Gorssel.- Population centres :Small hamlets are printed in italics....
... the rocket was immediately tilted from 85 deg. to 30 deg", - a B-24 Liberator of the 34th Bombardment Group over the Low CountriesLow CountriesThe Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
at ~10,000 feet saw a rocket climb through the formation like "a telephone pole with fire squirting from out of its tail. ...a left waist gunner in our squadron let fly a burst and down it went". The unit painted a V-2 on the B-24 such as one would mark a downed enemy aircraft.
After the last combat V-2 launch on March 27, 1945, the British discontinued their use of radar in the defence region to detect V-2 launches on April 13.
Crossbow was the code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
campaign of Anglo
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
"operations against all phases of the German long-range weapons programme
Vergeltungswaffe
V-weapons also, known in the original German as Vergeltungswaffen , were a particular set of long range artillery weapons designed for strategic bombing during World War II, particularly terror bombing and/or aerial bombing of cities. They comprised the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 rocket and the V-3...
—operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight".
The original 1943 code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
Bodyline was replaced with Crossbow on November 15, 1943. Post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
, Crossbow operations became known as Operation Crossbow as early as 1962, particularly following the 1965 film of the same name
Operation Crossbow (film)
Operation Crossbow is a British 1965 spy thriller and World War II film, made from a story from Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli and filmed at MGM-British Studios...
.
Strategic bombing
- For a list of bombing targets, see the Operation Crossbow navigation box (below).
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
became convincing, the War Cabinet
Churchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
Defence Committee (Operations) directed the campaign's first planned raid (the Operation Hydra attack of Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
in August 1943). Following Operation Hydra, a few Crossbow attacks were conducted on the "Heavy Crossbow" bunkers of Watten (V-2) and Mimoyecques (V-3) through November. "CROSSBOW Operations Against Ski Sites" began on December 5 with the NOBALL code name used for the targets (e.g., 'Noball 27' was the site, 'Noball No. 93' was in the Cherbourg area, 'Noball No. 107' was at Grand Parc, and 'noball' V1 site No.147 was at Ligescourt
Ligescourt
Ligescourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ligescourt is situated on the D12 road, some north of Abbeville.-Population:-External links:*...
).http://www.checksix-fr.com/bibliotheque/index.php?page=detail&ID=5046
). The US formed its own Crossbow Committee under General Stephen Henry (New Developments Division) on December 29, 1943, and the US subsequently developed bombing techniques for ski sites in February/March 1944 at the Air Corps Proving Ground
Operation Crossbow Site
The Operation Crossbow Site is a historic location at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. During the war a reconstruction of a German V-1 flying bomb launch site was built to test the measures needed to destroy the actual bases in France....
(a June plan to attack V-1 launch sites from aircraft carriers
Project Danny
Project Danny was a World War II plan for United States Marine Corps F4U Corsair fighter aircraft to attack German V-1 flying bomb launch sites in northern France...
with USMC fighters was disapproved). V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
facilities were also bombed in 1944, including smaller facilities such as V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
storage depots and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
plants, such as the Mery-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise
Méry-sur-Oise is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
V-2 storage depot
on August 4, 1944 and, by the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, which bombed 5 LOX
Lox
Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...
plants in Belgium on August 25, 1944 and aborted the next day "to hit liquid oxygen plants at La Louviere, Torte and Willebroeck, Belgium...due to clouds."
Bombing priority
At the request of the British War CabinetChurchill War Ministry
-The War Cabinet:Changes*August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook , Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet*October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War...
, on April 19, 1944, Dwight Eisenhower-directed Crossbow attacks have absolute priority over all other air operations, including "wearing down German industry" and morale
Area bombing directive
The Area Bombing Directive was a directive from the wartime British Government's Air Ministry to the Royal Air Force which ordered RAF bombers to attack the German industrial workforce and the morale of the German populace through bombing German cities and their civilian inhabitants.- Background...
"for the time being", which he confirmed after the V-1 assault began on the night of June 12/13, 1944: "with respect to CROSSBOW targets, these targets are to take first priority over everything except the urgent requirements of the [Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
] battle; this priority to obtain until we can be certain that we have definitely gotten the upper hand of this particular business" (Eisenhower to Arthur Tedder, June 16).
Mets' footnote 55 on p. 389 for p. 237 claims the Eisenhower memo which had the "qualifier that land battle emergencies would take priority" (Mets paraphrasing) was on June 29 (not June 16 per Carter & Mueller):
Carl Spaatz
Carl Spaatz
Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz GBE was an American World War II general and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He was of German descent.-Early life:...
responded on June 28 to "complain that CROSSBOW was a 'diversion' from the main task of wearing down the Luftwaffe and bombing German industry" and to recommend instead that CROSSBOW be a secondary priority since "days of bad weather over Germany's industrial targets
Combined Bomber Offensive
The Combined Bomber Offensive was an Anglo-American offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was against German Air Force targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1944...
would still allow] enough weight of attack for the rocket sites and the lesser tactical crises." By July 10, Tedder had published a list of Crossbow targets which assigned 30 to RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, 6 to Tedder's tactical forces, and 68 to Spaatz' USSTAF; after which Spaatz again complained, so Eisenhower allowed 'spare' bombing of non-Crossbow targets: "Instructions for continuing to make CROSSBOW targets our first priority must stand, but...when...the entire strategic forces cannot be used against CROSSBOW, we should attack — (a) Aircraft industry, (b) Oil
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
, (c) ball bearing [German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Kugellagerwerke
ZF Sachs
ZF Sachs AG is a German manufacturer of automotive parts, producing powertrain and suspension components. It was formerly known as Fichtel & Sachs, Mannesmann Sachs and Sachs...
], (d) Vehicular production" (Eisenhower, July 18). On August 25, 1944, the Joint Crossbow Target Priorities Committee (established July 21)
prepared the "Plan for Attack on the German Rocket Organization When Rocket Attacks Commence"—in addition to bombing of storage, liquid-oxygen, and launch sites; the plan included aerial reconnaissance operations.
Following the last V-1 launch from France on September 1, 1944, and since the expected V-2 attacks had not begun, Crossbow bombing was suspended on September 3Gruen and the campaign against German oil facilities
Oil Campaign of World War II
The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products...
became the highest priority. The V-1 threat from occupied France ended on September 5, 1944, when elements of the 7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment
The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
The Royal Canadian Hussars is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. The unit is based in Montreal.-Lineage:...
and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Canadian Army from 1940 to c.1945.- History :The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940...
contained the German military units of the Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais , Nord for short, is one of the 27 regions of France. It consists of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, in the north and has a border with Belgium. Most of the region was once part of the Southern Netherlands, within the Low Countries, and gradually became part of France...
area with their surrender following on September 30.
Resumption of bombing
Crossbow bombing resumed after the first V-2V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
attack and included a large September 17th raid on Dutch targets suspected as bases for Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
s, which were air-launching V-1s. Modified V-1s (865 total) were "air-launched" from September 16th, 1944 to January 14th, 1945.
The British had initially considered that an earlier July 18–21, 1944 effort of 50 air-launched V-1s had been "ground-launched" from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, particularly near Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. In addition to air-launched V-1s, launches were from ramps built in Holland in 1945. Allied reconnaissance detected two sites at Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
and Ypenburg, and along with a third at Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, they launched 274 V-1s at London from March 3–29. Only 125 reached the British defences, and only 13 of those reached the target area. Three additional sites directed their fire on Antwerp. After using medium bombers against V-2 launch site in the Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos is an area and a forest in the centre of The Hague, Netherlands. It reaches from the Center of The Hague near Malieveld to the city of Wassenaar...
on March 3, the RAF attacked the Holland V-1 sites with two squadrons. A RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
unit used Spitfires against Ypenburg on March 20 and 23, while a 2nd Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
unit used Typhoons against Vlaardingen on March 23. Counterattacks on Holland V-1 and V-2 sites ended on April 3, and all Crossbow countermeasures ended on May 2 with the end of World War II in Europe
End of World War II in Europe
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
.
V-1 defence
On January 2, 1944, Roderic HillRoderic Hill
Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill KCB, MC, AFC & Bar, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II, and a past Rector of Imperial College...
submitted his plan to deploy 1,332 guns for the air defence
Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain was a RAF command comprising substantial Army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and the Solent against the V-1 "Robot Blitz" (the "Diver Operations Room" was at RAF Biggin Hill).Collier V-1s that hadn't run out of fuel or veered off course were attacked by select units of Fighter Command (No. 150 Wing RAF) operating high speed fighters, the anti-aircraft guns of Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the anti-aircraft artillery units of the British Isles.-History:...
, and approximately 1,750 barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
s of Balloon Command around London."
Flabby was the code name for medium weather conditions when fighters were allowed to chase flying bombs over the gun-belt to the balloon line, and during Operation Totter, the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
fired ‘Snowflake’ illuminating rocket flares from the ground to identify V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s to RAF fighters. After the Robot Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
began on the night of June 12/13, an RAF fighter first intercepted a V-1 on June 14/15. Moreover, anti-aircraft guns increased the rate of downed V-1s to 1 per 77 rounds fired after "the first few weeks of proximity fuse operation" (Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones, CH CB CBE FRS, was a British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert who played an important role in the defence of Britain in -Education:...
).
By June 27, "over 100,000 houses had been damaged or destroyed by the V-1... and shattered sewage systems threatened serious epidemics unless fixed by winter."
Of the 638 air-launched V-1s that had been observed (e.g., by the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
), guns and fighters downed 403 and the remainder fell in the London Civil Defence Region (66), at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(1), or elsewhere (168, including Southhampton on July 7). Additionally, the gunners on W/Cdr. S.G. Birch's Lancaster claimed they downed a V-1 over the target area on a March 3, 1945, raid on the Ladbergen
Ladbergen
Ladbergen is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approximately 25 km south-west of Osnabrück and 20 km north-east of Münster.-Geography:...
aqueduct.
V-2 countermeasures
The Bodyline Scientific Committee (19 members, including Duncan SandysDuncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...
, Edward Victor Appleton
Edward Victor Appleton
Sir Edward Victor Appleton, GBE, KCB, FRS was an English physicist.-Biography:Appleton was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire and educated at Hanson Grammar School. At the age of 18 he won a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge...
, John Cockcroft
John Cockcroft
Sir John Douglas Cockcroft OM KCB CBE FRS was a British physicist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus with Ernest Walton, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power....
, Robert Watson-Watt
Robert Watson-Watt
Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, KCB, FRS, FRAeS is considered by many to be the "inventor of radar". Development of radar, initially nameless, was first started elsewhere but greatly expanded on 1 September 1936 when Watson-Watt became...
) was formed in September 1943 regarding the suspected V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
, and after the 1944 crash of a test V-2 in Sweden, "transmitters to jam the guidance system of the rocket" were prepared. A British sound-ranging system provided "trajectory [data] from which the general launching area could be determined," and the microphone(s) in East Kent
East Kent
East Kent and West Kent are one-time traditional subdivisions of the English county of Kent, kept alive by the Association of the Men of Kent and Kentish Men: an organisation formed in 1913...
reported the times of the first V-2 strikes on September 8, 1944: 18:40:52 and 18:41:08.
On March 21, 1945, the plan for the "Engagement of Long Range Rockets with AA Gunfire" which called for anit-aircraft units to fire into a radar-predicted airspace to intercept the V-2 was ready, but the plan was not used due to the danger of shells falling on Greater London. Happenstance instances of Allied aircraft engaging launched V-2 rockets include the following:
- on February 14, 1945, a No. 602 Squadron RAFNo. 602 Squadron RAFNo 602 Squadron is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron. Originally formed in 1925 as a light bomber squadron, its role changed in 1938 to army co-operation and in 1939 to that of a fighter squadron....
SpitfireSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
wingman fired at a V-2 just after launch - on October 29, 1944, Lieutenants Donald A. Schultz and Charles M. Crane in a P-38 LightningP-38 LightningThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
attempted to photograph a launched V-2 above the trees near the River Rhine,Kennedy - on January 1, 1945, a 4th Fighter Group pilot observed a Big BenProject Big Ben"Big Ben" was the World War II code name for the British project to reconstruct and evaluate captured German missiles such as the V-2 rocket. On July 31, 1944, after the UK agreed to exchange Supermarine Spitfires for the wreckage of a V-2 in Sweden during World War II, experts at Farnborough...
"act up for firing near LochemLochemLochem is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. it is also the hebrew word for soldier or warrior. On 1 January 2005, the municipality merged with the municipality of Gorssel.- Population centres :Small hamlets are printed in italics....
... the rocket was immediately tilted from 85 deg. to 30 deg", - a B-24 Liberator of the 34th Bombardment Group over the Low CountriesLow CountriesThe Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
at ~10,000 feet saw a rocket climb through the formation like "a telephone pole with fire squirting from out of its tail. ...a left waist gunner in our squadron let fly a burst and down it went". The unit painted a V-2 on the B-24 such as one would mark a downed enemy aircraft.
After the last combat V-2 launch on March 27, 1945, the British discontinued their use of radar in the defence region to detect V-2 launches on April 13.
Named activities
- Bodyline Joint Staff Committee
- Diver - a secret British Defence Instruction specified the code name: "Enemy Flying Bombs will be referred to or known as 'Diver' aircraft or pilotless planes" to alert defences of an imminent attack (often called Operation Diver, particularly post-war, without citation).
- Flying Bomb Counter Measures Committee (Duncan SandysDuncan SandysEdwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...
, chairman) - Fuel Panel of the Special Scientific Committee (Sir Frank SmithFrank Edward SmithSir Frank Edward Smith, GCB, GBE, FRS was a British physicist.He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1918. His candidacy citation read: "Principal Assistant in the National Physical Laboratory . Author of a number of papers dealing with electrical units which have appeared in the...
, chairman) - Questionnaire...to establish the practicability...of the German Long-Range Rocket (by Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount CherwellFrederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount CherwellFrederick Alexander Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell FRS PC CH was an English physicist who was an influential scientific adviser to the British government, particularly Winston Churchill...
)