Bombing missions in wwii

Israeli citizen here.
Interested in the outstanding work of the British Bomber Command, especially
the 4 engines type planes. Lancaster, Halifax , Stirling
How many active air fields were there during those years in the eastern
part of Anglia?
Also, they flew by night, in one long stream,
so how come the target was bombed in 10-15 minutes, e.g. when 250 Lancasters
are bombing...
I also have some technical questions regarding the (Lancaster and others) flights.
Will be much obliged if someone can help.
Regards,
Ran

I will attempt an answer regarding the method of the Bomber stream.

Each aircraft from each squadron was given a time over target. Although the aircraft took off from many airfields in several counties, that time was adhered to as closely as possible. It can seem that the stream was miles long, and in some cases it was. But getting 250 aircraft through the target area was achieved as they would not be in a line astern, but spread to each side and sometimes above and below each other.

There were losses due to bombs hitting aircraft below. There were also collisions, but not on the scale you would imagine there to be in such a crowded sky. With speed and spread you will understand that it was possible to have that many aircraft through a target area in such a short time.

In late 1942 and early 1943 there were raids on which all of the aircraft you mentioned would be in the target area. The higher flying aircraft would bomb from the altitude best suited for them. The Lancaster for instance bombed usually between 16,000 and 20,000 ft plus. While the poor old Stirlings operated at about 12,000 if they were lucky. Halifaxes operated between the two. Later as aircraft production of type increased, the later raids of 1944/45 were predominently Lancaster in origin, and indeed more aircraft per raid. Then the raids were longer by nature of being a longer stream.

Not the best answer you will receive, and not the best from me at this time of night, but the best I can come up with off of the top of my head!
Hope this helps..and welcome.
A better answer could be obtained from those much more knowledgable than myself.
Try a post here on www.rafcommands.com/forum/

Its simple mathmatics. Assuming the aircraft were one quarter of a mile apart (and they were much closer than that) the number of bombers passing over a single point in 15 minutes will equal the average speed of the aircraft i.e.- speed 180mph = 3miles per minute X 4 aircraft per mile X 15 minutes = 180 aircraft multiply that by the spread of the stream in both width and height as Denis explained you could easily increase that number by 9 or 10.
Most RAF bomber stations were in Lincolnshire and northwards most of the bomber stations in East Anglia were used by the USAAF.
It was not uncommon for over a 1000 bombers to take part in a raid towards the end of the war, the first taking place about 1942. The first 1000 bomber raid was something of an experiment because of the high casualty rate due to night fighters. Bomber command was concerned about the danger of collison. As it turned out only two aircraft were lost in this way (a Halifax and a Wellington). The losses due to night fighters however was considerably reduced and the losses overall were less so it was decided to proceed with mass attacks.

Denis and Philbasildon
Thanks for informing. With respect to present day flying safety rulrs, it seems unbelievable.
Flying in night, 300 meters from one another, or maybe in different altitudes, reaching a target
which is 2,3,4,hrs or more flight time from your base, without having any good navigation accessories
that can bring you on time to target, and without seeing your partners to the same mission,
and then just droping your load, and all this under the supervision / instructing "Master Bomber",
and then taking a picture of the bombing for validation, it all looks really out of standads of present
day aviation safety, but nevertheless, dedication bravery and flight performance were all at their maximum
that one can ask for, from human beings...

Ran

Collisions did occur. One of my mothers cousins was lost when his Halifax collided with another over Cardigan Bay on a training flight. The reason for introducing the 1000 bomber raids was because of the high casualty rate from German night fighters. The German defences were swamped by the vast number of attacking aircraft. However the losses from collisions was far less than people think, on the first 1000 bomber raid only two aircraft collided with each other, a 0.02% casualty rate. Overall only about 30 aircraft were lost in this first raid wheras before losses on some raids exceeded 50%. Most of the aircraft lost were due to flak, the concentration of aircraft probably contributed a little to this but the nightfighters were unable to prevent the majority getting through. It also helped that the waves of bombers were staggered I will try to demonstrate below.
The aircraft flying in formation at higher altitude would theoreticaly be flying between the aircraft below so the lower flight would not be bombed but many factors were against this such as weather, night fighter attacks and sometimes engine failure. Many aircraft survived being "bombed" because the bomb that hit them did not explode due to there not being enough time for the bomb to arm itself. Many a time aircraft returned with large holes in the wings or fuselage due to being hit by a bomb.
Unfortunately I am unable to make a diagram that makes any sense when it appears.

Most RAF raids exited the coast at Mablethorpe, and I believe that the Wellington bombed at a higher height than the Lancaster. And of course the Mosquito bombed at the highest height of bomber command.

Also to take in to account are the many spoofs and diversionary raids that came later in the war. On many occasions 1000 aircraft did set course initially for the same target. Along the route and once in to enemy territory, certain amounts of aircraft were pre-briefed to split off to target other cities thus splitting the German night fighter defences as to what and where exactly was the perceived 'Target for Tonight'

Throw in a few bombers fitted out for radio counter measures. Add RAF Mosquitos flying intruder sorties against the Luftwaffe night fighter aircraft and their airfields and the Bombers war developed into a whole new concept of heavy bombing. Add also dedicated target marking with the Pathfinder force, to the concept of 'Master of Ceremonies' A far cry from the early days of 39-41 when from its own admission RAF Bomber command could hardly find a target let alone bomb it. But through determination, and finally good leadership, it evolved for the better.
Many books have been written about Bomber Commands exploits, both from the early days through to the end. I foresee a great deal of reading in your life Ran!

Denis,
Yes, your prediction was right. I was an air force (Israeli) pilot; Now retired. On 2007 we made a guided tour to Dresden and Berlin;
This was shortly after I finished reading Fredrick Taylor's extraordinary compilation on WWII Dresden's 13 February 1945 bombing by the British Bomber Command and by the American 8th Air Force. Together with other documents in the internet, and books on the bombing and WWII, I have gathered some knowledge of the facts and I was therefore surprised and even angered by the informarion that the guides gave us on this militay move (The bombing). What they delivered was quite misleading, especially when saying that this mission was a revenge by the British and Americans, that Dresden had no military significance and all sort of other unbased arguments. Well I did my job in countering them and giving the participants some information the guides never bothered to collect.
I wish I can still find participants from those bombing squadrons, and/or from the Pathfinders, which will be able to shed some light on technical aspects; The latter, you do not generally find in the books and it is of course preferable to discuss it with someone who have direct experience.
Regards, Ran.

Ran you must have some stories to tell us about the Israeli Air Force??

IIRC one of your Commanders was an ex RAF Sergeant and he became presidentof Israel. I heard a good story about him, someone said of him" I can understand him becoming Comander of the Israeli Air Force but how on earth did he become an RAF sergeant".