Thousand Bomber Strike

This is an imaginative canvas by Freedman created from a description given by Flight Lieutenant Peter Isaacson DFC, DFM, AFC, of the first thousand bomber raid on Cologne, Germany, May 1942. Of this work, Freedman notes; 'Cologne was one of several highly industrialised German targets scheduled in February 1942 for major air strikes by Bomber Command of the RAF. The city had been raided during 1941 with small forces, which were substantially increased for further raids in March-April 1942. On the last night of May 1942, however, a force of 1,042 bombers set off for Cologne, of which 868 actually attacked the city. The RAAF was represented in the force by No. 460 Squadron, although many individual Australians were in the crews of other participating squadrons. In one and a half hours 1,524 tonnes of bombs were dropped, about two-thirds of them incendiary. The sheer weight of the attack defied all efforts to control the massive fires. About 243 hectares of the city were devastated; 250 factories were destroyed or seriously damaged, including submarine engine works and railway workshops. There was also widespread damage to city facilities. Forty of the attacking aircraft were lost'.