Baling out over Belgium

24th June 1943: A dramatic account of the fight to save a Lancaster bomber before it becomes inevitable that the crew must 'bale out'

Vertical aerial photograph taken during a raid on Wuppertal, Germany, on the night of 29/30 May 1943. Silhouetted by the glare of a photoflash bomb (centre right) an Avro Lancaster can be seen flying north as incendiary fires take hold in the South Barmen district. This raid was regarded as the outstanding success of the Battle of the Ruhr: 719 aircraft bombed Barmen with great accuracy, destroying 80 per cent of the built-up area

A German image of the damage to Wuppertal.

A end of May 1943 RAF Bomber Command had attacked the Ruhr city of Wuppertal. The concentrated attack had started a firestorm, probably the first occasion that RAF bombing achieved this effect. Around half of the city had been destroyed then.

On the 24th June 1943, they returned to finish off the rest of the city. A force of 630 aircraft took part. In the post-war bombing survey they were estimated to have destroyed 94% of the Elberfield target area - 3,000 houses and 53 industrial premises were destroyed. Almost the same number were seriously damaged. Around 1,800 people died.