The Battle of the Ruhr begins

5th March 1943: RAF Bomber Command launch their sustained assault on the industrial heart of Germany

Armourers wait for the conclusion of an engine test on Short Stirling Mark I, 'OJ-N', of No. 149 Squadron RAF, parked at the end of the south-east runway at Mildenhall, Suffolk, before loading her with 250-lb GP bombs for a night raid on Essen, Germany. Each bomb has been fitted with a shackle to enable it to be winched into position in the Stirling's high bomb-bay

"T for Tommy" a giant Lancaster bomber has made many raids over Germany, and enemy-occupied countries. It carries a crew of seven - including men from New Zealand and Canada as well as from England. Before the war the wireless operator was an engineer; the flight engineer worked on a farm; the navigator was a student; the rear gunner worked for the Egyptian government; the bomber aimer was a blacksmith and the mid-upper gunner dealt in wholesale pies. The skipper, Flying Officer J.F. Greenam, is 28 years old and comes from Calgary, Canada. Before going on operations he was a flying instructor, and in civilian life a bank cashier.

The damaged fuselage and mid-upper turret of Avro Lancaster B Mark I, R5700 'ZN-G', of No. 106 Squadron RAF based at Syerston, Nottinghamshire, after crash-landing at Hardwick, Norfolk, following an attack by a German fighter over Essen. R5700, was among 60 aircraft taking part in the first "Oboe" raid on Essen on the night of 13/14 January 1943, when it was twice attacked by a Focke Wulf Fw 190 "Wilde Sau" night-fighter shortly after bombing the target. The aircraft was severely damaged, the rear gunner was badly wounded and the mid-upper gunner, Sergeant J B Hood, was killed, but the pilot, Sergeant P N Reed, managed to fly the crippled bomber as far as the USAAF base at Hardwick before executing a successful crash-landing. Three weeks later, Sergeant Reed and his crew failed to return from a raid on Hamburg

Although the Allies had committed themselves to a ‘Europe first’ policy, and the US had pressed to invade mainland Europe in 1943, this was now seen as unrealistic. Getting troops on the ground in occupied Europe for a true 'Second Front' required an enormous logistical build-up that was going to take time - and the Battle of the Atlantic needed to be won first.

The bombing of Germany was the best that could be offered to Soviet Russia, which naturally wanted a 'Second Front' to be opened up as soon as possible.