Dortmund from above: Aerial view after Allied air raids in World War II

Published on February 27, 2020
Dortmund from above: Aerial view after Allied air raids in World War II

The city of Dortmund is the largest city of the Ruhr Area. It lies in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region. Bombing targets in Dortmund were not only of the oil refineries, but also coal mines. The bombings destroyed about 66 % of Dortmund homes. The devastating bombing raids of 12 March 1945 with 1,108 aircraft - including 748 Lancasters, 292 Halifaxes and 68 Mosquitos - destroyed 98 % of buildings in the inner city center. In total 4,851 tonnes of bombs were dropped through Dortmund city. This was a record to a single target in the whole of World War II. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Dortmund in April 1945. The US 95th Infantry Division attacked the city on 12 April 1945 against the German defense. The division advanced through the ruins in urban combat and completed its capture on 13 April 1945.


Trolley Mission

This website analyzes extraordinary sightseeing tours of Germany at the end of the European War (Second World War). In May 1945, there were non-stop observation flights over Germany - subsequently referred to as “Trolley Missions”. During these low-level flights across Europe and Germany aerial photos were taken showing the bomb damages of German cities.