The 1987 Rheindahlen bombing was a car bomb attack on 23 March 1987 at JHQ Rheindahlen military barracks, the British Army headquarters in West Germany, injuring thirty-one. The large 300 lb (140 kg) car bomb exploded near the visitors officers' mess of the barracks. The Provisional IRA later stated it had carried out the bombing. It was the second bombing in Rheindahlen, the first being in 1973, and the start of the IRA's campaign on mainland Europe from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Although British soldiers were targeted, most of the injured were actually German officers and their wives.
Other than attacks in Northern Ireland and England the Provisional IRA also carried out attacks in other countries such as West Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, where British soldiers were based. Between 1979 and 1990, eight unarmed soldiers and six civilians died in these attacks. It was the first IRA attack in West Germany since a British Army officer, Colonel Mark Coe, was shot dead by an IRA unit outside his home in, Bielefeld in February 1980. Coe's assassination was one of the first high-profile killings by the IRA in Germany and on mainland Europe.[1] A year before, British Ambassador to the Netherlands Sir Richard Sykes was assassinated, whilst four British soldiers were hurt in the 1979 Brussels bombing in Belgium, just one day after the killing of Lord Mountbatten and the Warrenpoint ambush, which killed 18 British soldiers. In November 1981 the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) bombed a British Army base in Herford, West Germany. There were no injuries in the attack.[2][3] There was also a mortar attack on British Army base in Germany in 1996.[4]
According to author Ed Moloney's "The Secret History of the IRA", IRA Chief of Staff Kevin McKenna before the capture of the Eksund (a ship that was to ship heavy weaponry to the IRA from Libya) envisaged a three-pronged offensive that would start in Northern Ireland and then spread to British targets in mainland Europe.
The bombing
The IRA planted a 300-pound car bomb inside JHQ Rheindahlen, near the officers' mess. When the large car bomb exploded 31 people were injured, some of them badly. Twenty-seven West Germans and four Britons were hurt in the bombing at 22:30 local time. Rheindahlen was a major British military base in West Germany, with more than 12,000 service personnel being stationed there. It was the headquarters of both the British Army of the Rhine and Royal Air Force Germany (RAF Rheindahlen).
The force of the blast ripped up the road and caused extensive damage to parked cars and surrounding buildings. The injured were taken to the RAF hospital at Wegberg, a few miles south of Rheindahlen, near the Dutch border. The bomb caused parts of the ceiling to collapse and doors were ripped from their frames. A police spokesman said the blast blew out windows in buildings several hundred yards away.
It looked like it was a reasonably successful attack from the IRA's point of view but the IRA actually had a close escape. The only reason people had not been killed was that the IRA ASU was unable to position the car bomb closer to the mess, because the car park was full of vehicles. Unknown to the IRA unit, most of the vehicles were owned by West German military officers who had been invited to spend a social evening with their British counterparts. Had the IRA's operation plan been carried out fully many of these German officers could have been killed and the start of the IRA's Europe campaign would have been a diplomatic and military disaster and a big blow to any of the IRA's international support.
Aftermath
The IRA later said it had carried out the bombing of the Rheindahlen barracks. A statement from the IRA said: "Our unit's brief was to inflict a devastating blow but was ordered to be careful to avoid civilian casualties."
The National Democratic Front for the Liberation of West Germany, a previously unheard of group, also claimed to have been behind the attack, but this was dismissed by police investigators.
^Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
^Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1981". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
^Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
^Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1996". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
January 06, 2023
1987, rheindahlen, bombing, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1987 Rheindahlen bombing news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 1987 Rheindahlen bombing was a car bomb attack on 23 March 1987 at JHQ Rheindahlen military barracks the British Army headquarters in West Germany injuring thirty one The large 300 lb 140 kg car bomb exploded near the visitors officers mess of the barracks The Provisional IRA later stated it had carried out the bombing It was the second bombing in Rheindahlen the first being in 1973 and the start of the IRA s campaign on mainland Europe from the late 1980s to the early 1990s Although British soldiers were targeted most of the injured were actually German officers and their wives 1987 Rheindahlen bombingPart of the TroublesLocationRheindahlen West GermanyDate23 March 1987 22 30 UTC 01 00 TargetMilitary targetAttack typeCar bombDeaths0Injured31 Contents 1 Background 2 The bombing 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 ReferencesBackground EditOther than attacks in Northern Ireland and England the Provisional IRA also carried out attacks in other countries such as West Germany Belgium and the Netherlands where British soldiers were based Between 1979 and 1990 eight unarmed soldiers and six civilians died in these attacks It was the first IRA attack in West Germany since a British Army officer Colonel Mark Coe was shot dead by an IRA unit outside his home in Bielefeld in February 1980 Coe s assassination was one of the first high profile killings by the IRA in Germany and on mainland Europe 1 A year before British Ambassador to the Netherlands Sir Richard Sykes was assassinated whilst four British soldiers were hurt in the 1979 Brussels bombing in Belgium just one day after the killing of Lord Mountbatten and the Warrenpoint ambush which killed 18 British soldiers In November 1981 the Irish National Liberation Army INLA bombed a British Army base in Herford West Germany There were no injuries in the attack 2 3 There was also a mortar attack on British Army base in Germany in 1996 4 According to author Ed Moloney s The Secret History of the IRA IRA Chief of Staff Kevin McKenna before the capture of the Eksund a ship that was to ship heavy weaponry to the IRA from Libya envisaged a three pronged offensive that would start in Northern Ireland and then spread to British targets in mainland Europe The bombing EditThe IRA planted a 300 pound car bomb inside JHQ Rheindahlen near the officers mess When the large car bomb exploded 31 people were injured some of them badly Twenty seven West Germans and four Britons were hurt in the bombing at 22 30 local time Rheindahlen was a major British military base in West Germany with more than 12 000 service personnel being stationed there It was the headquarters of both the British Army of the Rhine and Royal Air Force Germany RAF Rheindahlen The force of the blast ripped up the road and caused extensive damage to parked cars and surrounding buildings The injured were taken to the RAF hospital at Wegberg a few miles south of Rheindahlen near the Dutch border The bomb caused parts of the ceiling to collapse and doors were ripped from their frames A police spokesman said the blast blew out windows in buildings several hundred yards away It looked like it was a reasonably successful attack from the IRA s point of view but the IRA actually had a close escape The only reason people had not been killed was that the IRA ASU was unable to position the car bomb closer to the mess because the car park was full of vehicles Unknown to the IRA unit most of the vehicles were owned by West German military officers who had been invited to spend a social evening with their British counterparts Had the IRA s operation plan been carried out fully many of these German officers could have been killed and the start of the IRA s Europe campaign would have been a diplomatic and military disaster and a big blow to any of the IRA s international support Aftermath EditThe IRA later said it had carried out the bombing of the Rheindahlen barracks A statement from the IRA said Our unit s brief was to inflict a devastating blow but was ordered to be careful to avoid civilian casualties The National Democratic Front for the Liberation of West Germany a previously unheard of group also claimed to have been behind the attack but this was dismissed by police investigators The British Army of the Rhine was renamed British Forces Germany BFG in 1994 See also EditOsnabruck mortar attack Glamorgan Barracks bombing 1988 IRA attacks in the NetherlandsReferences Edit Sutton Malcolm CAIN Sutton Index of Deaths cain ulst ac uk Retrieved 17 May 2017 Melaugh Dr Martin CAIN Chronology of the Conflict 1981 cain ulst ac uk Retrieved 17 May 2017 Sutton Malcolm CAIN Sutton Index of Deaths cain ulst ac uk Retrieved 17 May 2017 Melaugh Dr Martin CAIN Chronology of the Conflict 1996 cain ulst ac uk Retrieved 17 May 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1987 Rheindahlen bombing amp oldid 1127930448, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
