Operation Carthage, on 21 March 1945, was a British air raid on Copenhagen, Denmark during the Second World War which caused significant collateral damage. The target of the raid was the Shellhus, used as Gestapo headquarters in the city centre. It was used for the storage of dossiers and the torture of Danish citizens during interrogations. The Danish Resistance had long asked the British to conduct a raid against the site. The building was destroyed, 18 prisoners were freed and Nazi anti-resistance activities were disrupted. One online documentary includes footage taken by the RAF and interviews with those involved [1] Part of the raid was mistakenly directed against a nearby school; the raid caused 125 civilian deaths (including 86 schoolchildren and 18 adults at the school). A similar raid against the Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus, on 31 October 1944, had succeeded.
Shell House before the bombing. At the time of the bombing it was painted in camouflage colours.Institut Jeanne d'Arc, a Roman Catholic girl school in Frederiksberg Allé, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. Established in 1924, bombed by accident by the RAF 21 March 1945 and demolished.
The raid was requested by members of the Danish resistance movement to free imprisoned members and to destroy the records of the Gestapo, to disrupt their operations. The RAF initially turned down the request as too risky, due to the location in a crowded city centre and the need for low-level bombing but they approved the raid in early 1945 after repeated requests. Once approval had been given, planning for the raid took several weeks; scale models of the target building and the surrounding city were built for use by pilots and navigators in preparation for a very low-level attack.
The force left RAF Fersfield in the morning and it reached Copenhagen after 11:00. The raid was carried out at rooftop level and during the first attack, a Mosquito hit a lamp post, damaging its wing and the aircraft crashed into the Jeanne d'Arc School, about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the target, setting it on fire. Several bombers in the second and third wave attacked the school, mistaking it for their target.[3]
Shell House burning after the bombing raid
ResultsEdit
The Gestapo headquarters in the Shellhus, Copenhagen, in March 1945 during Operation Carthage. A Mosquito pulling away from its bombing run is visible on the extreme left, centre.Aftermath: ruins of the Shell House
On the following day, a reconnaissance plane surveyed the target to assess the results. The damage was severe, with the west wing of the six-storey building reduced nearly to ground level. The Danish underground supplied a photograph showing the building burning from end to end.
The raid had destroyed the Gestapo headquarters and records, severely disrupting Gestapo operations in Denmark, as well as allowing the escape of 18 prisoners. Fifty-five German soldiers, 47 Danish employees of the Gestapo and eight prisoners died in the headquarters building. Four Mosquito bombers and two Mustang fighters were lost and nine airmen died on the Allied side.
On 14 July 1945, remains of an unidentified male casualty were recovered from the ruins of the Shellhus and transferred to the Department of Forensic Medicine of the University of Copenhagen. This happened again four days later and the two casualties were buried in Bispebjerg Cemetery on 4 and 21 September, respectively.[4]
The Jeanne d'Arc School CasualtiesEdit
The operation has nevertheless tragic consequences. One of the Mosquito in the first of three waves hit a tall lamppost, causing it to crash into a garage close to the school, roughly 1.6 km (1 mi) to the west-southwest of the Shellhuset. Two of the Mosquitos in the second wave mistook the burning structure as having been successfully bombed by the first wave, and dropped their bombs on the Jeanne d'Arc School killing 86 children and 18 adults (10 nuns, 2 firemen, 4 civil teachers and 2 fathers who tried to save their children) as well as wounding 67 children and 35 adults.
After the incident, the school never reopened. Most of the surviving children were transferred to another school, Institut Sankt Joseph. A monument in place of the school was inaugurated on March 23rd 1953 to remember the children and adult civilians who died on the day.[5]
The pilots involved in the operation were only told after victory in Europe the true consequences of the raid.
Oslo Mosquito raid, a similar attack on Gestapo headquarters in Oslo, Norway
ReferencesEdit
Notes
^"The Story of WW2's Most Ambitious Air Raid". YouTube.
^"NY film om fejlbombningen af den Franske Skole. Ægte optagelser viser angrebet fra piloternes perspektiv". 28 October 2021.
^Rasmussen, Anita Brask (21 March 2012). "Bombningen af Den Franske Skole blev redigeret ud af erindringen" [The bombing of the French School was edited out of the remembrance] (in Danish). Dagbladet Information. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
^"Døde Mandkøn" [Deceased Males]. Kirkebog [Parish Register]. 1930-1946 (in Danish). Skt. Johannes. 1945. p. 372. Ukendt Mand. (Ligrester). Fundet død i Shellhusets Ruiner. Ført til Retsmedicinsk Institut{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"23 mars 1953: Memorial inauguré..." Alamy (in French).
Bibliography
, RAF History Site: Bomber Command Famous Raids, archived from the original on 1 January 2018, retrieved 14 June 2011
Matthias Bath: Danebrog gegen Hakenkreuz, Der Widerstand in Dänemark 1940–1945, Wachholtz 2011, ISBN978-3-529-02817-5
(DK in Danish, encyclopaedic) On the French School (encyclopedic) [2]
(DK in Danish, encyclopedic) On the Shell office building (encyclopedic) [3]
(DK in Danish) On the bombing of the French School [4]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation Carthage.
. Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
IWM Interview with RAF officer Edward Sismore, who participated in the raid
Velschow, Klaus. . milhist.dk. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
October 22, 2023
operation, carthage, 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, march,. 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 Operation Carthage news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Operation Carthage on 21 March 1945 was a British air raid on Copenhagen Denmark during the Second World War which caused significant collateral damage The target of the raid was the Shellhus used as Gestapo headquarters in the city centre It was used for the storage of dossiers and the torture of Danish citizens during interrogations The Danish Resistance had long asked the British to conduct a raid against the site The building was destroyed 18 prisoners were freed and Nazi anti resistance activities were disrupted One online documentary includes footage taken by the RAF and interviews with those involved 1 Part of the raid was mistakenly directed against a nearby school the raid caused 125 civilian deaths including 86 schoolchildren and 18 adults at the school A similar raid against the Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus on 31 October 1944 had succeeded Operation CarthagePart of the Second World WarThe air raid on the ShellhusDate21 March 1945LocationCopenhagen Denmark55 40 40 N 12 33 42 E 55 6778 N 12 5617 E 55 6778 12 5617ResultBritish victoryBelligerentsRAAF Royal Air Force RNZAFGestapo KriegsmarineStrength20 bombers 30 fightersVarious antiaircraft defencesCasualties and losses6 aircraft destroyed9 aircrew killed1 aircrew capturedThe Danish headquarters of the Gestapo destroyed55 German soldiers and 47 Danish employees of the Gestapo killed125 Danish civilians killed including 86 schoolchildren8 Danish prisoners of the Gestapo killed Contents 1 Background 2 Raid 3 Results 4 The Jeanne d Arc School Casualties 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBackground Edit nbsp Shell House before the bombing At the time of the bombing it was painted in camouflage colours nbsp Institut Jeanne d Arc a Roman Catholic girl school in Frederiksberg Alle Frederiksberg Copenhagen Established in 1924 bombed by accident by the RAF 21 March 1945 and demolished The raid was requested by members of the Danish resistance movement to free imprisoned members and to destroy the records of the Gestapo to disrupt their operations The RAF initially turned down the request as too risky due to the location in a crowded city centre and the need for low level bombing but they approved the raid in early 1945 after repeated requests Once approval had been given planning for the raid took several weeks scale models of the target building and the surrounding city were built for use by pilots and navigators in preparation for a very low level attack Raid EditThe attacking force consisted of Royal Air Force de Havilland Mosquito F B VI fighter bombers of No 140 Wing RAF comprising No 21 Squadron RAF No 464 Squadron RAAF and No 487 Squadron RNZAF The aircraft flew in three waves of six aircraft with two reconnaissance Mosquito B IVs from the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit to record the results of the attack There is a short film taken by the RAF which is used in other online documentaries and the cited version is from a danish newspaper today 2 Thirty RAF Mustang fighters gave air cover from German aircraft and these also attacked anti aircraft guns during the raid The force left RAF Fersfield in the morning and it reached Copenhagen after 11 00 The raid was carried out at rooftop level and during the first attack a Mosquito hit a lamp post damaging its wing and the aircraft crashed into the Jeanne d Arc School about 1 5 km 0 93 mi from the target setting it on fire Several bombers in the second and third wave attacked the school mistaking it for their target 3 nbsp Shell House burning after the bombing raidResults Edit nbsp The Gestapo headquarters in the Shellhus Copenhagen in March 1945 during Operation Carthage A Mosquito pulling away from its bombing run is visible on the extreme left centre nbsp Aftermath ruins of the Shell HouseOn the following day a reconnaissance plane surveyed the target to assess the results The damage was severe with the west wing of the six storey building reduced nearly to ground level The Danish underground supplied a photograph showing the building burning from end to end The raid had destroyed the Gestapo headquarters and records severely disrupting Gestapo operations in Denmark as well as allowing the escape of 18 prisoners Fifty five German soldiers 47 Danish employees of the Gestapo and eight prisoners died in the headquarters building Four Mosquito bombers and two Mustang fighters were lost and nine airmen died on the Allied side On 14 July 1945 remains of an unidentified male casualty were recovered from the ruins of the Shellhus and transferred to the Department of Forensic Medicine of the University of Copenhagen This happened again four days later and the two casualties were buried in Bispebjerg Cemetery on 4 and 21 September respectively 4 The Jeanne d Arc School Casualties EditThe operation has nevertheless tragic consequences One of the Mosquito in the first of three waves hit a tall lamppost causing it to crash into a garage close to the school roughly 1 6 km 1 mi to the west southwest of the Shellhuset Two of the Mosquitos in the second wave mistook the burning structure as having been successfully bombed by the first wave and dropped their bombs on the Jeanne d Arc School killing 86 children and 18 adults 10 nuns 2 firemen 4 civil teachers and 2 fathers who tried to save their children as well as wounding 67 children and 35 adults After the incident the school never reopened Most of the surviving children were transferred to another school Institut Sankt Joseph A monument in place of the school was inaugurated on March 23rd 1953 to remember the children and adult civilians who died on the day 5 The pilots involved in the operation were only told after victory in Europe the true consequences of the raid A movie The Shadow in my Eye also knows as The Bombardment as Netflix was released in 2021 telling the stories of those children See also EditAarhus Air Raid a similar attack on Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus Denmark Operation Jericho a similar attack on Amiens Prison in France Oslo Mosquito raid a similar attack on Gestapo headquarters in Oslo NorwayReferences EditNotes The Story of WW2 s Most Ambitious Air Raid YouTube NY film om fejlbombningen af den Franske Skole AEgte optagelser viser angrebet fra piloternes perspektiv 28 October 2021 Rasmussen Anita Brask 21 March 2012 Bombningen af Den Franske Skole blev redigeret ud af erindringen The bombing of the French School was edited out of the remembrance in Danish Dagbladet Information Retrieved 4 December 2014 Dode Mandkon Deceased Males Kirkebog Parish Register 1930 1946 in Danish Skt Johannes 1945 p 372 Ukendt Mand Ligrester Fundet dod i Shellhusets Ruiner Fort til Retsmedicinsk Institut a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link 23 mars 1953 Memorial inaugure Alamy in French Bibliography Attack on Gestapo Headquarters Copenhagen 21 March 1945 RAF History Site Bomber Command Famous Raids archived from the original on 1 January 2018 retrieved 14 June 2011 Matthias Bath Danebrog gegen Hakenkreuz Der Widerstand in Danemark 1940 1945 Wachholtz 2011 ISBN 978 3 529 02817 5External links Edit DK in English On the entire event 1 DK in Danish encyclopaedic On the French School encyclopedic 2 DK in Danish encyclopedic On the Shell office building encyclopedic 3 DK in Danish On the bombing of the French School 4 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation Carthage RAF Attack on Gestapo Headquarters Royal Air Force Archived from the original on 1 January 2018 Retrieved 21 April 2015 IWM Interview with RAF officer Edward Sismore who participated in the raid Velschow Klaus The Bombing of the Shellhus on March 21 1945 milhist dk Archived from the original on 10 April 2014 Retrieved 21 April 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Operation Carthage amp oldid 1181012889, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
