Today, Her Majesty The Queen will unveil a new memorial in London’s Green Park to honour the 55,573 men of the RAF’s Bomber Command who died in the Second World War. The National Archives holds 4,603 files from Bomber Command held within our AIR 14 series.
This series consists of records of Bomber Command dealing with operational and technical matters. In particular it contains reports by the Bomber Command Development Unit, Bomber Development Unit, Bomber Support Development Unit, Bombing Analysis Unit, British Bombing Research Mission, British Bombing Survey Unit, and Operational Research Section. Also included are many technical reports dealing with aircraft, aircraft losses, armaments, bombing techniques, navigational and photographic aids, and other equipment.
Bombs and target indicators Nuremburg 11 April 1945 (Catalogue reference AIR 14/3647)
I wanted to share with you some photographs from our image library which come out of this series.
Leipzig bombing through cloud 1943 (Catalogue reference AIR 14/3449)
Halifax over a bombing target 14 August 1944 (Catalogue reference AIR 14/3647)
A 22,000lb bomb leaving the hooks (Catalogue reference AIR 14/3647)
Lancaster of 617 Squadron scoring a direct hit on railway bridge 1944 (Catalogue reference AIR 14/3647)
Find out more
Use our online research guides for more on our Second World War records.
Ewan McGregor looked at The National Archives’ records for the recent documentary ‘Bomber Boys’.
Great to see these brave men being remembered. We cannot repay the sacrifice.
William
Having watched Bomber Boys on the Yesterday Channel last night, I was amazed and inordinately proud, to see a little footage of my father. Although I have now found the dvd of the program, can anyone tell me where the original footage is held?
Many thanks,
Annabel.
Try a film shot by a chap named Cozens. it is called Night Bombers. You will find it on Youtube. It is fabulous.
Hello:
My name is Rob Stark and I do research for a group of WWII Canadian Veterans (they call me the President of the 12th Field Regiment Association, but I’m really just a helper). My father and two uncles were in this artillery regiment and after extensive training in Canada and the UK, they landed on Juno Beach on D-Day and fought throughout northwest Europe. I’ve noticed some air photos of bombers, one dated August 14, 1944, posted on the internet. This is of great interest to me as the 12th Field Regiment were bombed in a friendly fire incident that day. My family members survived, but 11 were killed and 53 wounded from this Regiment, along with a huge loss of equipment. I’ve researched this from several angles and am always looking for more information to add to our archives, here in Canada. I am planning a research trip to the UK in the next couple of years and was wondering how I might best spend my time looking up things pertaining to the 12th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division , 1940-1945). Thanks.