The Bombing of Nuremberg Author:James Campbell Night of the Big Kill. "We were flying naked in the moonlight...." — For 6000 aircrewmen of R.A.F. Bomber Command -- many of them veterans of the devastatingly successful raids on Berlin -- the night of 30 March 1944 was a night not to remember, but to forget. and for many, it was their last "op". — When 795 big-bellied Halifaxes and Lancasters ... more »rose like a swarm of giant killer bees, there was heavy cloud cover and moderate winds as forecast -- perfect weather for night bombing.
But as they crossed the coast of occupied France, the clouds vanished and the winds rose to gale force, scattering their tight formation. flocks of German night fighters appeared from nowhere, attacking the unprotected bellies of the lumbering giants. Within 15 minutes of the first major engagement, 20 British bombers exploded in midair or went crashing to earth in flames.