The

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n capital of

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

suffered a series of Allied

bombing raid Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systemati ...

s during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, from mid 1941 to early 1944. Bulgaria declared war on the United Kingdom and the United States on 13 December 1941. The Southern Italy-based Allied air forces extended the range of their strategic operations to include Bulgaria and other

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

allies in 1943.

Raids

April 1941

During the invasions of Yugoslavia and of Greece, the Yugoslav and British air forces targeted strategic points in Bulgaria, from which German troops had staged the invasions. On 6 April, Yugoslav

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing a ...

aircraft bombed the industrial section of Sofia and

Kyustendil Kyustendil ( bg, Кюстендил ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, ...

. In Sofia, eight people were killed. In the bombing of Kyustendil 58 civilians, two Bulgarian and eight German soldiers were killed and 59 civilians, five Bulgarian and 31 German soldiers were wounded. Between 20:05 and 21:40 on 6 April, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) carried out bombing raids over Bulgaria.

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

aircraft bombed

Petrich Petrich ( bg, Петрич ) is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Sandanski–Petrich Valley at the foot of the Belasica Mountains in the Strumeshnitsa Valley. According to the 2021 census, the town has 26,778 ...

and

Haskovo Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Develo ...

and six

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircra ...

dropped bombs over Sofia and nearby villages. During the bombing of the capital, 14 buildings were destroyed and three fires were started. Sofia was bombed a second time on 13 April, provoking a large exodus.

14 November 1943

The air raid was carried out on 14 November 1943 by 91 B-25 Mitchell bombers.Schaffer, Ronald ''Wings of Judgment: American Bombing in World War II''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Forty-seven buildings and structures were destroyed, 59 military personnel were killed and over 128 were injured.

24 November 1943

A new bombing followed on 24 November, this time executed by 60 B-24 Liberator aircraft. 87 buildings in the vicinity of the Central Railway Station were destroyed with 29 being wounded. Bulgarian fighters shot down two bombers for the loss of one aircraft to escorting American fighters.

10 December 1943

The 10 December raid was carried out by 120 aircraft. About 90 bombs were released over the Hadzhi Dimitar, Industrialen, Malashevtsi and Voenna rampa quarters, another 90 hit

Vrazhdebna Airport Sofia Airport ( bg, Летище София, translit=Letishte Sofiya) is the main international airport of Bulgaria, located east of the centre of the capital Sofia. In 2019 the airport surpassed 7 million passengers for the first time. The a ...

and the nearby villages.

20 December 1943

One of the most destructive raids followed on 20 December, with over 113 buildings being razed to the ground, the belt line being cut off, with 93 people injured. Bulgarian fighter aircraft downed three bombers and seven fighters for the loss of two aircraft, including one destroyed in a suicidal ramming attack by

Dimitar Spisarevski Dimitar Spisarevski ( bg, Димитър Списаревски) (19 July 1916 – 20 December 1943) was a Bulgarian fighter pilot known for taking down an American bomber by ramming it during the bombing of Sofia in World War II. Born in Dobri ...

which brought down a bomber.

30 December 1943

A day bombing in the Sofia

railway junction A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge), provided by ''points'' ( ...

area was executed on 30 December 1943, injuring 96.

10 January 1944

Sofia suffered another bombing on 10 January 1944, carried out consecutively by 143 American B-17s during the day and 44 RAF Wellingtons (during the night). 448 buildings were destroyed. 611 were wounded. During the daylight raid by the B-17s, Bulgarian fighters shot down six of the bombers and three escorting P-38 fighters for the loss of one aircraft.

16 March 1944

During the night 50 British bombers attacked Sofia. 58 people were wounded and 72 buildings were destroyed.

24 March 1944

During the night about 40 British bombers attacked Sofia. There were no casualties.

30 March 1944

The most severe bombing of Sofia ever occurred on 30 March 1944. Some 450 American and British heavy bombers escorted by 150 fighters attacked the city center of Sofia, destroying 3575 buildings. Over 3000 high explosive bombs and 30000 incendiary bombs were used. Bulgarian fighter aircraft intercepted the attackers, shooting down eight bombers and two fighters for no losses in return. The casualty figures were relatively modest due to preliminary evacuation of the civilians. The targets of the bombing were neither military installations, nor armed forces, but historical central Sofia.

17 April 1944

This bombing is known as "the black Easter" (the second day of Easter) for the citizens of Sofia. The raid was carried out by 350 bombers (B-17 and B-24) with an escort of 100 fighter planes –Mustangs and Lightnings. About 2500 bombs were dropped over the target – railroad marshaling yards. 749 buildings were totally destroyed. Casualties were 69 people wounded.

Consequences

The bombing raids in 1943–1944 resulted in 1,743 being injured. The number of buildings damaged were 12,564 (of which 2,670 completely destroyed). Sixty motor cars and 55 trailers were also destroyed. The Allies lost a total of 117 aircraft. Among the historic buildings destroyed were several schools and hotels, as well as the State Printing House, the Regional Court, the Small Baths and the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...

. These were not restored to their original appearance. The

Bulgarian National Theatre The Ivan Vazov National Theatre ( bg, Народен театър „Иван Вазов“, ') is Bulgaria's national theatre, as well as the oldest and most authoritative theatre in the country and one of the important landmarks of Sofia, the ...

, the Bulgarian Agricultural Bank, the Theological Faculty of

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

, the

Museum of Natural History A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...

, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and other buildings were damaged but subsequently reconstructed. (1915–1944) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

pilot (kommandeur I/JG 5) who was killed in the sky over Radomir, while defending Sofia. He was the only foreign pilot killed in battle while defending Bulgarian airspace during World War II. He was part of the

Jagdgeschwader 5 Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5) was a German Luftwaffe fighter wing during World War II. It was created to operate in the far north of Europe, namely Norway, Scandinavia and northern parts of Finland, all nearest the Arctic Ocean, with ''Luftflotte'' 5 ...

"Eismeer" fighter wing.

Destructions

File:BASA-45K-1-18-19-National-Assembly-Sofia-WW2.jpg, The damaged

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

building.Източник: ДА „Архиви“ File:BASA-45K-1-18-1-St-Sedmochislenitsi-school-Sofia-WW2.jpg, „ Seven Bulgarian saints“ school. File:BASA-45k-1-18-13-Institute-for-peoples-health-Sofia-WW2.jpg, The Public Health Institute. File:BASA-45K-1-18-10-Ferdinand-Blvd-Sofia-WW2.jpg, Destroyed building on „

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

“ blvd. File:BASA-45k-1-18-11-Ferdinand-Blvd-Sofia-WW2.jpg, Destroyed building on „Ferdinand“ blvd. File:BASA-45K-1-18-25-Aleksandrovska-hospital-Sofia-WW2.jpg,

Aleksandrovska University Hospital The Aleksandrovska University Hospital ( bg, университетска болница „Александровска“) is a university hospital in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), offic ...

. File:BASA-45K-1-18-22-Bishops-Residence-Sofia-WW2.jpg, Sofia eparchy building. File:BASA-45k-1-18-24-Fedinand-Blvd-Sofia-WW2.jpg, Destroyed building on „Ferdinand“ blvd. File:BASA-45K-1-18-28-Italian-School-Sofia-WW2.jpg, The Italian school File:BASA-45K-1-18-3-Graf-Ignatiev-Ferdinand-Blvd-crossing-Sofia-WW2.jpg, At the crossroad of „ Graf Ignatiev“ str and. „Ferdinand“ blvd. File:BASA-45K-1-18-4-State-Printing-House-Sofia-WW2.jpg, The destroyed State Printing House. File:BASA-45K-1-18-5-Giovanna-Blvd-Sofia-WW2.jpg, Destroyed building on „ Tsaritsa Yoanna“ blvd. File:BASA-45k-1-18-6-Giovanna-Blvd-Sofia-WW2.jpg, Destroyed building on „Tsaritsa Yoanna“ blvd. File:BASA-45K-1-18-8-Evangelist-church-Sofia-WW2.jpg, The Evangelical church near the Russian Monument. File:Sofia-bombing-ww2-lavrenov-gruev.jpg, Destruction in Sofia in 1944 after the bombing as photographed by Tsanko Lavrenov

References

External links

Sofia in the year of 1944, after the American and British bombardment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bombing Of Sofia In World War Ii

Military history of Bulgaria during World War II Bulgaria–United Kingdom military relations Bulgaria–United States military relations 20th century in Sofia 1943 in Bulgaria 1944 in Bulgaria History of Sofia Events in Sofia