Operation Bowler was an air attack on
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
harbour by
Allied aircraft on 21 March 1945, as part of the
Italian campaign in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The raid was led by Acting
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
Wing commander is immediately se ...
, later
Group Captain
Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence.
Group cap ...
,
George Westlake
George may refer to:
Names
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
People
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE
* George, stage name of Giorgi ...
of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
.
By early 1945, the rail and road networks of northern Italy had sustained severe damage, forcing the Germans to resort to shipping goods into Venice and then moving them from there along rivers and canals. An attack on the harbour was thus deemed necessary by Allied command, although the risk of damage to the city's architectural and artistic treasures was high, as it had been in other battles of the Italian campaign, such as
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...
. The operation was planned to be precise to avoid any such damage and was named Operation Bowler by Air Vice-Marshal
Robert Foster, as a reminder to those involved that they would be "bowler hatted" (returned to civilian life) or worse should Venice be damaged.
Having assessed the weather after mist early in the morning, just after 16
Mustangs
The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticate ...
of
260 Squadron and 20
Thunderbolts of the
79th Fighter Group attacked 45 anti-aircraft sites with guns, bombs and rockets. When the flak-sites had been suppressed, the main force of 24 Kittyhawks and 40 Mustangs led by Westlake in a
Warhawk from
No. 250 Squadron RAF
No. 250 (Sudan) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron which operated during the First World War and the Second World War. It was formed during May 1918 as a reconnaissance and anti–submarine unit and was disbanded 12 months later. It r ...
(part of
239 Wing) with
Kittyhawk and Mustang squadrons that specialised in dive-bombing operations. The bombers then dived in to attack almost vertically to ensure precision, with civilian observers feeling safe enough to climb on the city's rooftops to observe the attack and with the only architectural damage being no more than a few broken windows.
The attack sank the (ex Italian ''Alabarda''),
TA42
/ref> two merchant ships as well as naval escorts and smaller vessels. It seriously damaged a large cargo ship and destroyed five warehouses, an Axis mine stockpile (blowing a hole in the quayside) and other harbour infrastructure, such as an underwater training establishment for frogmen
A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater. The term often applies more to professional rather than recreational divers, especially those working in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some Europea ...
and human torpedo
Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use.
...
es.
Westlake was recognised soon afterwards, awarded the Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...
for "excellent leadership, great tactical ability and exceptional determination", having already won the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1942 for continuous gallantry in around 300 operational sorties.
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowler, Operation
Conflicts in 1945
World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign
History of Venice after 1797
Aerial bombing operations and battles of World War II
Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom
Battles of World War II involving the United States
Battles of World War II involving Italy
1945 in Italy
March 1945 in Europe
1940s in Venice
Military history of Venice