Did the Luftwaffe Strafe Civilians in England in WW2?

[syscom3]

Is there any documentary evidence of the Luftwaffe actually strafing civilians in Great Britain during WW2? I have a feeling that this is like the WW1 "Red Cross" propaganda in that it didnt happen.

Anecdotal evidence of civilians being caught up in raids on airfields and other military targets is possible. But I just dont accept that the LW pilots would see someone riding a bicycle on a road in the middle of nowhere and then deciding to shoot him up.

 

[krieghund]

Yes they did. My father-in-law was walking down a street with his school friends when as he described it a single engined aircraft flying at low level strafed the street they were walking on. An unknown gent pushed the boys against a building wall as bits of the road surface splattered around them. The aircraft traveled on and did not repeat.

I have emailed him for the details, town, boys etc.

 

[Njaco]

If you go through this thread.....

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aviation/bournemouth-raid-1943-a-11371.html

...there are accounts of strafing on civilians from eyewitnesses.

 

[Maximowitz]

Yes, there's plenty of evidence available, in fact I believe its been discussed over on TOCH a few times over the years too...

 

[N4521U]

I have a friend who lived in Dresden as a boy in WWII, still can't understand why the British bombed them. Have I opened a can of beens???? Bill

 

[The Basket]

Why don't you accept it?

A fighter pilot kills people.

 

[109ROAMING]

Few weekends ago I was talking to my grandmother who told me about being strafed by the Germans bombers while living in South end

Fact enough for me

 

[fastmongrel]

If you were dropping bombs on civilians why would you give a damn about shooting them.

 

[krieghund]

About the Dresden bombing, I think the residents of Coventry probably have your answer





QUESTIONS ABOUT WATER-BOARDING; ASK THE OCCUPANTS ON THE 155TH FLOOR OF THE WTC

 

[gerrywac]

My mother was a child in a farming family in western germany during the war and was injured during a fighter bomber attack on the farm she worked on so it's not a one way thing.

Although it was an RAF sinle seat fighter she sain the Americans were the worst culprits and used to enjoy it

 

[pbfoot]

It worked both ways , the Allied crew were no different

 

[Njaco]

It worked both ways , the Allied crew were no different

Exactly. War is NOT an exact science.

 

[lesofprimus]

Although it was an RAF sinle seat fighter she sain the Americans were the worst culprits and used to enjoy it

Used to enjoy it??? WTF is that sh!t all about??? I guess all us damn Yanks are bloodthirsty degenerates....

How the hell would u come up with this crap??? George Beurling, a Canadian in the RAF, enjoyed shooting Germans in their chutes and life rafts, whats ur point??

 

[Lucky13]

As already mentioned, it worked both ways. Just like the bombing of cities, when Luftwaffe went from bombing the RAF airfields, to bombing London etc. in '40, RAF Bomber Command returned the favor...
In some cases I bet that the Allied played just as rough as the Axis...

But, saying that they'd "enjoy it" I think is to take it tad too far...how can you enjoy killing people, civilians if your're soldier??

 

[Marcel]

About the Dresden bombing, I think the residents of Coventry probably have your answer





QUESTIONS ABOUT WATER-BOARDING; ASK THE OCCUPANTS ON THE 155TH FLOOR OF THE WTC

The Dresden bombing wasn't the smartest move on Allied part, in fact I think most terror bombing wasn't. Fact is both sides did it and pointing at the other wining: " you did it first" doesn't sound too mature to me.
The Dresden bombing by the way is in noway comparable to the Coventry bombing concerning scale and amount of innocent victims. There's only one thing in common of the two events and that is the futility of it all.

And I don't see what the water-boarding has to do with this discussion and seems to me a totally irrelevant political statement.

 

[Crimea_River]

My Dad was working his fields as a boy in southern Germany and was buzzed by a P-38 but not shot at.

I also think it's a stretch to say the Americans "enjoyed it". Sure there would have been zealots on all sides but let's not assign universal traits to nationalities.

 

[The Basket]

Not sure the original question is phrased well.
I doubt that it was official policy but luftwaffe fighters and bomber gunners did shoot up civilians.

But such is war.

To say that the Luftwaffe was above such things or that British civilians were lying boggles my brain.

 

[A4K]

My grandmother was a WAAF and was almost killed when an FW 190 strafed the road she was on, walking to her base. She only survived by diving into a ditch at the last minute. - Why the last minute? In one of those great paradoxes of life, she was in a brand new dress she had saved up her rations for months for, and even when she saw the 190 bearing down on her, she was so angry that her new dress would be ruined the first time she wore it (the only escape was the large muddy ditch at the side of the road), that she almost stayed put in defiance! Common sense prevailed however, and she lived to tell the tale (not without bitterness though!)

 

[Kurfürst]

OK, how many soldiers on this picture?

 

[lesofprimus]

U mean Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Kurfurst????

Whats ur point???