Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Read this article now for free!
Enter your email below to read the full article, and to receive our weekly newsletter with a round-up of The Past's top stories.
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
Bombing Venice: The Allied attack on one of the world’s most beloved cities
In a new book, Jonathan Glancey tells the inside story of Operation Bowler, the audacious WWII plan to destroy German strategic outposts around Venice’s port, while leaving the legendary city unscathed.
Bursting from a hazy sky at 3.30pm on 21 March 1945, a swarm of Allied fighters swept north-west from the Adriatic over German-occupied Venice. With 60lb rockets streaking from under their wings and 0.5-inch machine-guns blazing, powerful North American Mustangs and burly Republic Thunderbolts from RAF, USAAF, and Commonwealth squadrons began strafing the 45 anti-aircraft and other gun emplacements protecting the legendary lagoon city and its principal port, Stazione Marittima.
As the fighters peeled away, 26-year-old Wing Commander George Westlake, the commander of the mission, rolled his Curtiss Kittyhawk into a 60° dive. Straightening out, Westlake now spearheaded a group of 48 dive-b
-- or --
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
Latest from Military History
