Air raid on Bari

Part of the Italian Campaign of World War II

Junkers Ju 88, the aircraft employed in the raid.

Date	2 December 1943
Location	Bari, Italy
Result	German victory

Belligerents

Germany

United Kingdom

United States

Kingdom of Italy

Commanders and leaders

Albert Kesselring
Wolfram von Richthofen

Harold Alexander
Arthur Coningham

Strength

105 Junkers Ju 88 A-4 bombers

Casualties and losses

One aircraft destroyed

28 ships sunk
harbor heavily damaged
1000 military and merchant marine personnel killed
1000 civilians killed

The air raid on Bari was an air attack by German bombers on Allied forces and shipping in Bari, Italy on 2 December 1943 during World War II. In the attack, 105 German Junkers Ju 88 bombers of Luftflotte 2 achieved complete surprise, bombing shipping and personnel operating in support of the Allied Italian campaign and sinking 27 cargo and transport ships and a schooner in Bari harbour.

The attack lasted a little more than one hour and put the port out of action until February 1944; it was called the "Little Pearl Harbor". The release of mustard gas from one of the wrecked cargo ships added to the loss of life. The British and US governments covered up the presence of mustard gas and its effects on victims of the raid.

In early September of 1943, with the Allied invasion of Italy partially complete, Italy surrendered to the Allies and then joined them; the breakaway Italian Social Republic continued the war on the Axis side. On 11 September 1943 the port of Bari in southern Italy was taken without resistance by the British 1st Airborne Division. The port then served as an important logistics hub for Allied forces. Important ammunition, supplies, and provisions were unloaded from ships at the port, then transported to Allied forces attempting to capture Rome and push German forces north, out of the Italian peninsula.

Bari had inadequate air defences; no Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter aircraft squadrons were based there, and fighters within range were assigned to escort or offensive duties, not port defence. Ground defences were ineffective.

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Wikipedia