The first Thousand-Bomber Raid

30th May 1942

On the night of 30/31 May 1942, for the first time the RAF put more than 1,000 bombers over a single German city. The city was Cologne. Nearly 500 people were killed and 13,000 homes destroyed. The raid was a huge media success for Arthur Harris and the bomber strategy. But was it the best way of winning the war?