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“The Unpleasantness of Bombing”: The American Bombing of Bucharest in World War II
Brophy, Timothy W.
Brophy, Timothy W.
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Conference paper
Date
2025-03-15
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History
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.34944/datx-vy34
Abstract
This paper examines the effectiveness and consequences of the United States Fifteenth Air Force’s bombing of Bucharest, Romania from April 4 to August 26, 1944. It argues that the bombing of Bucharest contributed to the success of the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive in Europe but also caused a number of Romanian civilian and American military casualties. First, the paper establishes the context of Romania as an Axis power in World War II. Second, the paper analyzes the Allied strategic bombing strategy in Europe. Bucharest’s marshalling yards were determined to be valuable transportation targets, and the United States Fifteenth Air Force was instructed to bomb them. Third, the paper looks at the bombing of Bucharest from both the American military and Romanian civilian perspectives. Utilizing mission reports and group diaries provided by the Air Force Historical Research Agency, the paper explores the American perspective by identifying specific targets and outcomes from the nearly five months of sporadic bombing. The paper also includes the perspective of Mihail Sebastian, a Romanian Jew who lived through and wrote about the bombing of Bucharest in his diary. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that the American bombing of Bucharest reduced Romanian exports to Germany, hindered Axis transportation in Romania, and weakened the morale of Romanian political leaders who eventually surrendered to the Allies. However, the paper also emphasizes that the bombing campaign resulted in the deaths of approximately 6,000 Romanian civilians and 375 American airmen.
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A paper presented at the 30th James A. Barnes Graduate History Conference, which took place March 14-15, 2025 in Philadelphia, PA.
Citation
Brophy, T. W. (2025). "'The Unpleasantness of Bombing': The American Bombing of Bucharest in World War II." Paper presented at 30th James A. Barnes Graduate History Conference, Philadelphia, PA, March 2025.
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