Warbird Information Exchange

How many men and aircraft did Bomber Command lose in WW2?

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

The number of aircrew lost was 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44.4% death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war.

Regarding, the number of aircraft lost:

"Information from doctorial thesis by John Fahey.

I have omitted aircraft purchased from the USA. Their contribution to RAF Bomber Command was tiny compared to total sorties. I have omitted the Fairey Battle for the same reason. The Manchester has been included due to direct linkage with the Lancaster.

I have omitted the Mosquito as most assigned to RAF Bomber Command served as Pathfinders or nightfighters rather then bombers.

Vickers Wellington.
…..47,409 (Bomber Command) sorties.
…..11,460 produced.
…..1,727 aircraft lost.

Avro Manchester
…..200 produced before production halted in favor of the Lancaster.
…..76 destroyed.

Avro Lancaster.
…..156,192 sorties. 40% of RAF Bomber Command total.
…..650,000 tons dropped between March 1942 and May 1945. 68% of total tonnage.
…..7,366 built in Britain and Canada.
…..4,265 destroyed during combat operations.
…..An additional 588 destroyed in accidents.
…..Highest loss rate of any RAF Bomber Command aircraft. However Lancaster bombers typically had the highest operational tempo and were assigned the most difficult targets.

Handley Page Halifax.
…..6,176 produced.
…..3,504 lost. 1,421 of these due to operational accidents.
…..This aircraft was noteworthy for poor handling characteristics which are reflected by the high number of operational accidents.

Halifax accident rate looks incredible to me. These aircraft were operating from proper airfields in a (mostly) secure area with concrete runways, airfield lighting, navigation aids etc.

Short Stirling.
…..18,440 RAF Bomber Command sorties.
…..2,731 produced.
…..684 lost. Plus 11 destroyed in Luftwaffe bombing raid.

Bristol Blenheim.
…..12,214 RAF Bomber Command sorties. Including the first on 3 Sep 1939.
…..2,450 produced.
…..541 lost.

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley.
…..9,858 RAF Bomber Command sorties.
…..1,812 produced.
…..458 lost.

Handley Page Hampden.
…..16,541 RAF Bomber Command sorties. Including the first over Berlin.
…..1,453 produced.
…..633 lost."

Sobering stats, thanks

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

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Daviemax
Researcher of Post-War B-17 History
Maintains database of B-17s used from 46- on.

incredible stats and thanks for posting

reading this on armistice day / remembrance day doubly serves to highlight again the immense human sacrifice in war

sobering in the extreme and to all those who have never fought..like me..thankyou

wear that poppy with pride

Bomber Command crews also suffered an extremely high casualty rate: 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44.4% death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war. This covered all Bomber Command operations including tactical support for ground operations and mining of sea lanes.

A Bomber Command crew member had a worse chance of survival than an infantry officer in World War I.

By comparison, the US Eighth Air Force, which flew daylight raids over Europe had 350,000 aircrew during the war and suffered 26,000 killed and 23,000 POWs. Of the RAF Bomber Command personnel killed during the war, 72% were British, 18% were Canadian, 7% were Australian and 3% were New Zealanders.

Taking an example of 100 airmen:

55 killed on operations or died as result of wounds
three injured (in varying levels of severity) on operations or active service
12 taken prisoner of war (some injured)
two shot down and evaded capture
27 survived a tour of operations

In total 364,514 operational sorties were flown, 1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped and 8,325 aircraft lost in action.

Survival rate less than a WW 1 Infantry Officer, now that's pretty awful !!