Map animation shows raids on occupied Europe from 1943 to 1945 EXCLUSIVE: Amazing animation shows how the Allies bombed Hitler and Nazis into submission The animation was created by the Imperial War Museum to mark the re-opening of the American Air Museum It shows the progress of the Allied strategic bombing campaign against the Germans from 1939 to 1945 The map is designed to highlight way the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces worked together Bombing was essential to win the war for the Allies but has been criticised for killing thousands of civilians The progress of the Allied bombing campaign which helped to win the Second World War has been graphically illustrated in an extraordinary animation. The map pinpoints the exact location of every bombing raid by either the Royal Air Force or the United States Army Air Forces from the start of the conflict in 1939 until its end six years later. It vividly demonstrates the importance of the 1.6million tonnes of explosive deployed against the Nazis and their allies - and the way Britain and America collaborated in the war. The animation was created by researchers from the Imperial War Museum in order to mark the re-opening of the American Air Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire. It is the first time the full extent of the Allies' strategic bombing campaign against Hitler has been documented in this graphic format. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next He's a real Maverick! Astonishing moment helicopter pilot... Don't get lost now! Fascinating aerial pictures of China... Hilarious video shows inventor Colin Furze taking off his... Share this article Share The video shows how in the early years of the war bombing raids were deployed relatively seldom, becoming more important as the conflict went on. The US joined the war in December 1941, and from then on the RAF and the USAAF worked together to defeat the Axis threat in Europe. The IWM graphic depicts RAF raids in blue and USAAF ones in red, demonstrating how the burden which was initially shouldered by Britain became increasingly shared by both air forces. More than 80 per cent of bombing raids took place in the final 18 months of the war as the Allies advanced against Germany, recapturing France and then moving eastwards towards Hitler's capital of Berlin. A sudden flurry of bombs can be seen in the map in June 1944 - marking D-Day, when the air forces worked to support ground troops who landed on the beaches of Normandy in the action which decisively turned the tide of the war. The bombing campaign is often credited with winning the Second World War for the Allies - but the tactics were also controversial because they led to hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, with British commander 'Bomber' Harris eschewing precision targeting in favour of area bombing

• published: 15 Mar 2016
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