Here is a black and white aerial photograph of the famous Cologne Cathedral from the Second World War. The cathedral was hit by bombs fourteen times during the war. It did not collapse, but instead stood tall above a city otherwise razed to the ground.

The twin towers are believed to have served as an easily recognizable navigational landmark for Allied aircraft that penetrated deeper into Germany in the later years of the war. This could be one reason why the cathedral was not destroyed.

The attacking pilots used the cathedral as a landmark, but in the final days, when the Allies had complete air superiority, this was probably less important. Many military personnel wanted to pay their respects to the buildings because of their cultural significance.

Bombers at lower altitudes were more accurate in hitting their targets, but those at higher altitudes were notoriously inaccurate. Pilots were lucky if even a fraction of their bombs landed on their intended targets. Targeting a cathedral, even one as large as this, was simply very difficult with the technology of the time.

After the war, repairs to the building were completed in 1956. An emergency repair carried out in 1944 in the base of the northwest tower, using inferior bricks from a nearby war ruin, remained visible as a reminder of the war until 2005, when it was decided to reconstruct this section to its original appearance.

Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and was interrupted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work resumed in the 19th century and was completed in 1880 according to the original plan.

It is 144.5 m long, 86.5 m wide, and its towers are approximately 157 m high. The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe.

In early 1942, the RAF Bomber Command under Sir Arthur Harris began to intensify the growing strategic air offensive of the Allies against Germany.

These attacks targeted factories, railway depots, shipyards, bridges, and dams, as well as the towns and cities themselves. Their aim was to destroy the German armaments industry and deprive the civilian population of their homes, thereby weakening their willingness to continue the war.

The characteristic feature of the new program was the emphasis on area bombing, in which city centers were the target of nighttime attacks.

On the night of May 30th to 31st, over 1,000 bombers were sent to Cologne, where they caused severe damage to a third of the city’s built-up area.

In total, the German city of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate Allied air raids during World War II, all by the Royal Air Force (RAF).

In total, the RAF dropped 34,711 tons of bombs on the city. During the war, 20,000 people died in Cologne as a result of air raids.