Controversy
The Americans voiced their regret many times. The history of 398th Bomb Group based at RAF Nuthampstead, which carried out the raid, indicates the attack was an accident. Radar navigational equipment on the aircraft was not functioning correctly, and high winds en route produced a dead reckoning navigational error of some 70 miles causing the formation to arrive over the supposed "target" which was believed to be Dresden at the time bombing commenced. Prague was mostly obscured by broken cloud, with occasional glimpses of the Vltava river. Prague and Dresden also looked similar from the air, with rivers running through both cities. The bombing was carried out as a "blind attack" using radar.
After the war, the Americans were charged to pay for some of the damaged historical buildings. The raid was used for anti-American propaganda purposes both by the Nazis and the subsequent Communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
Read more about this topic: 1945 Bombing Of Prague
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