Operation Steinbock - Aftermath

Aftermath

Although the "Baby Blitz" attacks had involved more Luftwaffe aircraft than any other raids on the UK since 1941, the effectiveness of air and ground defences, the relative inexperience of the German bomber crews, and the sheer lack of bomber numbers meant relatively minor damage and few casualties were inflicted. The initial bomber strength was built up at great expense from the operational requirements of the Luftwaffe. Most bombs failed to reach their targets, and those that did represented only a fraction of what was hitting Germany. Failure to properly target the assembly areas for Operation Overlord meant that there was no significant impact on the allied time table for the invasion. The raids were ironically to prove more costly regarding German military capability than for the British, draining the Luftwaffe of irreplaceable aircrew and aircraft and thus reducing the potential defensive air response to oppose Operation Overlord. After the failure of this conventional bombing campaign, the Nazi leadership, still bent on revenge, sought unconventional ways to attack Britain. This desire was to manifest itself in the V1 and V2 campaigns late that year.

From late December 1943 to May 1944 Luftwaffe bomber strength in northern Europe fell from 695 to just 133 aircraft. In contrast on 6 June 1944, ADGB had 45 squadrons available to support the invasion, totalling some 809 serviceable aircraft.

Air raid casualties in Britain during the first five months of 1944 totalled some 1,556 killed, with 2,916 seriously injured.