| Original caption: “Fire at a bend of the “blue” Danube: Tucked away in a bend of the Danube near the Austrian border at Regensburg, the Germans had built a mammoth aircraft factory which produced their latest type fighter, the Me-109G.” The 1st major air raid on the Messerschmittwerk in Regensburg took place on August 17, 1943, at 1200 Hours with 3,776 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers. The attack was part of a 2-pronged attack called Operation Double Strike, with a simultaneous attack on Schweinfurt. Of the 376 bombers attacking without escort, approximately 1/5 of the bombers did not make it to their target and many more were irreparably damaged after landing in North Africa. Therefore, there were no further attacks by American bombers in the next few months until there was long range escort protection for the Flying Fortresses. In Regensburg were approximately 1,000 blast bombs and 500 fire bombs to specifically affect the factory site, but it was hoped that neither the old town of Regensburg nor the Beemary Brothers Hospital, which was only 1,650 feet (500 meters) away, would be hit. There were almost 400 deaths in the factory itself and the turbines were so badly destroyed that initially no fighters could be produced. However, in view of their high losses, this success did not meet American expectations, especially since the plant resumed production after a short time. The expected production was again achieved because Messerschmitt was forced to outsource the production of individual components. This decentralization proved to be a recipe for success, which was also used to cope with the next severe setback. In February 1944, the 2nd attack by American B-17 bombers took place, in which the main work production halls in Prüfening were completely destroyed. The administration building alone was still usable and functioned in the following period as such an effective organizational and administrative headquarters for all outsourced companies that production was resumed in the summer of 1944. Already by June 1944, 22 Me-109 fighters were produced in the Regensburg branch lines again. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2075.jpg |
| Image Size | 313.35 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1834 x 1404 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Air Force |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 17, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Regensburg |
| State or Province | Bavaria |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 342-FH-3A22314-50035AC |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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