Bomber Command’s raid against the Renault works at Billancourt on 3 March 1942 was a pivotal one for several reasons. Not only did it see the first application of new operational techniques under Arthur Harris, but post-strike reconnaissance brought to the fore the outstanding qualities of the new de Havilland Mosquito
On the night of 3 March 1942, the Royal Air Force launched its largest bombing raid of the war to date. The target was the giant Renault works at Billancourt on the south-western outskirts of Paris. The factory was estimated to be producing almost 20,000 vehicles per year for the German armed forces, mainly lorries as well as some armoured fighting vehicles. In addition, it was making a large number of components for the aviation industry.
The raid would be the first undertaken by the bomber force with Air Marshal Arthur Travers Harris in charge, he having only become Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Bomber Command on 22 February. The plan called for a maximum number of aircraft to be concentrated over the target in as short a space of time as possible. To facilitate this, new techniques were to be employed. All aircr…
