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WWII On This Day: March 3

What happened on March 3 during World War II? This date brings together 1 event from 1942, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1942
Searchlights and anti-aircraft tracer over Cologne during Operation Millennium, 30–31 May 1942.
Royal Air Force official photographer · Imperial War Museums C 2615 · Public domain
Area Bombing Begins

Billancourt shows what precision can do under favourable conditions

Bomber Command sent 235 aircraft against the Renault works at Billancourt outside Paris. The target was close, the weather was good, the moon was bright and German night defences were much lighter than over the Ruhr. The force attacked in waves using flares to keep the factory illuminated, and all but twelve of the bombers reached the target area. The raid caused substantial damage. A postwar United States Strategic Bombing Survey assessment found 721 machine tools destroyed and 2,387 damaged, together with serious damage to buildings, records and vehicles. The…

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