In World War II, an Allied bombing raid on Hamburg engulfed the asphalt streets in flames and burned to death the citizens of Hamburg at midnight on July 27, 1943. About 9,000 tons of bombs killed about 40,000 civilians and reduced the main industrial port to ashes.

　　In World War II, an Allied bombing raid on Hamburg resulted in the asphalt streets being engulfed in flames at midnight on July 27, 1943, burning to death a large number of Hamburg citizens. About 9,000 tons of bombs killed some 40,000 civilians and reduced the main industrial port to ashes. In all, about 13,000 men, 21,000 women, and more than 8,000 children were killed. The Battle of Hamburg, code-named Operation Gomorrah, was an eight-day, seven-night air raid that began on July 24, 1943. At the time, it was the most intense attack in the history of air warfare and was later dubbed "Germany's Hiroshima" by British officials. Operation Gomorrah, a regional carpet bombing campaign, was drawn up by Harris and Charwell after they persuaded Churchill. The bombing campaign also regarded all Germans and Italians as hateful enemies.

　　 Royal Air Force Marshal Sir Arthur Travers Harris, known as Bomber Harris, was known within the Royal Air Force as "Butcher" Harris. He was directly and deliberately responsible for the military deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent women, children, and old people in Germany during World War II. He should have been tried for war crimes along with the defendants at Nuremberg. Viscount Cherwell (Professor Lindemann) was the chief architect of the carpet bombing campaign against German cities and civilians.

　　The operation was carried out by the Royal Air Force Bomber Command (including RCAF squadrons) and the US Air Force Eighth Air Force. Shortly before midnight on July 27, nearly 800 bombers raided Hamburg. The unusually dry and warm weather, the concentration of the bombing in one area, and the limited fire-fighting capability of the blockbuster bombs used in the early stages of the raid resulted in the so-called "Feuersturm" (fire whirlwind). A huge fire with wind speeds of up to 240 km/h and temperatures of up to 800 °C (800 °F) destroyed approximately 21 km² of the city center. Asphalt roads were engulfed in flames, and most of the casualties of Operation Gomorrah occurred that night. Many of the victims were in shelters, and on the night of July 29, Hamburg was again bombed by approximately 700+ bombers. The final raid of Operation Gomorrah took place on August 3. Much of the city was destroyed without a trace, and the number of dead is unknown.

　　Hamburg had been particularly pro-British prior to the bombing, and was the ground on which resistance to Hitler was formed. The Hamburg air raid extinguished all pro-British sentiment, and resistance to Hitler was also destroyed. The German people believed Goebbels' propaganda of "terror raids" and became more inclined to defend Germany against the attacks of the dreaded coalition forces. The air raids prolonged rather than shortened the war.

 　In July 1943, Curtis LeMay, a U.S. Air Force officer in the European theater, led an air raid on Hamburg. He was appointed commander of the 3rd Air Division there in September 1943; he was transferred to the Pacific Theater in August 1944, where he was responsible for executing all air raid operations against all of Japan.