Dehousing was a British military strategy adopted from 1942 to 1945 that aimed to maximise damage to civilian housing in Germany's largest cities during Royal Air Force raids, as part of a campaign to break German civilian morale. It was proposed by Professor Frederick Lindemann, Baron Cherwell, in a memorandum to Winston Churchill on the 30th of March 1942. The strategy targeted roughly 30% of the housing stock across Germany's 58 largest cities.
Who wrote the dehousing paper and what did it argue?
Baron Cherwell, the British government's chief scientific adviser, wrote the dehousing paper in March 1942. It argued that destroying civilian homes was more damaging to morale than killing relatives, drawing on analysis of how the British public had responded to the Blitz.
What did the Butt Report reveal about RAF bombing accuracy?
The Butt Report, delivered on the 18th of August 1941 by D. M. Bensusan-Butt, found that fewer than a third of RAF sorties had placed aircraft within five miles of their target. When aircraft that failed to bomb due to equipment failure, enemy action, weather, or navigation loss were included, the true figure fell to approximately 5%.
Who opposed the dehousing strategy and why?
Sir Henry Tizard was the principal opponent, arguing that the same goal of tying up German resources could be achieved with a far smaller bombing campaign. Professor Patrick Blackett wrote that the paper overestimated what bombing could achieve by 600%. Tizard warned Cherwell on the 15th of April 1942 that the assumed bomber force, navigational aids, and bomb-on-target rates were all unrealistic.
What did the Singleton Report conclude about the dehousing bombing campaign?
Mr. Justice Singleton, a High Court judge, delivered his report on the 20th of May 1942. He concluded that if the Soviet Union held Germany on land, twelve to eighteen months of intensified bombing would likely weaken German resistance and morale enough to affect the outcome of the war.
What did the Hull and Birmingham Survey find about bombing and civilian morale?
Professors Bernal and Zuckerman published the Hull and Birmingham Survey on the 8th of April 1942. It found that while German bombing raids caused anxiety, they produced no mass anti-social behaviour and no measurable effect on the health of either city, directly contradicting the morale assumptions behind the dehousing paper.