Operation Manna

During the winter of 1944-45, there was a serious famine in German-occupied Netherlands, especially in and around the big cities. In Dutch, this is known as the 'hongerwinter'. To try and relieve this famine, the RAF launched Operation Manna. During a two-week period in April/May 1945, hundreds of Lancasters dropped thousands of tons of food and basics on several drop zones in the western parts of the Netherlands. This was done after lengthy negotiations with the Germans, who were still occupying the country ...

Although, as a kid, I was well aware of the 'hongerwinter', for some reason I wasn't at all familiar with Operation Manna. Until I visited Tangmere Aviation Museum not so long ago, and found a display around Operation Manna.

There is also a memorial at the International Bomber Command Centre, showing a Lancaster and grateful people on the ground waving their handkerchiefs at the plane (compare this with the photo at the top of this blog).

If you want to learn more about Operation Manna (and a similar operation by the US Air Force), this is an excellent and detailed book on the subject.