Operation Jericho

A 1944 mission by a squadron of RAF Mosquitos on prison in Amiens. Showed film footage taken during the flight which was incredible. BBC4 last night.

Doubts about the purpose of the raid as this link suggests.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wor...richo-mmm.html

Re: Operation Jericho

"A French historian Jean-Pierre Ducellier spent years studying the Amiens Raid, claiming that it was an unnecessary effort and that the RAF’s official motives were not the real reason for the raid. His reasons to think so were based on three verified facts:

The French resistance did not request the bombing, nor did they transmit any information about the prison until asked for it by the British.
There were no executions scheduled, nor expected. After the liberation of Amiens, the RAF Squadron Leader Edwin Houghton was sent to find the cause for Jericho, but he failed to find even the alleged list of executions to be carried out.
Several of the prisoners to be liberated had not been captured when the operation was ordered."

So what does he imagine the RAF's motives were? It doesn't say.

Typical of the Frogs. Those airmen risked their lives to help them, and that's the thanks they get.

Re: Operation Jericho

This is the more plausible explanation.

Two Allied intelligence officers were captured in northern France and were also being held at Amiens Prison. No one knew what intelligence they had but there were fears that it was important and might be linked to information that the Germans could associate with an Allied landing. Some believe that the raid was to eliminate these two men and that any Resistance men who managed to escape as a result was a bonus.