Air raid on Bari

Air raid on Bari, Italy
Part of the Italian Campaign of World War II
Allied ships burn during the German attack on Bari
Date 2 December 1943 Location Bari, Italy 41°07′31″N 16°52′0″E / 41.12528°N 16.86667°E / 41.12528; 16.86667 Result German victory
Belligerents
Germany	United Kingdom  United States  Italy
Commanders and leaders
Albert Kesselring Wolfram von Richthofen	Harold Alexander Arthur Coningham
Strength
105 Junkers Ju 88 A-4 bombers
Casualties and losses
One aircraft destroyed	29 ships sunk harbor extensively damaged 1,000 military and merchant marine personnel killed 1,000 civilians killed[1]
Bari class=notpageimage| Bari, in the Apulia region of Italy on the Adriatic Sea

The air raid on Bari (German: Luftangriff auf den Hafen von Bari, Italian: Bombardamento di Bari) was an air attack by German bombers on Allied forces and shipping in Bari, Italy, on 2 December 1943, during World War II. 105 German Junkers Ju 88 bombers of Luftflotte 2 surprised the port's defenders and bombed shipping and personnel operating in support of the Allied Italian Campaign, sinking 27 cargo and transport ships, as well as a schooner, in Bari harbour.

The attack lasted a little more than an hour and put the port out of action until February 1944. The release of mustard gas from one of the wrecked cargo ships added to the loss of life. The British and US governments covered up the presence of mustard gas and its effects on victims of the raid.