Operation Jericho

Operation Jericho
	Part of Second World War
	; Dust and smoke from Amiens prison during the raid
Date	18 February 1944
Location	Amiens, German-occupied France49°54′31″N 02°19′28″E / 49.90861°N 2.32444°E
Result	Resistance and other prisoners escaped
Belligerents
Royal Air Force ; Royal New Zealand Air Force ; Royal Australian Air Force ; French Resistance	Gestapo ; Luftwaffe
Strength
9 bombers, 12 fighters	Anti-aircraft guns; 2 Fw 190 fighters
Casualties and losses
aircrew: 4 killed, 2 POW; inmates: 37 killed escaping; 260 reprisal killings; aircraft: 2 Mosquitos; 2 Typhoons	50 killed
	Amiens class=notpageimage\| Amiens, a city and commune in northern France

Operation Jericho (Ramrod 564) took place on 18 February 1944 during the Second World War. Allied aircraft bombed Amiens Prison in German-occupied France at very low altitude to blow holes in the prison walls, kill German guards and use shock waves to spring open cell doors. The French Resistance was waiting on the outside to rescue prisoners and spirit them away.^[a]

Mosquito fighter-bombers breached the walls, prison buildings and destroyed the guards' barracks. Of the 832 prisoners, 102 were killed by the bombing, 74 were wounded and 258 escaped, including 79 Resistance members and political prisoners; two-thirds of the escapees were recaptured.

Two Mosquitos and a Typhoon fighter escort were shot down and another Typhoon was lost at sea. The raid is notable for the precision and daring of the attack, which was filmed by a camera on one of the Mosquitos. There is debate as to who requested the attack and whether it was necessary.
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