June 11, 1943 – (Overnight) 783 British bombers attack Düsseldorf, killing 1,326 people, injuring 2,600, and leaving 13 missing and 140,000 homeless. Fires burn 25 square miles (65 square kilometers) of the city and there are 180 major building collapses. During the raid, the German Heinkel He 219 Uhu (“Eagle Owl”) night fighter makes its combat debut in the early morning hours of June 12 in an experimental flight piloted by Major Werner Streib. Streib shoots down five British bombers – A Lancaster and four Halifaxes – In a single sortie, but his He 219 is wrecked in a landing accident when he returns to base.
