Harris, Sir Arthur (1892-1984), was an aviator and officer in the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF). During World War II (1939-1945), Harris served as commander-in-chief of RAF Bomber Command. He believed that the military power of a hostile country could be crushed by the systematic destruction of its war industries from the air.
From 1942 to 1945, Harris organized heavy raids on German cities. The raids were intended to disrupt industrial production and to demoralize the German people. Unable to consistently hit specific targets, RAF Bomber Command adopted the strategy of area bombing. That is, entire areas were destroyed in hopes of hitting a single factory or other target. British raids—together with American warplanes—caused enormous damage and killed some 500,000 German civilians. The air war took a terrible toll on RAF Bomber Command as well. The group suffered the highest casualty rate (percentage of people killed and wounded) of any British unit, losing 55,573 of its 125,000 aviators and crew.
Remembered as “Bomber Harris,” Harris’s leadership of RAF Bomber Command proved controversial. Many thought the great destruction and loss of life—both German and British—had too little effect on the outcome of the war.
Arthur Travers Harris was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire , on April 13, 1892. He served in the Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) in World War I (1914-1918). He led RAF bomber squadrons and served in various positions in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Harris was knighted in 1942 and became a marshal of the RAF in 1945. He died in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire , on April 5, 1984.
