August 3, 1943: GOMORRAH was the name chosen for the eight-day long Allied bombing of Hamburg. The RAF dropped over 2,000 tons of bombs over Hamburg, killing 1,500 people; the heat of the firestorms was so intense that the asphalt itself burst into flames. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people were killed by the end of the raids. In comparison, around 43,000 are estimated to have died during the Blitz, which lasted eight months.
