Operation Carthage — The RAF Raid on Gestapo Headquarters

On March 21, 1945, the Danish resistance provided detailed floor plans and timing intelligence for a RAF bombing raid on the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen — the Shellhus building. The low-level bombing raid by Mosquitoes was so precise that it destroyed only the targeted floors while leaving adjacent buildings largely intact. The building collapsed, burning the Gestapo's files and freeing approximately 55 political prisoners. The raid killed 125 German soldiers and 80 Danish civilians (unfortunately most from a nearby French school accidentally hit when one Mosquito crashed into a tree during the low-altitude approach), but it effectively ended organized Gestapo operations in Denmark. The Danish resistance had planned this operation for months, providing the RAF with detailed architectural drawings of the building, security patrol patterns, and optimal timing windows.