After the war many Australian airmen flew over the cities which they had attacked during Bomber Command operations. Their feelings were mixed as they viewed the destruction. Angus Belford, who flew with No. 463 Squadron RAAF, felt that the Germans 'had asked for it' although he 'used to feel sorry for the ordinary people of Germany' but not the Nazis. Harold Brabin, of No. 102 Squadron RAF and No. 466 Squadron RAAF, made a low-level flight over the ruins and was profoundly affected by what he saw: 'It had been necessary to refrain from thinking about what we were doing … but I was now overwhelmed with sadness that man could be so inhuman'. Photograph taken in April 1945 of the ruins of Hamburg. [AWM SUK14321]
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