In the final months of the Second World War, Calais, though already liberated, suffered one of its most tragic incidents. On 27 February 1945, an Allied air raid intended for German positions in Dunkirk mistakenly struck Calais, causing significant civilian casualties and destruction.

The order had been issued from the Vitry-en-Artois airbase, under Group Captain MacDonald, to bomb Dunkirk—still under German control and seen as a potential threat to the nearby liberated port of Calais. Aircraft from several squadrons participated: Squadron 88 with Boston bombers, Squadron 342 Lorraine of the Free French Forces, and Squadron 226 flying B-25 Mitchell bombers.

While the first two squadrons turned back due to poor weather conditions, two formations from Squadron 226 proceeded. The first formation reached its objective and dropped its payload over Dunkirk. However, the second group, struggling with low visibility, released its bombs over what they believed were enemy positions—rooftops that were in fact part of Calais’s southern and western districts.

At 17:30, as residents were leaving work, children played on Place Crèvecœur, and the city had resumed daily life. Without warning, bombs fell across key neighbourhoods including Rue Thiers, Gaillard, Hermant, Chantilly, and the Bourse du Travail area. The impact was immediate and devastating.

Emergency services and volunteers—Red Cross, local police, French and British soldiers—rushed to assist. Casualties were transported to makeshift medical stations. The dead, including 33 men, 48 women, and 16 children, were laid out under tarps in public squares and the basement of an unfinished maternity hospital.

Despite the scale of the destruction, the cause remained unclear. Rumours suggested a V1 explosion or German shelling. The truth was only revealed on 5 March, when the RAF formally acknowledged the error in a communiqué sent by Wing Commander Armiger on behalf of SHAEF, expressing regret for the mistaken bombing of Calais by Allied aircraft.

A funeral ceremony was held on 3 March at the Church of Saint-Pierre, attended by the local population, military representatives, and government officials. Today, a commemorative plaque serves as a reminder of the lives lost in one of Calais’s darkest wartime moments.