Why was the Allied bombing of Hamburg in 1943 called Operation Gomorrah?

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Sodom and Gomorrah *Landscape with the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah*, oil on wood by Joachim Patinir, c. 1520; in the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The Allied bombing of Hamburg in July 1943 was codenamed "Operation Gomorrah" in reference to the biblical city of Gomorrah, which, along with Sodom, was destroyed by "sulfur and fire" due to the wickedness of its inhabitants.1

The name was chosen to reflect the catastrophic nature of the air raids, which utilized area bombing tactics to create massive firestorms. These raids resulted in the deaths of approximately 40,000 people and left nearly one million residents homeless, mirroring the total destruction described in the scriptural account of the cities of the plain.123