manstein demanded an all-out assault by the luftwaffe before the main ground action began. situated only 70 km from sevastopol, the german formations had barely enough time to reach altitude before reaching their targets. the 8th air corps began its bombing campaign along the north and southeast of the city. at the same time, german medium bombers conducted rolling attacks on the city, which included all units except lg 1, which engaged in suppressing anti-aircraft installations. oil, electricity, water pumps, harbor facilities, and submarine bases were attacked by stg 77 ju 87s. von richthofen watched the bombing from an observation post close to the front. the targets were badly damaged, and fires broke out all over the port city. the luftwaffe flew 723 missions and dropped 525 tons of high explosive on the first day. despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, just one ju 87 was lost.