Official histories concluded that the mental health of a nation may have improved, while panic was rare. A Raid From Above [49], In 1937 the Committee on Imperial Defence estimated that an attack of 60 days would result in 600,000 dead and 1.2million wounded. In late 1940, Churchill credited the shelters. Outside the capital, there had been widespread harassing activity by single aircraft, as well as fairly strong diversionary attacks on Birmingham, Coventry and Liverpool, but no major raids. London: The Blitz, September 1940-June 1941 Records are incomplete, but between 7 October 1940 and 6 June 1941 almost 28,000 high explosive bombs and over 400 parachute mines were recorded landing on Greater London. [161] Still, while heavily damaged, British ports continued to support war industry and supplies from North America continued to pass through them while the Royal Navy continued to operate in Plymouth, Southampton, and Portsmouth. [81], British air doctrine, since Hugh Trenchard had commanded the Royal Flying Corps (19151917), stressed offence as the best means of defence,[82] which became known as the cult of the offensive. London was then bombed for 57 consecutive nights, and often during daytime too. [40], However, the Luftwaffe faced limitations. Blitzkrieg - the lightning war - was the name given to the devastating German bombing attacks to which the United Kingdom was subjected from September 1940 until May 1941. The London Blitz started quietly. Bombers were flown with airborne search lights out of desperation but to little avail. The Blitz (shortened from German 'Blitzkrieg', "lightning war") was the period of sustained strategic bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Three cross-beams intersected the beam along which the He 111 was flying. [114] It is not clear whether the power station or any specific structure was targeted during the German offensive as the Luftwaffe could not accurately bomb select targets during night operations. [b] The British had anticipated the change in strategy and dispersed its production facilities, making them less vulnerable to a concentrated attack. Bombers were noisy, cold, and vibrated badly. One third of London was destroyed. 11 Feb 2020. Dowding had introduced the concept of airborne radar and encouraged its usage. [183], A popular image arose of British people in the Second World War: a collection of people locked in national solidarity. [168] The Boulton Paul Defiant, despite its poor performance during daylight engagements, was a much better night fighter. [99] Fighter Command lost 23 fighters, with six pilots killed and another seven wounded. [167] The Bristol Blenheim F.1 carried four .303in (7.7mm) machine guns which lacked the firepower to easily shoot down a Do 17, Ju 88 or Heinkel He 111. In this section. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. With the doors to our museums physically closed, we are offering some exclusive World War II content from our galleries and collections. When this proved impossible, he began to fear that popular feeling would turn against his regime, and he redoubled efforts to mount a similar "terror offensive" against Britain in order to produce a stalemate in which both sides would hesitate to use bombing at all. X- and Y-Gert beams were placed over false targets and switched only at the last minute. [47], London had nine million peoplea fifth of the British populationliving in an area of 750 square miles (1,940 square kilometres), which was difficult to defend because of its size. Upsurges in population in south Wales and Gloucester intimated where these displaced people went. [173] On 10/11 May, London suffered severe damage, but 10 German bombers were downed. The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940 (a battle for daylight air superiority between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force over the United Kingdom). [55] The relocation of the government and the civil service was also planned but would only have occurred if necessary so as not to damage civilian morale. German legal scholars of the 1930s carefully worked out guidelines for what type of bombing was permissible under international law. The blitz 1940-1941: an interactive timeline This interactive timeline tracks the German air force's bombing campaign as it devastated towns and cities across Britain during the second world. [151], Directive 23 was the only concession made by Gring to the Kriegsmarine over the strategic bombing strategy of the Luftwaffe against Britain. The Blitz was a huge bombing campaign of London and other English cities carried about by the German airforce from September 1940 to May 1941. These include Peter Hennessy, Andrew Thorpe, and Philip Ziegler, who while admitting serious exceptions, argue that the population largely behaved well during the Blitz.[193]. Destroying RAF Fighter Command would allow the Germans to gain control of the skies over the invasion area. Four days later 230 tons (234t) were dropped including 60,000 incendiaries. From 7 September 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. Below is a table by city of the number of major raids (where at least 100 tons of bombs were dropped) and tonnage of bombs dropped during these major raids. The amount of firm operational and tactical preparation for a bombing campaign was minimal, largely because of the failure by Hitler as supreme commander to insist upon such a commitment. 5 Jan. Leslie Hore-Belisha, Britain's Minister of War, is dismissed. Night fighters could claim only four bombers for four losses. So worried were the government over the sudden campaign of leaflets and posters distributed by the Communist Party in Coventry and London, that the police were sent to seize their production facilities. He recognised the right of the public to seize tube stations and authorised plans to improve their condition and expand them by tunnelling. The Metropolitan-Vickers works in Manchester was hit by 12 long tons (12.2t) of bombs. [16], The Luftwaffe took a cautious view of strategic bombing but the OKL did not oppose the strategic bombardment of industries or cities. [19] General Walther Wever (Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff Many unemployed people were drafted into the Royal Army Pay Corps and with the Pioneer Corps, were tasked with salvaging and clean-up. Around 200 people were killed and another 2,000 injured. [145], In 1941, the Luftwaffe shifted strategy again. The lack of bombing in the Phoney War contributed significantly to the return of people to the cities, but class conflict was not eased a year later when evacuation operations had to be put into effect again. The AFS had 138,000 personnel by July 1939. This was when warfare deliberately included civilian populations. The Communist Party made political capital out of these difficulties. The Blitz refers to the strategic bombing campaign conducted by the Germans against London and other cities in England from September of 1940 through May of 1941, targeting populated areas, factories and dock yards. Entertainment included concerts, films, plays and books from local libraries. In some cases, the concentration of the bombing and resulting conflagration created firestorms of 1,000C. The attack started at 16:43 and lasted for 12 hours. Just three and twelve were claimed by the RAF and AA defences respectively. [1], In early July 1940, the German High Command began planning Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. They also noted regional production was severely disrupted when city centres were devastated through the loss of administrative offices, utilities and transport. The Blitz was a huge bombing campaign of London and other English cities carried about by the German airforce from September 1940 to May 1941. The first cross-beam alerted the bomb-aimer, who activated a bombing clock when the second cross-beam was reached. Browse 1,952 london blitz stock photos and images available, or search for the blitz or world war ii to find more great stock photos and pictures. There was also a mentality in all air forces that flying by day would obviate the need for night operations and their inherent disadvantages. However, resentment of rich self-evacuees or hostile treatment of poor ones were signs of persistence of class resentments although these factors did not appear to threaten social order. In recent years a large number of wartime recordings relating to the Blitz have been made available on audiobooks such as The Blitz, The Home Front and British War Broadcasting. [161] Another raid was carried out on 11/12 May 1941. [17], The vital industries and transport centres that would be targeted for shutdown were valid military targets. Ingersol wrote that Battersea Power Station, one of the largest landmarks in London, received only a minor hit. The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of . [10] Bombing failed to demoralise the British into surrender or do much damage to the war economy; eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British war production, which continued to increase. Aviation strategists dispute that morale was ever a major consideration for Bomber Command. [119] The Ministry of Home Security reported that although the damage caused was "serious" it was not "crippling" and the quays, basins, railways and equipment remained operational. [127] In November 1940, 6,000 sorties and 23 major attacks (more than 100 tons [102t] of bombs dropped) were flown. [145] Captured German aircrews also indicated the homes of industrial workers were deliberately targeted. [28], The Luftwaffe's poor intelligence meant that their aircraft were not always able to locate their targets, and thus attacks on factories and airfields failed to achieve the desired results. [90][91], Y-Gert was an automatic beam-tracking system and the most complex of the three devices, which was operated through autopilot. The air campaign soon got underway against London and other British cities. Damage was inflicted on the port installations, but many bombs fell on the city itself. [130], Airborne Interception radar (AI) was unreliable. The hope was that, if it could deceive German bombardiers, it would draw more bombers away from the real target. [142] Civilian casualties on London throughout the Blitz amounted to 28,556 killed, and 25,578 wounded. [47] Up to nine special transmitters directed their signals at the beams in a manner that subtly widened their paths, making it harder for bomber crews to locate targets; confidence in the device was diminished by the time the Luftwaffe was ready to conduct big raids. [192] The total number of evacuees numbered 1.4million, including a high proportion from the poorest inner-city families. In January, Swansea was bombed four times, very heavily. People were forced to sleep in air raid shelters, and many people took shelter in underground stations. 10 Group RAF, No. Minister of Home Security Herbert Morrison was also worried morale was breaking, noting the defeatism expressed by civilians. Beginning in September 1940, the Blitz was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by the Luftwaffe against British cities. American observer Ralph Ingersoll reported the bombing was inaccurate and did not hit targets of military value, but destroyed the surrounding areas. At this time, the Underground lines were mostly owned and run by separate companies, all of which were merged together with . The blasts at Hyde Park and Regents Park kill 11 people and injure 50 others. The British government grew anxious about the delays and disruption of supplies during the month. OKL did not believe air power alone could be decisive and the Luftwaffe did not adopt an official policy of the deliberate bombing of civilians until 1942. 11 Group RAF and No. "Bombing of London" and "London Blitz" redirect here. 1 March 1935 3 June 1936) championed strategic bombing and the building of suitable aircraft, although he emphasised the importance of aviation in operational and tactical terms. It also took part in the bombing over Britain. [143], Not all of the Luftwaffe effort was made against inland cities. Civilians left for more remote areas of the country. By September 1940, the Luftwaffe had lost the Battle of Britain and the German air fleets (Luftflotten) were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation. Blitz Incidents Thursday, 2 January 2014 High Holborn - the morning of 8th October 1940 I had no idea fighter-bombers were used against London as early as 1940, yet on Tuesday 8th October just before 9 am a raid took place that certainly hit targets across the centre of London, including Whitehall, at the very heart of British government. The Blitz as it became known in the British press was a sustained aerial attack, sending waves of bombs raining down onto British towns and cities. TikTok said in a blog post in June that it will route all data from U.S. users to servers controlled by Oracle, the Silicon Valley company it chose as its U.S. tech partner in 2020 in an effort to . He fell asleep at the controls of his Ju 88 and woke up to discover the entire crew asleep. The moon was full and the Thames had a very low ebb tide. On occasion, only one-third of German bombs hit their targets. [131], Nevertheless, it was radar that proved to be the critical weapon in the night battles over Britain from this point onward. London experienced regular attacks and on 10-11 May 1941 was hit by its biggest raid. All but one railway station line was blocked for several weeks. [93], For industrial areas, fires and lighting were simulated. Over 2,000 AAA shells were fired, destroying two Ju 88s. [149] The indifference displayed by the OKL to Directive 23 was perhaps best demonstrated in operational directives which diluted its effect. Ground-based radar was limited, and airborne radar and RAF night fighters were generally ineffective. Poor intelligence about British industry and economic efficiency led to OKL concentrating on tactics rather than strategy. Although there were a few large air battles fought in daylight later in the month and into October, the Luftwaffe switched its main effort to night attacks. [107], Luftwaffe policy at this point was primarily to continue progressive attacks on London, chiefly by night attack; second, to interfere with production in the vast industrial arms factories of the West Midlands, again chiefly by night attack; and third to disrupt plants and factories during the day by means of fighter-bombers. [66], Public demand caused the government in October 1940 to build new deep shelters within the Underground to hold 80,000 people but the period of heaviest bombing had passed before they were finished. Around 66,000 houses were destroyed and 77,000 people made homeless ("bombed out"[158]), with 1,900 people killed and 1,450 seriously hurt on one night. [87] Dowding accepted that as AOC, he was responsible for the day and night defence of Britain but seemed reluctant to act quickly and his critics in the Air Staff felt that this was due to his stubborn nature. One-third of London's streets were impassable. Over the next few days weather was poor and the next main effort would not be made until 15 September 1940. But even in May, 67 percent of the sorties were visual cat's-eye missions. [127] Other sources say 449 bombers and a total of 470 long tons (478t) of bombs were dropped. The Blitz The heavy and frequent bombing attacks on London and other cities was known as the 'Blitz'. 604 Squadron RAF shot down a bomber flying an AI-equipped Beaufighter, the first air victory for the airborne radar.
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