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The “Blitz” September 7, 1940 - 1944
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The switch from the tactical objective of eliminating the RAF to the strategic objective of pounding the British into surrender was not a task the Luftwaffe was well prepared for. Unlike the other major combatants in World War II, the Germans did not develop a heavy bomber for strategic operations.
The mainstay of the German bombers was the Heinkel He-111, a two-engined, medium range bomber that carried roughly 5,000 pounds of ordinance. It was a level bomber designed for attacking tactical targets as part of a Blitzkrieg campaign, sort of flying artillery. Its payload was not heavy enough nor its range long enough for sustained operations against civilian targets. Other German bombers, like the Dornier Do-17 and the Junkers Ju-88, were similarly excellent tactical aircraft, highly adaptable to battlefield conditions, but not suitable for strategic missions.
In contrast, the Americans and the British had developed “heavies” — four-engined, heavily gunned aircraft that could fly great distances to attack the enemy at home. The Allies believed that the heavies were capable of winning a war alone. The fighter aircraft were a secondary adjunct to the bombers.
Goering was desperate to get back into the good graces of Hitler after failing to destroy the RAF during the summer of 1940. The misguided attack on London by a lost He-111 on August 24 prompted a retaliatory attack by RAF Bomber Command on the night of August 26. While the RAF caused negligible damage, Hitler was incensed and ordered attacks to hit London on September 4.
The first heavy raids on London came on September 7. 300 bombers escorted by 600 fighters came over London starting in the afternoon. They caused great damage to many parts of London and other cities, started major fires on the London docks, and killed over 400 people.
This was the first of 58 consecutive nights of bombing attacks on London. Air raid shelters were totally inadequate and the populace took refuge in the underground stations. With little water, no bathrooms, and overcrowded with people, the stations were ill suited for a sustained stay, but the people nevertheless turned the Blitz into a glorious battle for survival. Unfortunately for Goering’s prestige, the Luftwaffe’s efforts did not break the will of the Londoners to carry on the fight. Productivity in war related industries faltered, but never seriously dipped.
The British discovered knickbein (crooked leg,) the German guidance system for their bombers. They figured out how to misdirect or jam the frequency to confuse the bombers. Over 1,300 antiaircraft guns ringed London, but without proximity fuses introduced in 1943, they mostly were there to boost public morale.
By October 1940, some 250,000 Londoners were homeless, and many moved in with friends or relatives for the duration of the war. Housing was critically short, but London continued to function as a capital and as city.
Small shelters of corrugated iron were distributed. Homes with yards were encouraged to dig larger shelters that could hold a Morrison shelter, which could sustain the collapse of building on itself. Few of the Morrison shelters were available.
On the night of November 14-15, 1940, almost 500 bombers dropped high explosives and incendiaries on Coventry. A major war materiel production center, it was a prime target for strategic bombing. 550 people were killed, 1,000 injured, and 50,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The bombed out Cathedral became a symbol German aggression. Coventry became a rallying cry for the far heavier raids on Germany by the Americans by day and the British by night after 1942.
The blitz fell all over the British Isles, and even Belfast in 1941. Attacks hit the industrial cities of the north, the ports along the southern coast, Scotland, and Wales. Throughout the winter of 1940-41, the Germans returned by night over London. The heaviest raids came on the night of May 10-11, 1941. 2,000 fires were started; 1,212 were killed and 1,769 injured.
By the end of the summer of 1941, the raids tapered off, as the aircraft were needed in Greece and the Eastern Front. Death from the air would come in periodic raids throughout the war, then the V-1 and V-2 strikes in 1944.
The Blitz killed over 41,000 Londoners, injured over 49,000, and destroyed 46,000 dwellings. Buckingham Palace and the House of Commons were hit, creating a bind between the Royal Family, the government, and the common people who were suffering the most.
IWM Duxford: The Battle of Britain
The London Blitz 1940-41
The way Londoners coped with nightly air raids during the Blitz at the beginning of the Second World War has passed in to legend. Find out more about it.The Blitz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coventry Blitz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The London Blitz, 1940
An eyewitness account of the bombing of London.BBC - WW2 People's War - Liverpool blitz (1940/1941)
Both sets of grandparents lived through the war - my father's Dad was in the army, my dad's Mam ...BBC - WW2 People's War - Blitz 1940-1941 (Bombed out)
After a while, a bomb landed next door but one, and the air raid warden fetched us out of the shelter and ...Port Cities: - Liverpool 'Blitz' timeline
A timeline of events for the 'blitz' on Liverpool and Merseyside during the Second World War.Port Cities: WWII and the blitz
Menzies' 1941 Diary | The Blitz | Old Parliament House
Who Started the Blitz?
Facts and figures detailing the true story of the origin of the Blitz. Statistics are given of the relative damage to Britain and Germany, with admissions from British establishment figures of the execution of the Lindemann Plan, the planned campaign of terror bombing. Photographs of Duren and Hamburg taken in 1946 are shown with accounts of the cruelty, ruthlessness and devastating results of the raids.Docklands and the Blitz - Historical events - Port Cities
The Blitz of London
In the wake of yesterday's bombings in London, Bill Bonner recalls the London Blitz and how the people of Great Britain handled it -- and the differences between then and now.Exeter Memories - 1940's Exeter history. From evacuation to the Blitz to rebuilding.
Photos, shop adverts and trivia about 1940's Exeter. The start of World War Two, HMS Exeter, the 1942 bombing, Thomas Sharp and rebuilding Exeter and post war austerity.Exeter Memories - 1940's Exeter history. From evacuation to the Blitz to rebuilding.
Photos, shop adverts and trivia about 1940's Exeter. The start of World War Two, HMS Exeter, the 1942 bombing, Thomas Sharp and rebuilding Exeter and post war austerity.The Finest Hour (Winston Churchill and the Great Republic, Library of Congress)The Finest Hour (Winston Churchill and the Great Republic, Library of Congress). Churchill's warnings about the danger of the new Nazi regime in Germany initially fell on deaf ears. In 1938 Britain and Germany almost went to war over Hitler's desire to annex part of Czechoslovakia. The fall of France, in June 1940, left Britain in a desperate situation. Threatened with a Nazi invasion and with his country under savage attack, Churchill was determined to obtain assistance and eventually a declaration of war against Germany and its allies from the United States.
Air Raid Precautions - The Blitz
Civil Defence in England 1939-45The Blitz—Belfast during the second World War
Cabinet War Rooms > The Blitz : The Blitz
Blitz, the German word for lightning, was applied by the British press to the tempest of heavy and frequent bombing raids carried out over Great Britain, particularly over London and other major cities, in 1940 and 1941.Matt's Today in History: The Blitz Begins, September 7, 1940
Museum in Docklands - Docklands at War: The Blitz
The government had prepared plans for the evacuation of thousands of children from the threatened area early in 1939. But when evacuation really began in August the plans quickly dissolved into chaos. Many children from the East End were evacuated by boat or train to East Anglia or Kent. On arrival they found the local authorities completely unprepared to accommodate or feed such large numbers
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