| The 2nd Great Fire of London in December 1940 was caused by 1 of the most destructive air raids of the Blitz during World War II. The Luftwaffe raid caused fires over an area greater than that of the Great Fire of London in 1666, leading 1 American correspondent to say in a cable to his office that “The second Great Fire of London has begun.” Fires started by the raid included an incendiary bomb that broke through the dome of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, which was being guarded by a fire watch team at the behest of United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965). On the night of December 29-30, 1940, approximately a 100,000 mostly small incendiary bombs fell on the city. The Germans dispatched 136 bombers to the city. Fewer incendiaries were dropped than in the November 15 or December 8 raids. The raid focused on a part of the city with many non-residential buildings, such as churches, offices, and warehouses. Many of these were locked and were not covered by the Fire Watchers Order of September 1940, which applied to places of work with at least 30 employees, warehouses with an area of 50,000 cubic feet (1,400 cubic meters), and sawmills or timber yards with more than 50,000 cubic feet of timber. Moderately small, the B1E 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) incendiary aircraft bomb, at 12 by 3 inches (30 centimeters by 8 centimeters), was made out of magnesium and thermite and started fires. Each bomber could carry up to 700 of them. The December 29 raid saw 1,500 large fires begin in the city. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0290.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.81 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 4018 x 2766 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 30, 1940 |
| Location | |
| City | London |
| State or Province | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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