| Coventry, an important engineering and armaments producing centre, was raided on November 14-15, 1940. German bombers dropped 503 tons of high explosive and 30,000 incendiary bombs on the city. 568 people were killed and 850 seriously injured. The medieval Cathedral was destroyed. Almost 1/3 of the city’s houses were made uninhabitable and 35 percent of its shops destroyed. In a relatively small city with a population of just over 200,000, everyone knew someone killed or injured in the raid. A new verb coventrieren – ‘to Coventrate’ was used by the Germans to describe the level of destruction. A postwar debate revolved around Ultra, the ability to read the Germans’ codes and whether United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) knew of the attack and allowed it to happen. Knickebein, the Germans’ radio control of their bombers, was broken by the British, who could jam it. Postwar accounts indicate that Churchill knew of the attack on Coventry, but did not want to expose the Ultra secret. In reality, the British weren’t sure of the exact target, and the jamming of Knickebein failed. The raid happened as planned. It is unlikely that Churchill thought anything other than the German bombs would fall on empty fields.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0295.jpg |
| Image Size | 491.75 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2197 x 1463 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 15, 1940 |
| Location | |
| City | Coventry |
| State or Province | West Midlands |
| Country | United Kingdom |
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| 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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