80 Wing RAF. All but one railway station line was blocked for several weeks. It was supposed Bomber Command, Coastal Command, and the Royal Navy could not operate under conditions of German air superiority. With no sign of the RAF weakening and the Luftflotten suffering many losses, OKL was keen for a change in strategy. 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). They believed the Luftwaffe had failed in precision attack and concluded the German example of area attack using incendiaries was the way forward for operations over Germany. [77] Before the war, civilians were issued with 50million respirators (gas masks) in case bombardment with gas began before evacuation. [164], In the north, substantial efforts were made against Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Sunderland, which were large ports on the English east coast. [136] The Germans were surprised by the success of the attack. It was decided to recreate normal residential street lighting, and in non-essential areas, lighting to recreate heavy industrial targets. Locating targets in skies obscured by industrial haze meant the target area needed to be illuminated and hit "without regard for the civilian population". "Pathfinders" from 12 Kampfgruppe 100 (Bomb Group 100 or KGr100) led 437 bombers from KG 1, KG 3, KG26, KG 27, KG55 and Lehrgeschwader 1 (1st Training Wing, or LG1) which dropped 350 long tons (356t) of high explosive, 50 long tons (50.8t) of incendiaries, and 127 parachute mines. [109] Special units, such as KGr 100, became the Beleuchtergruppe (Firelighter Group), which used incendiaries and high explosives to mark the target area. [32], The decision to change strategy is sometimes claimed as a major mistake by OKL. Far from displaying the nation's unity in times of war, the scheme backfired, often aggravating class antagonism and bolstering prejudice about the urban poor. On September 7, 1940, 350 German bombers escorted by fighters bombarded London on consecutive successions. At around 8.30pm on Sunday 13 October, a high-explosive bomb plunged through the Coronation Avenue flats on Stoke Newington High Street, and exploded directly above a shelter made up of three interconnected basements. [171] In the bad weather of February 1941, Fighter Command flew 568 sorties to counter the Luftwaffe which flew 1,644 sorties. [39] The attacks were focused against western ports in March. [citation needed] This image entered the historiography of the Second World War in the 1980s and 1990s,[dubious discuss] especially after the publication of Angus Calder's book The Myth of the Blitz (1991). dodged bombs to make her way across London from her aunts house to dance class. [145] Captured German aircrews also indicated the homes of industrial workers were deliberately targeted. [9] and a large raid on the night of 10-11 May 1941. The receipt of the German signal by the receiver was duly passed to the transmitter, the signal to be repeated. Curiously, while 43 percent of the contacts in May 1941 were by visual sightings, they accounted for 61 percent of the combats. [13][14], In the 1920s and 1930s, airpower theorists such as Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell claimed that air forces could win wars, obviating the need for land and sea combat. For all the destruction of life and property, the observers sent out by the Ministry of Home Security failed to discover the slightest sign of a break in morale. At a London railway station, arriving troops pass by children who are being evacuated to the countryside. The electronic war intensified but the Luftwaffe flew major inland missions only on moonlit nights. [142] Civilian casualties on London throughout the Blitz amounted to 28,556 killed, and 25,578 wounded. [173] On 19/20 April 1941, in honour of Hitler's 52nd birthday, 712 bombers hit Plymouth with a record 1,000tons (1,016t) of bombs. Wever's vision was not realised, staff studies in those subjects fell by the wayside and the Air Academies focused on tactics, technology and operational planning, rather than on independent strategic air offensives. In those sites, carbon arc lamps were used to simulate flashes at tram overhead wires. The first major raid took place on 7 September. [139], Probably the most devastating attack occurred on the evening of 29 December, when German aircraft attacked the City of London itself with incendiary and high explosive bombs, causing a firestorm that has been called the Second Great Fire of London. [5][6] Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Gring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, ordered the new policy on 6 September 1940. [161] Another raid was carried out on 11/12 May 1941. [116] On 7 November, St Pancras, Kensal and Bricklayers Arms stations were hit and several lines of Southern Rail were cut on 10 November. Around 200 people were killed and another 2,000 injured. [145], In 1941, the Luftwaffe shifted strategy again. Its round-the-clock bombing of London was an immediate attempt to force the British government to capitulate, but it was also striking at Britain's vital sea communications to achieve a victory through siege. The docks drew produce and people from all over the world; they survived the bombings of World War II and the economic downturn of the 1970s and 80s to become a hive of industry and activity once again. [188] In the wake of the Coventry Blitz, there was widespread agitation from the Communist Party over the need for bomb-proof shelters. [50] London hospitals prepared for 300,000 casualties in the first week of war. In late 1943, just before the Battle of Berlin, Harris declared the power of Bomber Command would enable it to achieve "a state of devastation in which surrender is inevitable". Over several months, the 20,000 shells spent per raider shot down in September 1940, was reduced to 4,087 in January 1941 and to 2,963 shells in February 1941. With the doors to our museums physically closed, we are offering some exclusive World War II content from our galleries and collections. The reverse would apply only if the meacon were closer. However, the use of delayed-action bombs, while initially very effective, gradually had less impact, partly because they failed to detonate. [86], Hugh Dowding, Air Officer Commanding Fighter Command, defeated the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, but preparing day fighter defences left little for night air defence. It believed it could greatly affect the balance of power on the battlefield by disrupting production and damaging civilian morale. These were marked out by parachute flares. Still, at Southampton, attacks were so effective morale did give way briefly with civilian authorities leading people en masse out of the city. The year-long project . Another innovation was the boiler fire. [16], The Luftwaffe took a cautious view of strategic bombing but the OKL did not oppose the strategic bombardment of industries or cities. The OKL had not been informed that Britain was to be considered a potential opponent until early 1938. [145] Part of the reason for this was inaccuracy of navigation. But the Luftwaffe's effort eased in the last 10 attacks as seven Kampfgruppen moved to Austria in preparation for the Balkans Campaign in Yugoslavia and Greece. The first cross-beam alerted the bomb-aimer, who activated a bombing clock when the second cross-beam was reached. 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. [132] On 19 November 1940 the famous RAF night fighter ace John Cunningham shot down a Ju 88 bomber using airborne radar, just as Dowding had predicted. The tactic was expanded into Feuerleitung (Blaze Control) with the creation of Brandbombenfelder (Incendiary Fields) to mark targets. [88] Bomber crews already had some experience with the Lorenz beam, a commercial blind-landing aid for night or bad weather landings. On 15 September, on a date known as Battle of Britain Day, a large-scale raid was launched in daylight, but suffered significant loss for no lasting gain. Some 107,400 gross tons (109,100t) of shipping was damaged in the Thames Estuary and 1,600 civilians were casualties. British anti-aircraft defences (General Frederick Alfred Pile) fired 8,326 rounds and shot down only 2 bombers. By September 1940, London had already experienced German bombing. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. [57] The programme favoured backyard Anderson shelters and small brick surface shelters. Only one bomber was lost, to anti-aircraft fire, despite the RAF flying 125-night sorties. But their operations were to no avail; the worsening weather and unsustainable attrition in daylight gave the OKL an excuse to switch to night attacks on 7 October. Battle noises were muffled and sleep was easier in the deepest stations, but many people were killed from direct hits on stations. The Battle of Britain: Timeline July 26, 2010 2 mins read The dates of the four phases of the Battle of Britain are contested by some, and have been inserted in brackets only as a guideline. 12 Group RAF). Get 20% off purchases above 10.Apply discount code SAVE20 at checkout.. Company Search. Minister of Home Security Herbert Morrison was also worried morale was breaking, noting the defeatism expressed by civilians. The system worked on 6677MHz, a higher frequency than Knickebein. While wartime bombings affected London in both world wars, it was the Blitz that truly altered the cityscape forever. Loge continued for 57 nights. When the Luftwaffe struck at British cities for the first time on 7 September 1940, a number of civic and political leaders were worried by Dowding's apparent lack of reaction to the new crisis. The government did not build them for large populations before the war because of cost, time to build and fears that their safety would cause occupants to refuse to leave to return to work or that anti-war sentiment would develop in large congregations of civilians. [53] Winston Churchill told Parliament in 1934, "We must expect that, under the pressure of continuous attack upon London, at least three or four million people would be driven out into the open country around the metropolis". Predictions had underestimated civilian adaptability and resourcefulness. Many popular works of fiction during the 1920s and 1930s portrayed aerial bombing, such as H. G. Wells' novel The Shape of Things to Come and its 1936 film adaptation, and others such as The Air War of 1936 and The Poison War. The London Blitz started quietly. Regional commissioners were given plenipotentiary powers to restore communications and organise the distribution of supplies to keep the war economy moving. By 19/20 April 1941, it had dropped 3,984 mines, .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}13 of the total dropped. This was when warfare deliberately included civilian populations. A Raid From Above He recognised the right of the public to seize tube stations and authorised plans to improve their condition and expand them by tunnelling. [127] In November 1940, 6,000 sorties and 23 major attacks (more than 100 tons [102t] of bombs dropped) were flown. Rumours that Jewish support was underpinning the Communist surge were frequent. [40] The Port of London, in particular, was an important target, bringing in one-third of overseas trade. [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. Bombing civilians would cause a collapse of morale and a loss of production in the remaining factories. The clock mechanism was co-ordinated with the distances of the intersecting beams from the target so the target was directly below when the bombs were released. [149], A further line in the directive stressed the need to inflict the heaviest losses possible, but also to intensify the air war in order to create the impression an amphibious assault on Britain was planned for 1941. Whitechapel suffered greatly during this period. London, and cities. The port cities of Bristol, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Southampton, Swansea, Belfast, and Glasgow were also bombed, as were the industrial centres of Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, and Sheffield. [87], Because of the inaccuracy of celestial navigation for night navigation and target finding in a fast-moving aircraft, the Luftwaffe developed radio navigation devices and relied on three systems: Knickebein (Crooked leg), X-Gert (X-Device), and Y-Gert (Y-Device). The estimate of tonnes of bombs an enemy could drop per day grew as aircraft technology advanced, from 75 in 1922, to 150 in 1934, to 644 in 1937. The name "Blitz" comes from the word "blitzkrieg" which meant "lightning war". Reports suggested the attacks blocked the movement of coal to the Greater London regions and urgent repairs were required. To support the operations of the army formations, independent of railways, i.e., armoured forces and motorised forces, by impeding the enemy's advance and participating directly in ground operations. [36] Other historians argue that the outcome of the air battle was irrelevant; the massive numerical superiority of British naval forces and the inherent weakness of the Kriegsmarine would have made the projected German invasion, Unternehmen Seelwe (Operation Sea Lion), a disaster with or without German air superiority. The Battle of Britain The pilot flew along an approach beam, monitored by a ground controller. If a vigilant bomber crew could spot the fighter first, they had a decent chance of evading it. The number of suicides and drunkenness declined, and London recorded only about two cases of "bomb neurosis" per week in the first three months of bombing. [149] Some 50 Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers and Jabos (fighter-bombers) were used, officially classed as Leichte Kampfflugzeuge ("light bombers") and sometimes called Leichte Kesselringe ("Light Kesselrings"). [40], However, the Luftwaffe faced limitations. German intelligence suggested Fighter Command was weakening, and an attack on London would force it into a final battle of annihilation while compelling the British Government to surrender. The policy of RAF Bomber Command became an attempt to achieve victory through the destruction of civilian will, communications and industry. The hope was that, if it could deceive German bombardiers, it would draw more bombers away from the real target. At this time, the Underground lines were mostly owned and run by separate companies, all of which were merged together with . The bombings left parts of London in ruins, and when the war ended in 1945 much of the city had to be rebuilt. Nearly 350 German bombers (escorted by over 600 fighters) dropped explosives on East London, targeting the docks in particular. [33] Others argue that the Luftwaffe made little impression on Fighter Command in the last week of August and first week of September and that the shift in strategy was not decisive. Tickets were issued for bunks in large shelters, to reduce the amount of time spent queuing. The GL carpet was supported by six GCI sets controlling radar-equipped night-fighters. Erik Larson (Goodreads Author) (shelved 1 time as london-blitz) avg rating 4.29 99,548 ratings published 2020. For the London-based American football team, see, Directive 23: Gring and the Kriegsmarine, This was caused by moisture ruining the electrical. Between September 1940 and May 1941 the German Luftwaffe attacked the city on over 70 separate occasions, with around 1 million homes being destroyed and killing over 20,000 civilians. Rapid frequency changes were introduced for X-Gert, whose wider band of frequencies and greater tactical flexibility ensured it remained effective at a time when British selective jamming was degrading the effectiveness of Y-Gert. While direct attacks against civilians were ruled out as "terror bombing", the concept of attacking vital war industriesand probable heavy civilian casualties and breakdown of civilian moralewas ruled as acceptable.[18]. A building collapsing in Whitechapel during the Blitz. As the mere threat of it had produced diplomatic results in the 1930s, he expected that the threat of German retaliation would persuade the Allies to adopt a policy of moderation and not to begin a policy of unrestricted bombing. Home Secretary Sir John Anderson was replaced by Morrison soon afterwards, in the wake of a Cabinet reshuffle as the dying Neville Chamberlain resigned. "Civilian morale during the Second World War: Responses to air raids re-examined.". Later in . [31] On 7 September, the Germans shifted away from the destruction of the RAF's supporting structures. On the night of 13/14 November, 77 He 111s of Kampfgeschwader 26 (26th Bomber Wing, or KG 26) bombed London while 63 from KG 55 hit Birmingham. Timeline How Allies Broke The Deadlock | First World War EP6 | Timeline Biographer Reveals Audrey Hepburn's . Workers worked longer shifts and over weekends. de Zeng, Henry L., Doug G. Stankey and Eddie J. Creek. Night fighters could claim only four bombers for four losses. [155], The diversion of heavier bombers to the Balkans meant that the crews and units left behind were asked to fly two or three sorties per night. Dowding was summoned on 17 October, to explain the poor state of the night defences and the supposed (but ultimately successful) "failure" of his daytime strategy. 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. Added to the fact an interception relied on visual sighting, a kill was most unlikely even in the conditions of a moonlit sky. Explore the London Blitz during 7th October 1940 to 6th June 1941 Aggregate Bomb Census Information Powered by Leaflet CartoDB - Map data OpenStreetMap.org contributors The National Archives give no warranty to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of the information provided. Edgar Jones, et al. Children in the East End of London, made homeless by the Blitz From this point, there were air raids every day for two months. The Metropolitan-Vickers works in Manchester was hit by 12 long tons (12.2t) of bombs. [186] At the time it was seen as a useful propaganda tool for domestic and foreign consumption. Direction-finding checks also enabled the controller to keep the pilot on course. 28384; Murray 1983, pp. Gring's lack of co-operation was detrimental to the one air strategy with potentially decisive strategic effect on Britain. Between 7 September 1940 and 21 May 1941 there were major aerial raids (attacks in which m Subjects: British History, Social Studies - History, World History Grades: News reports of the Spanish Civil War, such as the bombing of Barcelona, supported the 50-casualties-per-tonne estimate. Hello, I Am Charlie from London - Stephane Husar 2014-07-15 The Demon in the Embers - Julia Edwards 2016-09-02 . 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. Night after night, from September 1940 until May 1941, German bombers attacked British cities, ports and industrial areas. [22], Two prominent enthusiasts for ground-support operations (direct or indirect) were Hugo Sperrle the commander of Luftflotte 3 (1 February 1939 23 August 1944) and Hans Jeschonnek (Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff from 1 February 1939 19 August 1943). [190], The brief success of the Communists also fed into the hands of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). The Luftwaffe was not pressed into ground support operations because of pressure from the army or because it was led by ex-soldiers, the Luftwaffe favoured a model of joint inter-service operations, rather than independent strategic air campaigns. [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. He frequently complained of the Luftwaffe's inability to damage industries sufficiently, saying, "The munitions industry cannot be impeded effectively by air raids usually, the prescribed targets are not hit". July 20, 1982: Two IRA bombs explode in central London less than two hours apart. Over a period of nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed in the raids, which focused on major cities and industrial centres. 219 Squadron RAF at RAF Kenley). [134], From November 1940 to February 1941, the Luftwaffe shifted its strategy and attacked other industrial cities. [61] A single direct hit on a shelter in Stoke Newington on October 1940 killed 160 civilians. [111], Wartime observers perceived the bombing as indiscriminate. [90][91], Y-Gert was an automatic beam-tracking system and the most complex of the three devices, which was operated through autopilot. For one thing, Gring's fear of Hitler led him to falsify or misrepresent what information was available in the direction of an uncritical and over-optimistic interpretation of air strength. Daniel Todman reveals how Britons rebuilt their lives, and their cities, in the aftermath of the raids Published: December 1, 2017 at 4:27 pm Subs offer German planners had to decide whether the Luftwaffe should deliver the weight of its attacks against a specific segment of British industry such as aircraft factories, or against a system of interrelated industries such as Britain's import and distribution network, or even in a blow aimed at breaking the morale of the British population. [26], The deliberate separation of the Luftwaffe from the rest of the military structure encouraged the emergence of a major "communications gap" between Hitler and the Luftwaffe, which other factors helped to exacerbate. More might have been achieved had OKL exploited the vulnerability of British sea communications. Although many civilians had used them for shelter during the First World War, the government in 1939 refused to allow the stations to be used as shelters so as not to interfere with commuter and troop travel and the fears that occupants might refuse to leave. [48] Based on experience with German strategic bombing during World War I against the United Kingdom, the British government estimated that 50 casualtieswith about one-third killedwould result for every tonne of bombs dropped on London. [178][3], In aircraft production, the British were denied the opportunity to reach the planned target of 2,500 aircraft in a month, arguably the greatest achievement of the bombing, as it forced the dispersal of the industry, at first because of damage to aircraft factories and then by a policy of precautionary dispersal. [151], Directive 23 was the only concession made by Gring to the Kriegsmarine over the strategic bombing strategy of the Luftwaffe against Britain. A summary of Harris' strategic intentions was clear. The Luftwaffe flew 4,000 sorties that month, including 12 major and three heavy attacks. [149] The indifference displayed by the OKL to Directive 23 was perhaps best demonstrated in operational directives which diluted its effect. [99] Fighter Command lost 23 fighters, with six pilots killed and another seven wounded. Its aircraftDornier Do 17, Junkers Ju 88, and Heinkel He 111swere capable of carrying out strategic missions[41] but were incapable of doing greater damage because of their small bomb-loads. The AOC Bomber Command, Arthur Harris, who did see German morale as an objective, did not believe that the morale-collapse could occur without the destruction of the German economy. Air raids caused about 2,300 casualties in London in World War I, and during the Battle of Britain in World War II, the city was bombed relentlessly by the German Luftwaffethe London Blitz . 6063, 6768, 75, 7879, 21516. This caused more than 2,000 fires; 1,436 people were killed and 1,792 seriously injured, which affected morale badly. Then bombers carrying SC1000 (1,000kg (2,205lb)), SC1400 (1,400kg (3,086lb)), and SC1800 (1,800kg (3,968lb)) "Satan" bombs were used to level streets and residential areas. The Battle of Britain and the Blitz were two central moments in the British war effort during World War II. The North Sea port of Hull, a convenient and easily found target or secondary target for bombers unable to locate their primary targets, suffered the Hull Blitz. Sperrle, commanding Luftflotte 3, was ordered to dispatch 250 sorties per night including 100 against the West Midlands. Less than 100 incidents reported by the London Fire Brigade up to 5pm on September 7, 1940. The History Place - World War II in Europe Timeline: London During the Blitz London during the Blitz A view of Big Ben through barbed wire entanglement. The German Luftwaffe dropped thousands of bombs on London from 1939 to 1945, killing almost 30,000 people. [101] On 8 September the Luftwaffe returned; 412 people were killed and 747 severely wounded. [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. The general neglect of the RAF until the late spurt in 1938, left few resources for night air defence and the Government, through the Air Ministry and other civil and military institutions was responsible for policy. 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.
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