Before the war, the Chamberlain government stated that night defence from air attack should not take up much of the national effort. [121] Few anti-aircraft guns had fire-control systems, and the underpowered searchlights were usually ineffective against aircraft at altitudes above 12,000ft (3,700m). 11 Group RAF and No. The German bombing of Britain from 1940-45 exacted a terrible price, in lives lost, infrastructure wrecked and nerves shattered. [126] RAF day fighters were converting to night operations and the interim Bristol Blenheim night fighter conversion of the light bomber was being replaced by the powerful Beaufighter, but this was only available in very small numbers. In January, Swansea was bombed four times, very heavily. An American witness wrote "By every test and measure I am able to apply, these people are staunch to the bone and won't quit the British are stronger and in a better position than they were at its beginning". [173] On 10/11 May, London suffered severe damage, but 10 German bombers were downed. [21], In 1936, Wever was killed in an air crash and the failure to implement his vision for the new Luftwaffe was largely attributable to his successors. In July 1939, Gring arranged a display of the Luftwaffe's most advanced equipment at Rechlin, to give the impression the air force was more prepared for a strategic air war than was actually the case. [156], German air supremacy at night was also now under threat. By 1938, experts generally expected that Germany would try to drop as much as 3,500 tonnes in the first 24 hours of war and average 700 tonnes a day for several weeks. However, as with the attacks in the south, the Germans failed to prevent maritime movements or cripple industry in the regions. [137] Around 21 factories were seriously damaged in Coventry, and loss of public utilities stopped work at nine others, disrupting industrial output for several months. [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. X- and Y-Gert beams were placed over false targets and switched only at the last minute. Many unemployed people were drafted into the Royal Army Pay Corps and with the Pioneer Corps, were tasked with salvaging and clean-up. An interactive map showing the location of bombs dropped on London during World War II has been created. There was also a mentality in all air forces that flying by day would obviate the need for night operations and their inherent disadvantages. A summary of Harris' strategic intentions was clear. [173] In May 1941, RAF night fighters shot down 38 German bombers. [165], The last major attack on London was on 10/11 May 1941, on which the Luftwaffe flew 571 sorties and dropped 787 long tons (800t) of bombs. From 7 September 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. London was then bombed for 57 consecutive nights, and often during daytime too. Many civilians who were unwilling or unable to join the military joined the Home Guard, the Air Raid Precautions service (ARP), the Auxiliary Fire Service and many other civilian organisations. He was always reluctant to co-operate with Raeder. 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. [189] The "Communist threat" was deemed important enough for Herbert Morrison to order, with the support of the Cabinet, the cessation of activities of the Daily Worker, the Communist newspaper. In some cases, the concentration of the bombing and resulting conflagration created firestorms of 1,000C. These units were fed from two adjacent tanks containing oil and water. Plymouth was attacked five times before the end of the month while Belfast, Hull, and Cardiff were hit. Thereafter, he would refuse to make available any air units to destroy British dockyards, ports, port facilities, or shipping in dock or at sea, lest Kriegsmarine gain control of more Luftwaffe units. Yet when compared with Luftwaffe daylight operations, there was a sharp decline in German losses to one percent. [145], In 1941, the Luftwaffe shifted strategy again. [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. [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 Communists attempted to blame the damage and casualties of the Coventry raid on the rich factory owners, big business and landowning interests and called for a negotiated peace. [76], Civilians of London played an enormous role in protecting their city. On occasion, only one-third of German bombs hit their targets. [106], Loge continued during October. [159] Operations against London up until May 1941 could also have a severe impact on morale. The government saw the leading role taken by the Communist Party in advocating the building of deep shelters as an attempt to damage civilian morale, especially after the MolotovRibbentrop Pact of August 1939. : The Blitz 1940 971941 510 : Blitz 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 . The first jamming operations were carried out using requisitioned hospital electrocautery machines. The first German attack on London actually occurred by accident. [136] The raid against Coventry was particularly devastating, and led to widespread use of the phrase "to coventrate". What he saw as the mythserene national unitybecame "historical truth". [13], The air offensive against the RAF and British industry failed to have the desired effect. There was also minor ethnic antagonism between the small Black, Indian and Jewish communities, but despite this these tensions quietly and quickly subsided. 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. Praise for Blitz: "With a relaxed style and array of fun characters, including an agent who makes people who look at him see their mother and a baby goat that turns into a little boy, O'Malley's latest will appeal to his many followers." Kirkus Reviews Praise for Daniel O'Malley and the Rook Files series: "Laugh-out-loud funny, occasionally bawdy, and paced like a spy thriller . Aviation strategists dispute that morale was ever a major consideration for Bomber Command. Morrison warned that he could not counter the Communist unrest unless provision of shelters were made. [40], However, the Luftwaffe faced limitations. Support for peace negotiations declined from 29% in February. The first three directives in 1940 did not mention civilian populations or morale in any way. X-Gert received and analysed the pulses, giving the pilot visual and aural directions. The pilot flew along an approach beam, monitored by a ground controller. [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. Loge had cost the Luftwaffe 41 aircraft; 14 bombers, 16 Messerschmitt Bf 109s, seven Messerschmitt Bf 110s and four reconnaissance aircraft. Eventually, it would become a success. The day's fighting cost Kesselring and Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2) 24 aircraft, including 13 Bf 109s. Two hours later, guided by the fires set by the first assault, a second group of raiders commenced another attack that lasted until 4:30 the following morning. [150] The OKL had always regarded the interdiction of sea communications of less importance than bombing land-based aircraft industries. Regional commissioners were given plenipotentiary powers to restore communications and organise the distribution of supplies to keep the war economy moving. [35], While Gring was optimistic the Luftwaffe could prevail, Hitler was not. Birmingham and Coventry were subject to 450 long tons (457t) of bombs between them in the last 10 days of October. Both the RAF and Luftwaffe struggled to replace manpower losses, though the Germans had larger reserves of trained aircrew. The London Underground rail system was also affected; high explosive bombs damaged the tunnels rendering some unsafe. [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. The Blitz and what was known as 'Black Saturday' was the start in Britain of what Poland and Western Europe had already experienced - total war. [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. The name "Blitz" comes from the word "blitzkrieg" which meant "lightning war". [58][59], The most important existing communal shelters were the London Underground stations. The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War.The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term Blitzkrieg, the German word meaning 'lightning war'.. First, the difficulty in estimating the impact of bombing upon war production was becoming apparent, and second, the conclusion British morale was unlikely to break led the OKL to adopt the naval option. Contact Us 0207 608 5516 Call today: 9am - 5.30pm [63] Peak use of the Underground as shelter was 177,000 on 27 September 1940 and a November 1940 census of London, found that about 4% of residents used the Tube and other large shelters, 9% in public surface shelters and 27% in private home shelters, implying that the remaining 60% of the city stayed at home. While wartime bombings affected London in both world wars, it was the Blitz that truly altered the cityscape forever. Loge continued for 57 nights. One third of London was destroyed. 11 Feb 2020. [98] The fighting in the air was more intense in daylight. Still, many British citizens, who had been members of the Labour Party, itself inert over the issue, turned to the Communist Party. From 1916 to 1918, German raids had diminished against countermeasures which demonstrated defence against night air raids was possible. [37], Regardless of the ability of the Luftwaffe to win air superiority, Hitler was frustrated it was not happening quickly enough. THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 07 1940 September 07 The Blitz begins as Germany bombs London On September 7, 1940, 300 German bombers raid London, in the first of 57 consecutive nights of. [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). [168] The Boulton Paul Defiant, despite its poor performance during daylight engagements, was a much better night fighter. Douglas set about introducing more squadrons and dispersing the few GL sets to create a carpet effect in the southern counties. 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. From 1940 to 1941, the most successful night-fighter was the Boulton Paul Defiant; its four squadrons shot down more enemy aircraft than any other type. [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. The debris of St Thomas's Hospital, London, the morning after receiving a direct hit during the Blitz, in front of the Houses of . 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. Tickets were issued for bunks in large shelters, to reduce the amount of time spent queuing. Despite the bombing, British production rose steadily throughout this period, although there were significant falls during April 1941, probably influenced by the departure of workers for Easter Holidays, according to the British official history. The attacks against Birmingham took war industries some three months to recover fully. An estimated 43,000 people lost their lives. When Gring decided against continuing Wever's original heavy bomber programme in 1937, the Reichsmarschall's own explanation was that Hitler wanted to know only how many bombers there were, not how many engines each had. Air attacks continued sporadically, then in 1944 an entirely new threat arrived in the form . To start off, the idea of the London Underground as a bomb shelter wasn't a new one by 1940. [176] Total losses could have been as high as 600 bombers, just 1.5 percent of the sorties flown. Let us find out other historical facts about London Blitz below: Facts about London Blitz 1: the German intelligence Within four months, 88 percent of evacuated mothers, 86 percent of small children, and 43 percent of schoolchildren had been returned home. [24][182] [190], The brief success of the Communists also fed into the hands of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). [77] Before the war, civilians were issued with 50million respirators (gas masks) in case bombardment with gas began before evacuation. [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. It reveals the devastation caused by the Blitz over eight months. Much civil-defence preparation in the form of shelters was left in the hands of local authorities and many areas such as Birmingham, Coventry, Belfast and the East End of London did not have enough shelters. [111], Wartime observers perceived the bombing as indiscriminate. All but seven of its 12,000 houses were damaged. [13] The strategic impact on industrial cities was varied; most took from 10 to 15 days to recover from heavy raids, although Belfast and Liverpool took longer. Its hope was to destroy its targets and draw the RAF into defending them, allowing the Luftwaffe to destroy their fighters in large numbers, thereby achieving air superiority. Unpopular with many of his fellow MP's, Prime Minister Chamberlain agreed to replace him under pressure from . Harold Macmillan wrote in 1956 that he and others around him "thought of air warfare in 1938 rather as people think of nuclear war today". [131], Nevertheless, it was radar that proved to be the critical weapon in the night battles over Britain from this point onward. Bomb-Damage Maps Reveal London's World War II Devastation. 604 Squadron RAF shot down a bomber flying an AI-equipped Beaufighter, the first air victory for the airborne radar. 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. [67] By the end of 1940 improvements had been made in the Underground and in many other large shelters. This led the British to develop countermeasures, which became known as the Battle of the Beams. The Blitz holds a special place in British history for the light which it supposedly sheds on . [31] On 7 September, the Germans shifted away from the destruction of the RAF's supporting structures. The government planned the evacuation of four million peoplemostly women and childrenfrom urban areas, including 1.4million from London. [139], Although official German air doctrine did target civilian morale, it did not espouse the attacking of civilians directly. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. In 1938, a committee of psychiatrists predicted three times as many mental as physical casualties from aerial bombing, implying three to four million psychiatric patients. Signals from the station were retransmitted by the bomber's equipment, which allowed the distance the bomber had travelled along the beam to be measured precisely. Although not encouraged by official policy, the use of mines and incendiaries, for tactical expediency, came close to indiscriminate bombing. [135] In particular, the West Midlands were targeted. [170] In November and December 1940, the Luftwaffe flew 9,000 sorties against British targets and RAF night fighters claimed only six shot down. His hope wasfor reasons of political prestige within Germany itselfthat the German population would be protected from the Allied bombings. Predictions had underestimated civilian adaptability and resourcefulness. 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. To prevent the movement of large enemy ground forces to the decisive areas, by destroying railways and roads, particularly bridges and tunnels, which are indispensable for the movement and supply of forces. Bomb damage around St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. This heavy bombing by German forces began in September 1940 and lasted for 57 days. World War 2 Timeline - 1940. by Ben Johnson. 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. The effectiveness of British countermeasures against Knickebein caused the Luftwaffe to prefer fire light instead for target marking and navigation. The attacks were authorized by Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. 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. Locating targets in skies obscured by industrial haze meant the target area needed to be illuminated and hit "without regard for the civilian population". They have usually been treated as distinct campaigns, but they are linked by the fact that the German Air Force conducted a continuous eleven-month offensive against Britain from July 1940 to June 1941. [109], By mid-November 1940, when the Germans adopted a changed plan, more than 11,600 long tons (11,800t) of high explosive and nearly 1,000,000 incendiaries had fallen on London. British anti-aircraft defences (General Frederick Alfred Pile) fired 8,326 rounds and shot down only 2 bombers. 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. [40] The Luftwaffe's decision in the interwar period to concentrate on medium bombers can be attributed to several reasons: Hitler did not intend or foresee a war with Britain in 1939, the OKL believed a medium bomber could carry out strategic missions just as well as a heavy bomber force, and Germany did not possess the resources or technical ability to produce four-engined bombers before the war. Edgar Jones, et al. The official history volume British War Production (Postan, 1952) noted that the greatest effect on output of warlike stores was on the supply of components and dispersal of production rather than complete equipment. Ex-Army personnel and his successors as Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff, Albert Kesselring (3 June 1936 31 May 1937) and Hans-Jrgen Stumpff (1 June 1937 31 January 1939) are usually blamed for abandoning strategic planning for close air support. [88] Bomber crews already had some experience with the Lorenz beam, a commercial blind-landing aid for night or bad weather landings. 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]. From 1943 to the end of the war, he [Harris] and other proponents of the area offensive represented it [the bomber offensive] less as an attack on morale than as an assault on the housing, utilities, communications, and other services that supported the war production effort. With the doors to our museums physically closed, we are offering some exclusive World War II content from our galleries and collections. The failure to prepare adequate night air defences was undeniable but it was not the responsibility of the AOC Fighter Command to dictate the disposal of resources. On the night of 22/23 July 1940, Flying Officer Cyril Ashfield (pilot), Pilot Officer Geoffrey Morris (air observer) and Flight Sergeant Reginald Leyland (Air Intercept radar operator) of the Fighter Interception Unit became the first pilot and crew to intercept and destroy an enemy aircraft using onboard radar to guide them to a visual interception, when their AI night fighter brought down a Do 17 off Sussex. [50], On the other hand, some historians have recently contended that this revisionism of the "Blitz spirit" narrative may have been an over-correction. At least 3,363 Luftwaffe aircrew were killed, 2,641 missing and 2,117 wounded.
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