london blitz timeline london blitz timeline

The Blitz (the London Blitz) was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7th September 1940 and 10th May 1941 during the World War Two Every night bar one for ten solid weeks,from 7 September to 14 November 1940, London was attacked by an average of 160 bombers. The blitz 1940-1941: an interactive timeline This interactive timeline tracks the German air force's bombing campaign as it devastated towns and cities across Britain during the second world. A trial blackout was held on 10 August 1939 and when Germany invaded Poland on 1 September, a blackout began at sunset. 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. 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. [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. [58], Deep shelters provided most protection against a direct hit. The bombing effort was diluted by attacks against several sets of industries instead of constant pressure on the most vital. Night after night, from September 1940 until May 1941, German bombers attacked British cities, ports and industrial areas. [88] Bomber crews already had some experience with the Lorenz beam, a commercial blind-landing aid for night or bad weather landings. [112] In fact, on 8 September 1940 both Battersea and West Ham Power Station were both shut down after the 7 September daylight attack on London. 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. 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. By September 1940, London had already experienced German bombing. Five main rail lines were cut in London and rolling stock damaged. On 9 April 1941, Luftflotte 2 dropped 150 tons (152t) of high explosives and 50,000 incendiaries from 120 bombers in a five-hour attack. 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. The property stands alone on a section of riverbank on the Thames, in South East London 's . [25] In 1940 and 1941, Gring's refusal to co-operate with the Kriegsmarine denied the entire Wehrmacht military forces of the Reich the chance to strangle British sea communications, which might have had a strategic or decisive effect in the war against the British Empire. Authorities provided stoves and bathrooms and canteen trains provided food. [149] This strategy had been recognised before the war, but Operation Eagle Attack and the following Battle of Britain had got in the way of striking at Britain's sea communications and diverted German air strength to the campaign against the RAF and its supporting structures. This is a Timeline of the United Kingdom home front during World War II covering Britain 1939-45.Timeline of the United Kingdom home front during World War II covering Britain 1939-45. On 17 January around 100 bombers dropped a high concentration of incendiaries, some 32,000 in all. The Blitz came to London on September Saturday 7 th 1940 and lasted for many days. The hope was that, if it could deceive German bombardiers, it would draw more bombers away from the real target. The shortage of bombers caused OKL to improvise. [60], Each day orderly lines of people queued until 4:00pm, when they were allowed to enter the stations. : The Blitz 1940 971941 510 : Blitz London Blitz Worksheets & Teaching Resources | Teachers Pay Teachers Much damage was done. [61] A single direct hit on a shelter in Stoke Newington on October 1940 killed 160 civilians. The lightning attack was infamously called "Black Saturday". [169] The Beaufighter had a maximum speed of 320mph (510km/h), an operational ceiling of 26,000ft (7,900m), a climb rate of 2,500ft (760m) per minute, and its battery of four 20mm (0.79in) Hispano cannon and six .303in Browning machine guns was much more lethal. United Kingdom: The Blitz Facts & Worksheets | History - KidsKonnect London Blitz History, Facts & Importance | What was the Blitz of WW2 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. Its explosive sound describes the Luftwaffe's almost continual aerial bombardment of the British Isles from. 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. [127] Other sources say 449 bombers and a total of 470 long tons (478t) of bombs were dropped. [10] Bombing failed to demoralise the British into surrender or do much damage to the war economy; eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British war production, which continued to increase. 11 Group RAF and No. [92] The counter-operations were carried out by British Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) units under Wing Commander Edward Addison, No. In late 1940, Churchill credited the shelters. [184], Raids during the Blitz produced the greatest divisions and morale effects in the working-class areas, with lack of sleep, insufficient shelters and inefficiency of warning systems being major causes. However, meteorological conditions over Britain were not favourable for flying and prevented an escalation in air operations. Although not encouraged by official policy, the use of mines and incendiaries, for tactical expediency, came close to indiscriminate bombing. All but seven of its 12,000 houses were damaged. [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). 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. The aerial bombing was now principally aimed at the destruction of industrial targets, but also continued with the objective of breaking the morale of the civilian population. In one incident on 28/29 April, Peter Stahl of KG 30 was flying on his 50th mission. The Allies did so later when Bomber Command attacked rail communications and the United States Army Air Forces targeted oil, but that would have required an economic-industrial analysis of which the Luftwaffe was incapable. 10 Group RAF, No. Time Travel Back To The London Blitz In Connie Willis' New - Gizmodo [166] This was not immediately apparent. London Blitz: Bomb Sight interactive map created - BBC News London was then bombed for 57 consecutive nights, and often during daytime too. Ground transmitters sent pulses at a rate of 180 per minute. The maximum range of Y-Gert was similar to the other systems and it was accurate enough on occasion for specific buildings to be hit. The London Blitz started quietly. [156] Hitler now had his sights set on attacking the USSR with Operation Barbarossa, and the Blitz came to an end. [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". [72] The psychoanalysts were correct, and the special network of psychiatric clinics opened to receive mental casualties of the attacks closed due to lack of need. Industry, seats of government and communications could be destroyed, depriving an opponent of the means to make war. This philosophy proved impractical, as Bomber Command lacked the technology and equipment for mass night operations, since resources were diverted to Fighter Command in the mid-1930s and it took until 1943 to catch up. [27], Although not specifically prepared to conduct independent strategic air operations against an opponent, the Luftwaffe was expected to do so over Britain. World War 2 Timeline - 1940. by Ben Johnson. The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain. [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). One-third of London's streets were impassable. [50] The unexpected delay to civilian bombing during the Phoney War meant that the shelter programme finished in June 1940, before the Blitz. Night fighters could claim only four bombers for four losses. [76], Despite the attacks, defeat in Norway and France, and the threat of invasion, overall morale remained high. At this time, the Underground lines were mostly owned and run by separate companies, all of which were merged together with . [31] On 7 September, the Germans shifted away from the destruction of the RAF's supporting structures. Around 250 tons (9,000 bombs) had been dropped, killing 1,413 people and injuring 3,500 more. To destroy the enemy air force by bombing its bases and aircraft factories and defeat enemy air forces attacking German targets. Using historical paintings, a timeline, and a simple map, children can discover why the re started, how it spread, and the damage it caused. [29] The British produced 10,000 aircraft in 1940, in comparison to Germany's 8,000. The oil-fed fires were then injected with water from time to time; the flashes produced were similar to those of the German C-250 and C-500 Flammbomben. A significant number of the aircraft not shot down after the resort to night bombing were wrecked during landings or crashed in bad weather. Direction-finding checks also enabled the controller to keep the pilot on course. Yet when compared with Luftwaffe daylight operations, there was a sharp decline in German losses to one percent. This led to their agreeing to Hitler's Directive 23, Directions for operations against the British War Economy, which was published on 6 February 1941 and gave aerial interdiction of British imports by sea top priority. At 18:17, it released the first of 10,000 firebombs, eventually amounting to 300 dropped per minute. These collections include period interviews with civilians, servicemen, aircrew, politicians and Civil Defence personnel, as well as Blitz actuality recordings, news bulletins and public information broadcasts. [11][12] The greatest effect was to force the British to disperse the production of aircraft and spare parts. [45] This method condemned the offensive over Britain to failure before it began. The Germans adapted the short-range Lorenz system into Knickebein, a 3033MHz system, which used two Lorenz beams with much stronger signals. 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. [94] A total of 348 bombers and 617 fighters took part in the attack. Still, at Southampton, attacks were so effective morale did give way briefly with civilian authorities leading people en masse out of the city. This was when warfare deliberately included civilian populations. The Battle of Britain [46], In an operational capacity, limitations in weapons technology and quick British reactions were making it more difficult to achieve strategic effect. 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. 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. [58][59], The most important existing communal shelters were the London Underground stations. Bomb-Damage Maps Reveal London's World War II Devastation. Though they failed to make a large gain in influence, the membership of the Party had doubled by June 1941. News reports of the Spanish Civil War, such as the bombing of Barcelona, supported the 50-casualties-per-tonne estimate. Authorities expected that the raids would be brief and in daylight, rather than attacks by night, which forced Londoners to sleep in shelters. Many houses and commercial centres were heavily damaged, the electrical supply was knocked out, and five oil tanks and two magazines exploded. A present day image of the Freedom Press, Whitechapel, London. This caused more than 2,000 fires; 1,436 people were killed and 1,792 seriously injured, which affected morale badly. The Luftwaffe flew 4,000 sorties that month, including 12 major and three heavy attacks. From 1916 to 1918, German raids had diminished against countermeasures which demonstrated defence against night air raids was possible. [145] Use of incendiaries, which were inherently inaccurate, indicated much less care was taken to avoid civilian property close to industrial sites. Over the next few days weather was poor and the next main effort would not be made until 15 September 1940. The London Blitz, 1940 - EyeWitness to History Sewer, rail, docklands, and electric installations were damaged. A Princess At War: Queen Elizabeth II During World War II [1], In early July 1940, the German High Command began planning Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. London in World War II - Wikipedia People referred to raids as if they were weather, stating that a day was "very blitzy". The light guns, about half of which were of the excellent Bofors 40 mm, dealt with aircraft only up to 6,000ft (1,800m). Attacks from below offered a larger target, compared to attacking tail-on, as well as a better chance of not being seen by the crew (so less chance of evasion), as well as greater likelihood of detonating its bomb load. [93] The use of diversionary techniques such as fires had to be made carefully. 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. Seven major and eight heavy attacks were flown, but the weather made it difficult to keep up the pressure. [35], While Gring was optimistic the Luftwaffe could prevail, Hitler was not. [49], In addition to high-explosive and incendiary bombs, the Germans could use poison gas and even bacteriological warfare, all with a high degree of accuracy. By September 1940, the Luftwaffe had lost the Battle of Britain and the German air fleets (Luftflotten) were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation. The Luftwaffe had dropped 16,331 long tons (16,593t) of bombs. [127] In November 1940, 6,000 sorties and 23 major attacks (more than 100 tons [102t] of bombs dropped) were flown. [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. Too early and the chances of success receded; too late and the real conflagration at the target would exceed the diversionary fires. Another innovation was the boiler fire. The bombings left parts of London in ruins, and when the war ended in 1945 much of the city had to be rebuilt. Throughout 193339 none of the 16 Western Air Plans drafted mentioned morale as a target. This weight of attack went on for two months, with the Luftwaffe dropping 12,400 long tons (12,600t) of bombs. [154], Even so, the decision by the OKL to support the strategy in Directive 23 was instigated by two considerations, both of which had little to do with wanting to destroy Britain's sea communications in conjunction with the Kriegsmarine. To prevent German formations from hitting targets in Britain, Bomber Command would destroy Luftwaffe aircraft on their bases, aircraft in their factories and fuel reserves by attacking oil plants. Other units ceased using parachute flares and opted for explosive target markers. The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg ("lightning war"). The London Blitz Timeline Nathaniel Zarate Sep 7 1940 September 7, 1940 On Saturday September 7th 1940, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force to bomb London. Summerfield and Peniston-Bird 2007, p. 4. Their incendiary bombs All but one railway station line was blocked for several weeks. People were forced to sleep in air raid shelters, and many people took shelter in underground stations. Over a period of nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed in the raids, which focused on major cities and industrial centres. Ports were easier to find and made better targets. Many of the latter were abandoned in 1940 as unsafe. London: The Blitz, September 1940-June 1941 | Historic England Of greater potential was the GL (Gunlaying) radar and searchlights with fighter direction from RAF fighter control rooms to begin a GCI system (Ground Control-led Interception) under Group-level control (No. The first major raid took place on 7 September. 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". Ingersol wrote that Battersea Power Station, one of the largest landmarks in London, received only a minor hit. - Wikipedia Bungay, Stephen (2000). Upsurges in population in south Wales and Gloucester intimated where these displaced people went. [145] Captured German aircrews also indicated the homes of industrial workers were deliberately targeted. Workers worked longer shifts and over weekends. [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. [115] The bombing disrupted rail traffic through London without destroying any of the crossings. 4 June 1940 18 June 1940 22 June 1940 1 July 1940 . This became official policy on 7 October. Most residents found that such divisions continued within the shelters and many arguments and fights occurred over noise, space and other matters. [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. In particular, class division was most evident during the Blitz. Many people over 35 remembered the bombing and were afraid of more. From the beginning of the National Socialist regime until 1939, there was a debate in German military journals over the role of strategic bombardment, with some contributors arguing along the lines of the British and Americans. Summerfield and Peniston-Bird 2007, p. 84. Two aerials at ground stations were rotated so that their beams converged over the target. [19] General Walther Wever (Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff 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. 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 . [130], Airborne Interception radar (AI) was unreliable. [44] Disputes among OKL staff revolved more around tactics than strategy. 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. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) and his wife inspect bomb-damage in the City of London during the Blitz, 31st December 1940. [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. [113] In the case of Battersea power station, an unused extension was hit and destroyed during November but the station was not put out of action during the night attacks. Birmingham and Coventry were subject to 450 long tons (457t) of bombs between them in the last 10 days of October. [127] By the second month of the Blitz the defences were not performing well. Moreover, the OKL could not settle on an appropriate strategy. [192] The total number of evacuees numbered 1.4million, including a high proportion from the poorest inner-city families. [97] Of this total around 400 were killed. Smaller raids are not included in the tonnages. The Battle of Britain: Timeline | Military History Matters 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. These were marked out by parachute flares. Beginning in September 1940, the Blitz was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by the Luftwaffe against British cities. Port cities were also attacked to try to disrupt trade and sea communications. This timeline highlights key moments in the run up to and during the Battle of Britain. [100] Another 247 bombers from Luftflotte 3 (Air Fleet 3) attacked that night. Hitler believed the Luftwaffe was "the most effective strategic weapon", and in reply to repeated requests from the Kriegsmarine for control over naval aircraft insisted, "We should never have been able to hold our own in this war if we had not had an undivided Luftwaffe. Many more ports were attacked. The fake fires could only begin when the bombing started over an adjacent target and its effects were brought under control. Little tonnage was dropped on Fighter Command airfields; Bomber Command airfields were hit instead. On September 7, 1940, 350 German bombers escorted by fighters bombarded London on consecutive successions. [160], On 13 March, the upper Clyde port of Clydebank near Glasgow was bombed (Clydebank Blitz). Sperrle, commanding Luftflotte 3, was ordered to dispatch 250 sorties per night including 100 against the West Midlands. (Photo by J. [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. To confuse the British, radio silence was observed until the bombs fell. In the last days of the battle, the bombers became lures in an attempt to draw the RAF into combat with German fighters. (PROSE: Ash, TV: The Empty Child) It lasted from 7 September 1940 to 21 May 1941. [109], These decisions, apparently taken at the Luftflotte or Fliegerkorps level, meant attacks on individual targets were gradually replaced by what was, for all intents and purposes, an unrestricted area attack or Terrorangriff (Terror Attack). Many civilians found that the best way to retain mental stability was to be with family, and after the first few weeks of bombing, avoidance of the evacuation programmes grew.