london blitz timeline
london blitz timeline
Regional commissioners were given plenipotentiary powers to restore communications and organise the distribution of supplies to keep the war economy moving. 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. Erich Raedercommander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarinehad long argued the Luftwaffe should support the German submarine force (U-Bootwaffe) in the Battle of the Atlantic by attacking shipping in the Atlantic Ocean and attacking British ports. 80 Wing RAF. The Luftwaffe had dropped 16,331 long tons (16,593t) of bombs. 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. An average of 200 were able to strike per night. The number of contacts and combats rose in 1941, from 44 and two in 48 sorties in January 1941, to 204 and 74 in May (643 sorties). [175], Between 20 June 1940, when the first German air operations began over Britain, and 31 March 1941, OKL recorded the loss of 2,265 aircraft over the British Isles, a quarter of them fighters and one-third bombers. 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. Explore Docklands at War - Museum of London Ground-based radar was limited, and airborne radar and RAF night fighters were generally ineffective. [142] Civilian casualties on London throughout the Blitz amounted to 28,556 killed, and 25,578 wounded. The Blitz | Tardis | Fandom [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. Reports suggested the attacks blocked the movement of coal to the Greater London regions and urgent repairs were required. Reception committees were completely unprepared for the condition of some of the children. Over a quarter of London's population had left the city by November 1940. The AFS had 138,000 personnel by July 1939. 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. [57] The programme favoured backyard Anderson shelters and small brick surface shelters. Around 250 tons (9,000 bombs) had been dropped, killing 1,413 people and injuring 3,500 more. The damage was considerable, and the Germans also used aerial mines. In some cases, the concentration of the bombing and resulting conflagration created firestorms of 1,000C. The blasts at Hyde Park and Regents Park kill 11 people and injure 50 others. 10 great films set in Britain during the Second World War | BFI But the great bulk of the traffic went on, and Londonersthough they glanced apprehensively each morning at the list of closed stretches of line displayed at their local station, or made strange detours round back streets in the busesstill got to work. Before getting into detail, an overview of the area around St. Paul's Cathedral will help set the scene. 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. [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. [40], However, the Luftwaffe faced limitations. [13] In April 1941, when the targets were British ports, rifle production fell by 25 percent, filled-shell production by 4.6 percent and in small-arms production 4.5 percent. [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). 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. By December, this had increased to 92 percent. Only a few weeks after the British victory in the Battle of. [156] Other sources point out that half of the 144 berths in the port were rendered unusable and cargo unloading capability was reduced by 75 percent. The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain. Support for peace negotiations declined from 29% in February. [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. [148], Hitler's interest in this strategy forced Gring and Jeschonnek to review the air war against Britain in January 1941. Rumours that Jewish support was underpinning the Communist surge were frequent. 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. Moreover, the OKL could not settle on an appropriate strategy. [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. [70], Although the intensity of the bombing was not as great as pre-war expectations so an equal comparison is impossible, no psychiatric crisis occurred because of the Blitz even during the period of greatest bombing of September 1940. BLITZ DIGITAL MEDIA LTD - Company Credit Reports, Company Accounts 6063, 6768, 75, 7879, 21516. [134], From November 1940 to February 1941, the Luftwaffe shifted its strategy and attacked other industrial cities. 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. [131] Whitehall's disquiet at the failures of the RAF led to the replacement of Dowding (who was already due for retirement) with Sholto Douglas on 25 November. [5][6] Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Gring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, ordered the new policy on 6 September 1940. Before the war, the Chamberlain government stated that night defence from air attack should not take up much of the national effort. The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz (Kindle Edition) by. Many unemployed people were drafted into the Royal Army Pay Corps and with the Pioneer Corps, were tasked with salvaging and clean-up. To support naval operations by attacking naval bases, protecting German naval bases and participating directly in naval battles. [27], Although not specifically prepared to conduct independent strategic air operations against an opponent, the Luftwaffe was expected to do so over Britain. KGr 100 increased its use of incendiaries from 13 to 28 percent. From 7 September 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. The Blitz came to London on September Saturday 7 th 1940 and lasted for many days. Of the "heavies", some 200 were of the obsolescent 3in (76mm) type; the remainder were the effective 4.5in (110mm) and 3.7in (94mm) guns, with a theoretical "ceiling"' of over 30,000ft (9,100m) but a practical limit of 25,000ft (7,600m) because the predictor in use could not accept greater heights. On September 7, 1940, 350 German bombers escorted by fighters bombarded London on consecutive successions. The London docks and railways communications had taken a heavy pounding, and much damage had been done to the railway system outside. [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"). The Blitz began on 7 September, 'Black Saturday', when German bombers attacked London, leaving 430 dead and 1,600 injured. Hull and Glasgow were attacked but 715 long tons (726t) of bombs were spread out all over Britain. Home Secretary Sir John Anderson was replaced by Morrison soon afterwards, in the wake of a Cabinet reshuffle as the dying Neville Chamberlain resigned. 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. If a vigilant bomber crew could spot the fighter first, they had a decent chance of evading it. London Blitz 1940: the first day's bomb attacks listed in full Although there had been many bombing raids on London since mid 1940, the first raid where the survival of St. Paul's Cathedral was at risk and where the Watch were tested in the extreme was on Sunday 29th December 1940. [141][failed verification] Altogether, 130 German bombers destroyed the historical centre of London. Many more ports were attacked. London, and cities. [83] Until September 1939, the RAF lacked specialist night-fighting aircraft and relied on anti-aircraft units, which were poorly equipped and lacking in numbers. Only one year earlier, there had only been 6,600 full-time and 13,800 part-time firemen in the entire country. On 10/11 March, 240 bombers dropped 193 tons (196t) of high explosives and 46,000 incendiaries. [67] By the end of 1940 improvements had been made in the Underground and in many other large shelters. BBC - WW2 People's War - Timeline Fact File : The Blitz 25 August 1940 to 16 May 1941 Theatre: United Kingdom Area: London and other major cities Players: Britain: RAF Fighter Command under. He recognised the right of the public to seize tube stations and authorised plans to improve their condition and expand them by tunnelling. [145] Captured German aircrews also indicated the homes of industrial workers were deliberately targeted. In those sites, carbon arc lamps were used to simulate flashes at tram overhead wires. The action did not guarantee automatic success. The Luftwaffe lost 18 percent of the bombers sent on the operations that day and failed to gain air superiority. The Blitz (shortened from German 'Blitzkrieg', "lightning war") was the period of sustained strategic bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. For the London-based American football team, see, Directive 23: Gring and the Kriegsmarine, This was caused by moisture ruining the electrical. The first three directives in 1940 did not mention civilian populations or morale in any way. - Wikipedia The Blitz referred to the bombing of most major British cities by the Germans in World War II. 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 considerable rail network distributed to the rest of the country. Minister of Home Security Herbert Morrison was also worried morale was breaking, noting the defeatism expressed by civilians. [114] It is not clear whether the power station or any specific structure was targeted during the German offensive as the Luftwaffe could not accurately bomb select targets during night operations. This caused more than 2,000 fires; 1,436 people were killed and 1,792 seriously injured, which affected morale badly. The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg ("lightning war"). Time Travel Back To The London Blitz In Connie Willis' New - Gizmodo [143], Not all of the Luftwaffe effort was made against inland cities. People referred to raids as if they were weather, stating that a day was "very blitzy". (PROSE: Ash, TV: The Empty Child) It lasted from 7 September 1940 to 21 May 1941. It also took part in the bombing over Britain. [180] The 10th directive in October 1940 mentioned morale by name but industrial cities were only to be targeted if weather prevented raids on oil targets.[181]. [191] In other cities, class divisions became more evident. "Civilian morale during the Second World War: Responses to air raids re-examined.". The Cruel Cost Of The Blitz: How Did Britons Rebuild Their Lives The electronic war intensified but the Luftwaffe flew major inland missions only on moonlit nights. [89][90], Knickebein was in general use but the X-Gert (X apparatus) was reserved for specially trained pathfinder crews. The beginning of the London Blitz - The National Archives blog