20th+: November 2018

Birmingham . Bradford . Brighton . Coventry . Croydon . Leeds . Liverpool . London . London, Balham Tube Station . Plymouth . Southampton . York .

Blitz, WW2 ..
The 'Blitz' – from the German term Blitzkrieg ('lightning war') – was the sustained campaign of aerial bombing attacks on British towns and cities carried out by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) from September 1940 until May 1941.

The Blitz began on 7 September, 'Black Saturday', when German bombers attacked London, leaving 430 dead and 1,600 injured. London was then bombed for 57 consecutive nights, and often during daytime too. London experienced regular attacks and on 10-11 May 1941 was hit by its biggest raid. German bombers dropped 711 tons of high explosive and 2,393 incendiaries. 1,436 civilians were killed. However, this proved to be the last major raid until January 1943.

While London was bombed more heavily and more often than anywhere else in Britain, the Blitz was an attack on the whole country. Very few areas were left untouched by air raids. In relatively small compact cities, the impact of a severe air raid could be devastating.

From mid-November 1940, major provincial cities and industrial centres were targeted. In early 1941 another wave of attacks began, primarily against ports. Respite finally came from June when much of the Luftwaffe was directed against Russia and targets in the Mediterranean.

In these nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed. This is how the Blitz affected towns and cities across the United Kingdom.

https://www.pinterest.ca/strangeblokethi/world-war-ii-the-blitz/?lp=true .

Contra-Bumbledom: "In general nothing emerges more forcibly from the Blitz than the contrast between laggard councillors, obsessed with their own prestige, and the self-sacrifice of the volunteers who strove indefatigably to remedy the position which bumbledom had created."

"Britain after the Blitz: how to rebuild a city fit for a post-conflict population"
https://theconversation.com/britain-after-the-blitz-how-to-rebuild-a-city-fit-for-a-post-conflict-population-47111 .

Agriculture | Air | Atrocities & APD | Blitz, Bombing | Campaigns | Capture | Characters | Cold War & Balance of Power | Defence | Government | Home Front | Industry | Infrastructure | Intelligence | Interbellum Years | Locations | Logistics | Occupation | Post-War Military | Post-War Power Vacuums | Propaganda, Publications | Sea | Services | Sinkings | Sociopolitical | Technology | Theatres | Timelines | Volunteers | War | Weaponry | WW1 |

● Explosives

Bombs, Depth Charges, Grenades, Mines, Torpedoes

Butterfly Bombs ..

Cluster Munitions ..

Depth charges - ASW ..
Detonator - Pencil detonator ..

Explosives WW1 ..

Grenades ..

High vs Low Explosives ..

Incendiary Bombs ..

Mines, landmines ..
Mines ..

Parachute Mines ..

Proximity Fuze ..

Torpedo Defense Systems ..
UXBs & Bomb Disposal Companies ..

Vergeltungswaffe 1 & Spitfire ..
Vergeltungswaffe 2 & America Space Rockets ..

Drones

Drone Warfare ↠
Naval Drones ↠

Nuclear

Nuclear Strategy ..

● Post-War Bombing

Defending US Mainland - 2021+ ..
Oil - 2019 Strike on Saudi Facility ..

Thursday, November 29, 2018

2022 - Special Douhetesque Blunder

Killing and harming Ukrainian civilians to mollify belligerent, paranoid, brainwashed ruscists ...

22-11-12 Ruscia plans to ‘Blackout Blitz’ Ukraine into surrender - Caspian > .

22-12-23 Effective? - Ruscian Strategic Bombing Campaign in Ukraine - Animarchy > .

22-10-21 Why Ruscia's Running Out of Missiles is Bad News For Ukraine - nwyt > .

Strategic Bombing - RvsU ..

Blitz, WW2

Blitz Begins - September 07 1940 > .

How RAF Prepared For Luftwaffe's Offensive | Battle Of Britain | Timeline > .

Winston Churchill's War - BBC doc > .

40-9-8 Blitz, Cromwell, Sealion Postponed 40-9-14 ..

1917 Gotha Attack & First London Blitz

Gotha Attack! The First London Blitz 1917 > .
Rise of Flight - The Gotha > .
1916-9-23 Zeppelin Attack! The Battle to Destroy L-33 > .

German Gotha Heavy Bomber - Dark Skies > .

Akron & Macon Airships; Hindenburg Disaster - Mega > .

German 'Giant' Over London: The Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI, 1917-18 > .

German Gotha Heavy Bomber - Dark Skies > .

The best-known German strategic bombing campaign during World War I was the campaign against Britain, although strategic bombing raids were carried out or attempted on other fronts. The main campaign against Britain started in January 1915 using airships. From then until the end of World War I the German Navy and Army Luftstreitkräfte mounted over 50 bombing raids on the United Kingdom. These were generally referred to as "Zeppelin raids": although both Zeppelin and Schütte-Lanz airships were used, the Zeppelin company was much better known and was responsible for producing the majority of the airships used. Weather conditions and night flying conditions made airship navigation and maintaining bombing accuracy difficult. Bombs were often dropped miles off target (one raid on London actually bombed Hull) and accurate targeting of military installations was impossible. The civilian casualties made the Zeppelins an object of hatred, and they were dubbed "baby-killers". With the development of effective defensive measures the airship raids became increasingly hazardous, and in 1917 the airships were largely replaced by aeroplanes.

Although the military effect of the raids was small, they caused widespread alarm, leading to the diversion of substantial resources from the Western Front and some disruption to industrial production. Concern about the conduct of defence against the raids, the responsibility for which was divided between the Admiralty and the Army, led to a parliamentary inquiry under Jan Smuts, whose report was to lead to the creation of the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 1 April 1918. The defence organisation developed by the British was an important precursor of the fighter direction system that would prove vital in winning the Battle of Britain. The raids were also influential because they led to an overestimation of both the material and psychological effects of the bombing of cities. A minor consequence of the risk of being driven out of bed at night was the development of night clothes for women.

Airships made about 51 bombing raids on Britain during the war. These killed 557 and injured another 1,358 people. More than 5,000 bombs were dropped on towns across Britain, causing £1.5 million in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30 were either shot down or lost in accidents. Aeroplanes carried out 27 raids, dropping 246,774 lb (111,935 kg) of bombs for the loss of 62 aircraft, resulting in ground casualties of 835 dead, 1,972 injured and £1,418,272 of material damage.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

AI London Blitz

[Blooper-filled AI recreation of London Blitz] - Rick > .

ARP - Air Raid Precautions

A.R.P. - Air - Raid - Precautions (1938) - Pathé > .

Dad's Army: Serving In The British Home Guard - War Stories > .

23-12-10 Gas Mask Evolution from WW1 to modern - Forces > .

22-8-23 Echoes of history: Full body gas mask to protect babies in WW2 - Forces > .

ARP, Bunkers, Shelters, Underground - BePr >> .

Home Defence Go To It) Part 1 (1939) > .

Home Defence Go To It) Part 2 (1939) > .

Home Defence Go To It) Part 3 (1939) > .

Home Defence Go To It) Part 4 (1939) > .

British WWII gas mask (civilian) > .

Air Raid Protection A R P 1914 1945 - JoGi >> .

ARP > Civil Defence Service
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Defence_Service .

MHS - Ministry of Home Security ..
https://mashable.com/2016/05/26/air-raid-cigarette-cards/#ELppgdDsZZqk

Air raid precautions on continent 30-39 > .

https://flashbak.com/the-glorious-ww2-posters-of-patrick-cokayne-keely-366874/ .

ARP, Ambulance & AFS Personnel and Equipment - Newhaven .

Newhaven and the surrounding district during WW2. The main units were:

(i) The LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) which later became the Home Guard - now immortalised in TV comedy history as Dad's Army

(ii) The AFS who were units of Fire Fighters auxiliary to the main Fire Service. (Auxiliary Fire Service, later National Fire Service)

(iii) The ARP (Air Raid Precautions) who were responsible for assessing damage, fire and rescue requirements at sites of enemy action. They were also required to make buildings safe after bomb-damage, and were often local builders. There was a sub-section of the ARP who drove Ambulances. The WVS (Women's Voluntary Service) took care of people, with food and shelter, who had been displaced from their homes either by evacuation or enemy action.

All of these units were able to requisition civilian vehicles for adaptation to their own requirements.

A.R.P. - Air Raid Precautions

A.R.P. - Air - Raid - Precautions (1938) > .

ARP, Bunkers, Shelters, Underground - BePr >> .

Air Raid Protection A R P 1914 1945 - John Gilinsky
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnkSKw5Qot7qT5TCDoyoKQBmC2VgXvDqM

Anderson shelters

Shelters - Anderson, Morrison
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raid_shelter#Anderson_shelter

Your Anderson Shelter This Winter (1940) > .
Anderson Shelter: bunk beds, gas masks, stirrup pump, artefacts - WW2 > .
Do The Job Well!! (1940) > .
Shelter Trailer (1941) > .
ARP, Bunkers, Shelters, Underground - BePr >> .

Air-raid shelters ..

Anderson
https://inlanding.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/latest-post-anderson-shelters/
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/images/online_exhibitions/andersonLG.jpg

How Britain’s abandoned Anderson shelters are being brought back to life:
Anderson shelters were named after Sir John Anderson, the lord privy seal in charge of air raid precautions in 1938, and were made from corrugated steel or iron panels that formed a semi-circular shape. They were designed to be dug into people’s gardens to protect families from air raids. More than 2m shelters were issued to families during the second world war.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/21/how-britains-abandoned-anderson-shelters-are-being-brought-back-to-life

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=anderson+shelters+ww2

The Warning (1939)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPMIYyapLF4

Air Raid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKS4qEenNSE
Video: 1:02: Anderson Shelter Construction in 1939
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu0ad17Yb98
Video: 2:15 min : Your Anderson Shelter This Winter (1940)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHyxP3epU-w
Video: 2:02: Your Home As An Air Raid Shelter (1940)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjWfR7mdAaE
Video: 0.55:What To Do In An Air Raid (1940)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHep5WA9qqU
Video: 2:11: Have Your Gas Masks With You (1941-1946)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJUmat8kpk8
Video: 14:58 min: Anderson Shelter Restoration Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUnnu8u_NHs

"Air raids happened more frequently at night when enemy aircraft took advantage of the cover of darkness. We had an Anderson shelter where we retreated upon hearing the siren alert signal. This was a galvanised corrugated-iron hut supplied freely by the local authority that had to be half buried in the garden. The excavated soil had to be placed on the top and sides like a thick blanket so that it resembled a large mound. The Anderson shelter could accommodate four adult bunks; two, one above the other on each side, with a narrow gangway between. Lighting was minimal, only a torch or maybe a candle.

Heating was a problem in the Anderson shelter during the winter. We had a Valour paraffin heater but it was not very satisfactory for three reasons. These all concerned the products of combustion. Burning paraffin creates copious quantities of carbon dioxide and water, and has an objectionable odour. The odour could be tolerated, but carbon dioxide is a killer gas. Moreover, every gallon of paraffin burned produced a gallon of water in the form of water vapour that condensed all over the exposed metalwork. Even without the heater, the water vapour exhaled by four persons was significant. This created a very damp and unsavoury environment. When going to the shelter at night we had to take our bedding, gas masks and a box of matches with us, and remove them all when we retired back into the house following the all-clear.

It could be quite hazardous outside when the guns were firing. Every shell fired into the air exploded into hundreds of pieces of sharp jagged metal fragments whether a target was hit or not. These fragments rained back down to earth and could be heard hitting the slates and pavements. This is why people who worked outdoors during the war needed to wear tin hats."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/97/a7489597.shtml

Morrison
Video: 0.55
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mndAnbadBYg
http://www.krawatford.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/wm-How-to-put-up-your-Morrision-Shelter-Leaflet-detail-copy.jpg
http://www.caringonthehomefront.org.uk/images/resourceLibrary/morrison%20shelter.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2701/4379345991_537c5d6fcd.jpg

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Baedeker Raids

.The York Blitz: Baedeker Raids in Yorkshire - yhh > .

York Blitz 1942 Baedeker Raid > .

Baedeker Raids on York 29/4/1942 - Part 1 > .

Baedeker Raids on York 29/4/1942 - Part 2 > .

Baedeker Raids on York 29/4/1942 - Part 3 > .

In the early hours of April 29, 1942, the Second World War came to York in the most violent manner possible.

Exeter Raid - 7 May 1942 - BrMo > .

Exeter During the Blitz - Exeter > .

Memories of the Exeter Blitz - BBC S > .

42-4-23&24 Baedeker Raids begin against Exeter - WW2 > .

42-4-23 Exeter struck in retaliatory raid 42-4-24 > .

https://www.militaryhistories.co.uk/york .

https://www.militaryhistories.co.uk/york/media .

Baedecker Blitz

.42-4-23&24 Baedeker Raids begin against Exeter - WW2 > .

42-4-23 Exeter struck in retaliatory raid 42-4-24 > .

The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker Raids were a series of attacks by the Luftwaffe on English cities during the Second World War. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guidebooks, including detailed maps, which were used to generate targets for bombing.

The raids were planned in response to a devastating increase in the effectiveness of the Royal Air Force's (RAF) bombing offensive, starting with the bombing of Lübeck in March 1942. The aim was to begin a tit-for-tat exchange with the hope of forcing the RAF to reduce their actions. To increase the effect on civilian life, targets were chosen for their cultural and historical significance, rather than for any military value.

The main set of raids began in late April 1942, and ended by the end of May, though towns and cities continued to be targeted for their cultural value over the next two years.

By any measure, the attempt was an abject failure. In the time following the original Blitz, a little over a year earlier, the RAF had dramatically improved its night fighter capability and introduced the AMES Type 7 radar specifically for the night fighting role. Losses to the Luftwaffe's bomber force were unsustainable, and for a variety of reasons the damage to the targeted cities was minimal compared to the German bombing campaign of 1940–41, or to the contemporaneous Allied campaign against Germany. Nevertheless, the raids resulted in over 1,600 civilian deaths and tens of thousands of damaged homes.

By the winter of 1941/1942 both the British and German strategic bombing campaigns had reached a low ebb. The German offensive, a nine-month period of night bombing known as the Blitz, which had left London and many other British cities heavily damaged, had come to an end in May 1941, when the Luftwaffe had switched its resources to the invasion of the Soviet Union. Thereafter it had confined itself to hit-and-run raids on British coastal towns. Meanwhile, the RAF's night bombing offensive had been shown to be largely ineffective, as revealed by the Butt report in August 1941, and by Christmas the offensive had largely petered out.

When it resumed in March 1942 with the bombing of Lübeck, there was a marked change in effectiveness. New heavy bombers (the Stirling and Halifax, followed by the poor Manchester from which was developed the excellent Lancaster), improved navigation (with aids such as Gee and Oboe), new leadership (with the appointment of AVM Harris) and new tactics (the bomber stream, use of incendiaries, and focusing on a single target) all contributed. Not least of these was the switch to area bombing. Prior to this the RAF had attempted to make precision attacks, aiming at individual factories, power stations, even post offices, in multiple strikes across the country; this had been costly and ineffective. In March 1942, and following the Luftwaffe's example the RAF began concentrating a single blow against an area where several worthwhile targets existed, not least the homes and morale of the civilian population living there. These changes resulted in the destruction of Lübeck, and came as a profound shock to the German leadership and population.

The first raid of the Baedeker Blitz was directed against Exeter, on the night of 23/24 April 1942. Whilst this raid caused little damage, a second raid the following night was more severe, with over 80 fatalities. On 25/26 and 26/27 April, the bomber force attacked Bath, causing widespread damage and some 400 casualties. These raids came a month after the Lübeck raid, and coincided with the RAF's four night offensive against Rostock. On 27/28 April, the Luftwaffe attacked Norwich, dropping more than 90 tons of bombs and causing 67 deaths. On 28/29 April, they attacked York, causing limited damage but 79 deaths.

A week later, on 3/4 May the Luftwaffe returned to Exeter, causing heavy damage to the city centre and 164 deaths. The 4/5 May they also attacked Cowes, a target of both cultural and military value, being the home of the J. Samuel White shipyard. On 8/9 May Norwich was attacked again, though the raid was ineffective despite more than 70 aircraft taking part. During May the Luftwaffe also bombed Hull (a major port, and thus a military target), Poole, Grimsby and, at the end of May, Canterbury. This raid, which coincided with the RAF's 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne, involved 77 bombers, dropping 40 tons of bombs, which resulted in 43 deaths.

Across all the raids in this period a total of 1,637 civilians were killed and 1,760 injured, and over 50,000 houses were destroyed. Some noted buildings were destroyed or damaged, including York's Guildhall and the Bath Assembly Rooms, but on the whole most escaped – the cathedrals of Norwich, Exeter and Canterbury and the minster at York included. The German bombers suffered heavy losses for minimal damage inflicted, and the Axis' need for reinforcements in North Africa and Russian Front meant further operations continued on a reduced scale. Hit-and-run raids on coastal towns by a few Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter-bombers continued also.

On 27 April, Winston Churchill told the War Cabinet that the government should do all it could to "ensure that disproportionate publicity was not given to these raids" and "avoid giving the impression that the Germans were making full reprisal" for British raids.

Whilst the term "Baedeker Blitz" is sometimes limited to the raids on five cities (Bath, Canterbury, Exeter, Norwich, York) in April and May 1942, in fact the Luftwaffe continued to target cities for their cultural value for the next two years. In June 1942 they attacked Ipswich, Poole and Canterbury again, Southampton (a port target), Norwich again and Weston-super-Mare. In July there were three raids on Birmingham, another three on Middlesbrough and one on Hull, all industrial cities of military and strategic value: But in August the Germans returned to "Baedeker" targets; Norwich, Swansea, Colchester and Ipswich.

In September they attacked Sunderland (a port and industrial centre) and Kings Lynn (a market town of no military value). All these raids were less intense than those of April and May, involving some 20 aircraft apiece; this reflected the steady and increasing losses suffered by the Germans as Britain's night-fighter defences improved and German casualties mounted. By the autumn KG2 had lost 65 of its 88 crews and the offensive had slowed to a halt.

Belfast Blitz

41-5 - Blitz crescendo - Liverpool, Belfast, Nottingham, Hull, London - WW2 > .

Belfast
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-blitz-around-britain#entry13 .

Berlin Bombed

In 360: 1943 Berlin Blitz - BBC News > .

Germany Bombed ..

Birmingham Blitz

The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German Luftwaffe of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in the United Kingdom, beginning on 9 August 1940 and ending on 23 April 1943. It is considered a part of the greater Blitz, which was part of the Battle of Britain. Situated in the Midlands, Birmingham, England's most populous British city outside London, is an important industrial and manufacturing location. Around 1,852 tons of bombs were dropped on Birmingham, making it the third most heavily bombed city in the United Kingdom in the Second World War, behind only London and Liverpool.

There was also significant bombing of towns in the neighbouring Black Country, particularly in Dudley, Tipton and West Bromwich, where there were hundreds of casualties.

As with most provincial cities bombed during the Blitz, reports of the bombing were kept low key. Wartime censorship meant that Birmingham was not mentioned by name in contemporary news reports about the bombing, being referred to instead as a "Midland Town". This was done in order to keep the Germans from knowing the outcome of their raids.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Blitz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Blitz#Important_industrial_targets

Originally shared by Tony Blakeney

Birmingham - Tam playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs5H4V1x-xBiTQY7S0_IuJHWEp16WlmpC

Blitz Spirit?

Was Blitz Spirit Really A Thing?: London History | J Draper > .

>> WW2 >>

Blitz - tb >> .

Blitzed Society - Mil Pow >> .

London - History, Blitz - tb >> .

Bomb Sight Site

.Why the V1 Flying Bomb couldn't turn the tide of WW2 - IWM > .

The Blitz, V1s, V2s

BOMB SIGHT SITE
http://www.bombsight.org/#15/51.5050/-0.0900

First striking Britain in September 1944, V2 - V for 'vengeance weapon - was Hitler's last throw of the dice
Around 1,500 'vengeance weapons' were fired at London and the south east, ultimately leaving around 7,250dead
The rockets used astonishingly advanced technology to shoot 50 miles into air, before arcing in a 120-mile trajectory
Unlike the predecessor the V1, you could not see - or hear - a V2 coming as it travelled faster than the speed of sound
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2750353/Interactive-map-reveals-hundreds-sites-Hitler-s-V2-rockets-killed-thousands-British-civilians-final-months-WW2.html

The Blitz refers to the strategic bombing campaign conducted by the Germans against London and other cities in England from September of 1940 through May of 1941, targeting populated areas, factories and dock yards.

The first German attack on London actually occurred by accident. On the night of August 24, 1940, Luftwaffe bombers aiming for military targets on the outskirts of London drifted off course and instead dropped their bombs on the center of London destroying several homes and killing civilians. Amid the public outrage that followed, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, believing it was a deliberate attack, ordered Berlin to be bombed the next evening.

About 40 British bombers managed to reach Berlin and inflicted minimal property damage. However, the Germans were utterly stunned by the British air-attack on Hitler's capital. It was the first time bombs had ever fallen on Berlin. Making matters worse, they had been repeatedly assured by Luftwaffe Chief, Hermann Göring, that it could never happen. A second British bombing raid on the night of August 28/29 resulted in Germans killed on the ground. Two nights later, a third attack occurred.

German nerves were frayed. The Nazis were outraged. In a speech delivered on September 4, Hitler threatened, "...When the British Air Force drops two or three or four thousand kilograms of bombs, then we will in one night drop 150-, 230-, 300- or 400,000 kilograms. When they declare that they will increase their attacks on our cities, then we will raze their cities to the ground. We will stop the handiwork of those night air pirates, so help us God!"

Beginning on September 7, 1940, and for a total of 57 consecutive nights, London was bombed. The decision to wage a massive bombing campaign against London and other English cities would prove to be one of the most fateful of the war. Up to that point, the Luftwaffe had targeted Royal Air Force airfields and support installations and had nearly destroyed the entire British air defense system. Switching to an all-out attack on British cities gave RAF Fighter Command a desperately needed break and the opportunity to rebuild damaged airfields, train new pilots and repair aircraft. "It was," Churchill later wrote, "therefore with a sense of relief that Fighter Command felt the German attack turn on to London..."

During the nightly bombing raids on London, people took shelter in warehouse basements and underground (subway) stations where they slept on makeshift beds amid primitive conditions with no privacy and poor sanitation facilities.

Other British cities targeted during the Blitz included; Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Birmingham, Coventry, Nottingham, Norwich, Ipswich, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle and also Glasgow, Scotland and Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Hitler's intention was to break the morale of the British people so that they would pressure Churchill into negotiating. However, the bombing had the opposite effect, bringing the English people together to face a common enemy. Encouraged by Churchill's frequent public appearances and radio speeches, the people became determined to hold out indefinitely against the Nazi onslaught. "Business as usual," could be seen everywhere written in chalk on boarded-up shop windows.

By the end of 1940, German air raids had killed 15,000 British civilians. One of the worst attacks had occurred on the night of November 14/15 against Coventry, an industrial city east of Birmingham in central England. In that raid, 449 German bombers dropped 1,400 high explosive bombs and 100,000 incendiaries which destroyed 50,000 buildings, killing 568 persons, leaving over 1,000 badly injured. The incendiary devices created fire storms with super-heated gale force winds drawing in torrents of air to fan enormous walls of flames.

In London, on the night of December 29/30, the Germans dropped incendiaries resulting in a fire storm that devastated the area between St. Paul's Cathedral and the Guildhall, destroying several historic churches. Other famous landmarks damaged during the Blitz included Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the Chamber of the House of Commons. The Blitz climaxed in May of 1941, leaving 375,000 Londoners homeless.

However, the RAF, utilizing newly developed radar, inflicted increasingly heavy losses on Luftwaffe bombers. British Fighter Command was able to track and plot the course of German bombers from the moment they took off from bases in Europe. RAF fighter planes were then dispatched to attack the incoming bombers at the best possible position. As a result, the Luftwaffe never gained air supremacy over England, a vital prerequisite to a land invasion. Failure to achieve air supremacy eventually led Hitler to indefinitely postpone Operation Sealion, the Nazi invasion of England, in favor of an attack on the USSR. The Blitz came to an end as Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe transferred to eastern Europe in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR.

In all, 18,000 tons of high explosives had been dropped on England during eight months of the Blitz. A total of 18,629 men, 16,201 women, and 5,028 children were killed along with 695 unidentified charred bodies.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/about-blitz.htm

Bombing of Britain
https://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/collegeofhumanities/history/researchcentres/centreforthestudyofwarstateandsociety/bombing/THE_BOMBING_OF_BRITAIN.pdf

The Blitz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz

The Blitz and World War Two
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-in-western-europe/britains-home-front-in-world-war-two/the-blitz-and-world-war-two/

VIDEOS
The First Day Of The Blitz (Documentary)
44:00 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtZema1yjOk
The Blitz : London's Longest Night 1/2
45:19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFlIY-YVB8s
The Blitz : London's Longest Night 2/2
40:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCdIyRoK_2U

The London Blitz, 1940
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/blitz.htm

West End Blitz
http://www.westendatwar.org.uk/page_id__152_path__0p2p.aspx

Disaster at Balham Tube station
http://ww2today.com/14th-october-1940-disaster-at-balham-tube-station

German bombing of Coventry
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-33986317

Remembering WWII blitz on Coventry
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11741315

Morning after Coventry blitz
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-34796057

Battle of Britain
http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0029.html

The Battle of Britain, 1940
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/airbattle.htm

Clapham Common shelters now
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gimme-shelter-the-last-of-the-capital-s-second-world-war-bunkers-is-up-for-rent-9244731.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3143564/Growing-underground-Forgotten-World-War-Two-bomb-shelter-100ft-tube-tunnels-world-s-subterranean-farm.html .

Bombing Germany, Japan

.Simulating and Bombing Germany, Japan - Tifo > .

42-3-28 Carpet Bombing of Germany begins on Lübeck - WW2 - April 3, 1942 > .

Japan - VisPol >> .

Germany Bombed ..

Bombing - Europe, Asia

.WW2 Bombing - Europe, Asia - Front > .

Tokyo

44-11-27 Tokyo Bombing - 27 November 1944 - Mov > .

45-3-10 Operation Meetinghouse - Front > .

45-3-9 Deadliest Bombing Raid of All Time - Hi&He > .

Bombing Runs - RFC to RAF

.Bombing Runs: RAF, Lancaster, Air Raid | Royal Air Force | Timeline > .

1918: True Origin Of Royal Air Force | Battle for Skies | War Stories > .

Bradford Blitz

Bradford

Between 10.33 pm on Sunday, August 31, 1940, and just after 3 am the following morning, 116 bombs hit roads and buildings between Thornton Road and eastwards to Leeds Road.

Several buildings were gutted, including Lingards department store, at the junction of Kirkgate and Westgate, opposite where Millets now stands.

Lingards was thought to serve the best toasted teacakes and coffee in Bradford.

Among other buildings damaged or destroyed were the Tatler Cinema in Thornton Road, the Odeon cinema in Manchester Road, Kirkgate Chapel, Novello’s fashion shop, Robert’s dining saloon and shoe shop, Robert’s Pie Shop in Godwin Street (the front window was blown out), Rawson fruit market and the Leeds Road Baptist Church.

The brushmaking firm of George Bacon & Son, on John Street, was almost completely destroyed. Fixtures, fittings and equipment went up in smoke; but the safe was left intact – with the weekend’s takings still locked away inside.

A 30ft crater was made by one bomb which exploded on Hammerton Street.

On March 14, 1941, more Nazi bombers flew over Bradford. This time they dropped 29 high explosive bombs and a total of 556 incendiaries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/38/a3894438.shtml .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/50/a3964250.shtml .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/peoples_war/ww2.shtml .

A night of bombs in Bradford .https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/tahistory/featuresnostalgiapasttimes/9753567.A_night_of_bombs_in_Bradford/

Monday, November 26, 2018

Cardiff Blitz

Cardiff
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-blitz-around-britain#entry8 .

Clydebank Blitz

Clydebank
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-blitz-around-britain#entry12 .

Coventry Blitz

40-11-14 Coventry Blitz ..

Coventry
40-11-14 Coventry toll > .

Coventry: "Lessons from history: the Blitz, the building boom and the people left behind"
https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-history-the-blitz-the-building-boom-and-the-people-left-behind-47109 .

Reading my grandad’s Blitz reporting makes it all the sadder to see social history repeat itself .
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-blitz-around-britain#entry1 .

German bombing of Coventry
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-33986317 .
Remembering WWII blitz on Coventry
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11741315 .
Morning after Coventry blitz
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-34796057 .

Moonlight Sonata: The Coventry Blitz "was a series of bombing raids that took place on the English city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Second World War by the Luftwaffe. The most devastating of these attacks occurred on the evening of 14 November 1940.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Blitz .

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Explosives WW1

Explosives - Bangalore Torpedo - WW1 Uncut - BBC > .

A Bangalore torpedo is an explosive charge placed within one or several connected tubes. It is used by combat engineers to clear obstacles that would otherwise require them to approach directly, possibly under fire. It is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "Bangalore mine", "banger" or simply "Bangalore". The primary use of the torpedo is clearing paths through wire obstacles and heavy undergrowth. It will clear a 3- to 4-metre wide path through wire obstacles.

The Bangalore torpedo was first devised by Captain R. L. McClintock, of the Royal Engineers while attached to the Madras Sappers and Miners unit of the Indian Army at Bangalore, India, in 1912. He invented it as a means of blowing up booby traps and barricades left over from the Second Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War. The Bangalore torpedo could be exploded over a mine without a sapper having to approach closer than about 3 m (10 ft).

By the time of WW1 the Bangalore torpedo was primarily used for clearing barbed wire before an attack. It could be used while under fire, from a protected position in a trench. The torpedo was standardized to consist of a number of externally identical 1.5 m (5 ft) lengths of threaded pipe, one of which contained the explosive charge. The pipes would be screwed together using connecting sleeves to make a longer pipe of the required length, somewhat like a chimney brush or drain clearing rod.

A smooth nose cone would be screwed on the end to prevent snagging on the ground. It would then be pushed forward from a protected position and detonated, to clear a 1.5 m (5 ft) wide hole through barbed wire. During the 1917 Battle of Cambrai, British Royal Engineers used them as diversions to distract the enemy from where the real battle was to be fought.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_torpedo .

BRE - British Royal Engineers ..

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Germany Bombed

.42-3-28 Carpet Bombing of Germany begins on Lübeck - WW2 - April 3, 1942 > .
September 4th, 1939 - Blenheim Attack on Wilhelmshaven - RAF's 1st WW2 > .

Lübeck was the first German city to be attacked in substantial numbers by the Royal Air Force. The attack on the night of 28 March 1942 created a firestorm that caused severe damage to the historic centre, with bombs destroying three of the main churches and large parts of the built-up area. It led to the retaliatory "Baedeker" raids on historic British cities.

Although a port, and home to several shipyards, including the Lübecker Flender-Werke, Lübeck was also a cultural centre and only lightly defended. The bombing on 28 March 1942 was the first major destructive attack by RAF Bomber Command on a German city, and followed the Area Bombing Directive issued to the RAF on 14 February 1942 which authorised the targeting of civilian areas.

Baedecker Blitz ..

Baedeker Raids ..

Berlin Bombed ..

Bombing Germany, Japan ..

Heilbronn bombing ..

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Harwich Blitz

40-11-11 Italian bombers attack Harwich > .

Heilbronn bombing

Germany Bombed ..

During World War II, the German city of Heilbronn was bombed numerous times by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces.

On July 28, 1935, the port was opened in a canal off the Neckar, and 1936 saw the Autobahn between Heilbronn and Stuttgart completed. Economy and infrastructure were booming in Württemberg, and Heilbronn was at the logistic centre of it all. The previously independent communities of Böckingen, Sontheim, and Neckargartach were annexed, and with 72,000 residents Heilbronn then was the second largest city in Württemberg. The port turned into an important transfer station on the Neckar and one of the ten largest interior ports in the country.

The largest air-raid occurred on December 4, 1944, but Heilbronn was targeted several times before and after until the end of World War II. Altogether, an estimated 7,000 inhabitants of the city lost their lives during bombings.

On 12 April 1945, the U.S. military took control of the city after a ten-day battle, ending bombings of the city. In 2015, Heilbronn had a population of 123,000.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombings_of_Heilbronn_in_World_War_II#December_Raid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombings_of_Heilbronn_in_World_War_II#/media/File:Heilbronn_19450331.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heilbronn#1900%E2%80%931945

(14 Dec 1944) Film of the RAF attack on Heilbronn which took place on the 4th December. The town was an important communications centre 40 miles east of Karlsruhe, which was attacked in the same operation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhtKLyHxSSs

Bombings of Heilbronn in World War II - Wikipedia