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10 Group RAF, No. [57] The programme favoured backyard Anderson shelters and small brick surface shelters. [131], Nevertheless, it was radar that proved to be the critical weapon in the night battles over Britain from this point onward. [143], Not all of the Luftwaffe effort was made against inland cities. [145], In 1941, the Luftwaffe shifted strategy again. Ingersol wrote that Battersea Power Station, one of the largest landmarks in London, received only a minor hit. In late 1943, just before the Battle of Berlin, Harris declared the power of Bomber Command would enable it to achieve "a state of devastation in which surrender is inevitable". In mid-September 1940, about 150,000 people a night slept in the Underground, although by winter and spring the numbers declined to 100,000 or less. It believed it could greatly affect the balance of power on the battlefield by disrupting production and damaging civilian morale. These include Peter Hennessy, Andrew Thorpe, and Philip Ziegler, who while admitting serious exceptions, argue that the population largely behaved well during the Blitz.[193]. A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency . They believed the Luftwaffe had failed in precision attack and concluded the German example of area attack using incendiaries was the way forward for operations over Germany. To confuse the British, radio silence was observed until the bombs fell. [107], Luftwaffe policy at this point was primarily to continue progressive attacks on London, chiefly by night attack; second, to interfere with production in the vast industrial arms factories of the West Midlands, again chiefly by night attack; and third to disrupt plants and factories during the day by means of fighter-bombers. Rumours that Jewish support was underpinning the Communist surge were frequent. 11 Group RAF and No. The bombings left parts of London in ruins, and when the war ended in 1945 much of the city had to be rebuilt. 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. [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. On 17 January around 100 bombers dropped a high concentration of incendiaries, some 32,000 in all. Hello, I Am Charlie from London - Stephane Husar 2014-07-15 The Demon in the Embers - Julia Edwards 2016-09-02 . Many popular works of fiction during the 1920s and 1930s portrayed aerial bombing, such as H. G. Wells' novel The Shape of Things to Come and its 1936 film adaptation, and others such as The Air War of 1936 and The Poison War. The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. [92], German beacons operated on the medium-frequency band and the signals involved a two-letter Morse identifier followed by a lengthy time-lapse which enabled the Luftwaffe crews to determine the signal's bearing. By September 1940, the large-scale German air raids which had been expected twelve months earlier finally arrived. World War 2 Timeline - 1940. by Ben Johnson. For all the destruction of life and property, the observers sent out by the Ministry of Home Security failed to discover the slightest sign of a break in morale. In those sites, carbon arc lamps were used to simulate flashes at tram overhead wires. The main damage was inflicted on the commercial and domestic areas. 219 Squadron RAF at RAF Kenley). [145] Use of incendiaries, which were inherently inaccurate, indicated much less care was taken to avoid civilian property close to industrial sites. The meacon system involved separate locations for a receiver with a directional aerial and a transmitter. Before the war, the Chamberlain government stated that night defence from air attack should not take up much of the national effort. By 16 February 1941, this had grown to 12; with 5 equipped, or partially equipped with Beaufighters spread over 5 Groups. 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. [84], The attitude of the Air Ministry was in contrast to the experiences of the First World War when German bombers caused physical and psychological damage out of all proportion to their numbers. [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. [69] Contrary to pre-war fears of anti-Semitic violence in the East End, one observer found that the "Cockney and the Jew [worked] together, against the Indian". [94], On 9 September the OKL appeared to be backing two strategies. The moon was full and the Thames had a very low ebb tide. Entertainment included concerts, films, plays and books from local libraries. In January 1941, Fighter Command flew 486 sorties against 1,965 made by the Germans. The loss of sleep was a particular factor, with many not bothering to attend inconvenient shelters. The first German attack on London actually occurred by accident. Only one bomber was lost, to anti-aircraft fire, despite the RAF flying 125-night sorties. [31], The circumstances affected the Germans more than the British. In particular, class division was most evident during the Blitz. 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. As the mere threat of it had produced diplomatic results in the 1930s, he expected that the threat of German retaliation would persuade the Allies to adopt a policy of moderation and not to begin a policy of unrestricted bombing. 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. [56] Not only was there evacuation over land, but also by ship. His hope wasfor reasons of political prestige within Germany itselfthat the German population would be protected from the Allied bombings. This heavy bombing by German forces began in September 1940 and lasted for 57 days. The defences failed to prevent widespread damage but on some occasions did prevent German bombers concentrating on their targets. The number of suicides and drunkenness declined, and London recorded only about two cases of "bomb neurosis" per week in the first three months of bombing. [133] By mid-November, nine squadrons were available, but only one was equipped with Beaufighters (No. 80 Wing RAF. They also noted regional production was severely disrupted when city centres were devastated through the loss of administrative offices, utilities and transport. The first jamming operations were carried out using requisitioned hospital electrocautery machines. Anti-Semitic attitudes became widespread, particularly in London. Airfields became water-logged and the 18 Kampfgruppen (bomber groups) of the Luftwaffe's Kampfgeschwadern (bomber wings) were relocated to Germany for rest and re-equipment. Notable interviews include Thomas Alderson, the first recipient of the George Cross, John Cormack, who survived eight days trapped beneath rubble on Clydeside, and Herbert Morrison's famous "Britain shall not burn" appeal for more fireguards in December 1940. Three cross-beams intersected the beam along which the He 111 was flying. The first major raid took place on 7 September. Civilians left for more remote areas of the country. [93], For industrial areas, fires and lighting were simulated. Plymouth was attacked five times before the end of the month while Belfast, Hull, and Cardiff were hit. On 8 May 1941, 57 ships were destroyed, sunk or damaged, amounting to 80,000 long tons (81,300t). 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. The Luftwaffe dropped around 40,000 long tons (40,600t) of bombs during the Blitz, which disrupted production and transport, reduced food supplies, and shook British morale. Hitler quickly developed scepticism toward strategic bombing, confirmed by the results of the Blitz. Ground-based radar was limited, and airborne radar and RAF night fighters were generally ineffective. The German Luftwaffe dropped thousands of bombs on London from 1939 to 1945, killing almost 30,000 people. Direction-finding checks also enabled the controller to keep the pilot on course. . He roused them, ensured they took oxygen and Dextro-Energen amphetamine tablets, then completed the mission. Eventually, it would become a success. [120], British night air defences were in a poor state. [b] The British had anticipated the change in strategy and dispersed its production facilities, making them less vulnerable to a concentrated attack. Many houses and commercial centres were heavily damaged, the electrical supply was knocked out, and five oil tanks and two magazines exploded. The GL carpet was supported by six GCI sets controlling radar-equipped night-fighters. The bombing also helped to support the U-boat blockade by sinking some 58,000 long tons (58,900t) of shipping and damaging 450,000 long tons (457,000t) more. All but seven of its 12,000 houses were damaged. 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. [127] Over 10,000 incendiaries were dropped. London was then bombed for 57 consecutive nights, and often during daytime too. Some 107,400 gross tons (109,100t) of shipping was damaged in the Thames Estuary and 1,600 civilians were casualties. [40] Late in the afternoon of 7 September 1940, the Germans began Operation London (Unternehmen Loge, Loge being the codename for London) and Operation Sea Snake (Unternehmen Seeschlange), the air offensives against London and other industrial cities. One third of London was destroyed. At 18:17, it released the first of 10,000 firebombs, eventually amounting to 300 dropped per minute. The difference this made to the effectiveness of air defences is questionable. Dowding agreed air defence would require some offensive action and that fighters could not defend Britain alone. 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. [38][a], It was decided to focus on bombing Britain's industrial cities, in daylight to begin with. [31] On 7 September, the Germans shifted away from the destruction of the RAF's supporting structures. 28384; Murray 1983, pp. Nine days later, two waves of 125 and 170 bombers dropped heavy bombs, including 160 tons (163t) of high explosive and 32,000 incendiaries.