The Brighton Blitz was the bombing of Brighton by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Brighton was attacked from the air on 56 recorded occasions between July 1940 and February 1944. Casualties in the area were 198 killed and 357 seriously injured, with 433 receiving minor injures. [1]
To prepare the coastline against possible sea-borne invasion by German troops, the beaches were closed at 5.00 pm on 2 July 1940 and were mined and guarded with barbed wire. Both the Palace Pier and West Pier had sections of their decking removed to prevent their use as landing stages. The town was declared to be no longer a "safe area", and 30,000 people were evacuated.
On the evening of 14 September 1940 [2] a lone Dornier Do 17 bomber, which had become separated from its main group, dropped twenty 50 kg bombs across Edward Street and the Upper Rock Gardens area. Two bombs hit the Odeon cinema [3] in Kemp Town killing four children and two adults along with a further 48 people killed in the surrounding area. [4] This would prove to be the worst raid on Brighton for casualties inflicted during the war. [5]
At 12:25 p.m. on 25 May 1943 the town was attacked by 25 to 30 German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 aircraft. Twenty-two bombs of 500 kg were dropped and the streets were machine-gunned during the five-minute raid. Fatalities included ten men, twelve women and two children. An additional 58 people were seriously injured and a further 69 people were slightly injured. One of the central piers in the 20-metre-high (66 ft) London Road railway viaduct was demolished. There was severe damage to railway workshops and rolling stock. This was the worst raid for damage inflicted on the town during the war with 150 houses made uninhabitable, more than 500 people made homeless, and the Black Rock Gasworks being set on fire. [1]
In 1944 Brighton was hit by V-1 flying bombs.[ citation needed ] On the 10th of July two Sappers were killed whilst clearing mines on the beach - They were Sapper John Owen Morris from Llanddeiniolen and L/Cpl James Green Evans from Llanfairfechan, Bangor, both in Caernarvonshire, North Wales.
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, for a little more than 8 months during the Second World War.
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids was a series of bombing raids in April and May 1942 by the German Luftwaffe on English cities during World War II. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guide books, including detailed maps, which were used to select targets for bombing.
The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. The first was on the night of 7–8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. The next took place on Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941, when 200 Luftwaffe bombers attacked military and manufacturing targets in the city of Belfast. Some 900 people died as a result of the bombing and 1,500 were injured. High explosive bombs predominated in this raid. Apart from those on London, this was the greatest loss of life in any night raid during the Blitz.
The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the English city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, during the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe.
The Manchester Blitz was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester and its surrounding areas in North West England during the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe. It was one of three major raids on Manchester, an important inland port and industrial city; Trafford Park in neighbouring Stretford was a major centre of war production.
The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German Luftwaffe of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greater Blitz, which was part of the Battle of Britain; and ending on 23 April 1943. Situated in the Midlands, Birmingham, the most populous British city outside London, was considered 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 London and Liverpool.
The Greenock Blitz is the name given to two nights of intensive bombing of the town of Greenock, Scotland by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. The raids over the nights of the 6 and 7 May 1941 targeted the shipyards and berthed ships around the town. The brunt of the bombing fell on residential areas. Over the two nights, 271 people were killed and over 10,200 injured. From a total of 180,000 homes nearly 25,000 suffered damage and 5,000 were destroyed.
The Coventry Blitz was a series of bombing raids that took place on the British city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Second World War by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe). The most devastating of these attacks occurred on the evening of 14 November 1940 and continued into the morning of 15 November.
The Bristol Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bristol, England by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Due to the presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the city was a target for bombing and was easily found as enemy bombers were able to trace a course up the River Avon from Avonmouth using reflected moonlight on the waters, into the heart of the city. Bristol was the fifth-most heavily bombed British city of the war.
The Plymouth Blitz was a series of bombing raids carried out by the Nazi German Luftwaffe on the English city of Plymouth in the Second World War. The bombings launched on numerous British cities were known as the Blitz.
The Southampton Blitz was the heavy bombing of Southampton by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during World War II. Southampton was a strategic bombing target for the Luftwaffe as it contained both busy docks with associated business premises and factories and the Supermarine factory building Spitfires in Woolston. Being a large port city on the south coast it was within easy reach of German airfields in France.
During World War II, Dublin was first bombed early on the morning of 2 January 1941, when the German bombs were dropped on the Terenure area. This was followed early on the following morning of 3 January 1941, by further German bombing of houses on Donore Terrace in the South Circular Road area. A number of people were injured, but no one was killed in these bombings. Later that year, on 31 May 1941, four German bombs fell in north Dublin, one damaging Áras an Uachtaráin but with the greatest impact in the North Strand area, killing 28 people. However, the first bombing of the Republic of Ireland had taken place several months earlier, on 26 August 1940, when the Luftwaffe bombed Campile, County Wexford, killing three people.
The Clydebank Blitz was a pair of air raids conducted by the Luftwaffe on the shipbuilding and munition-making town of Clydebank in Scotland. The bombings took place in March 1941.
The Hull Blitz was the bombing campaign that targeted the English port city of Kingston upon Hull by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
The Cardiff Blitz ; refers to the bombing of Cardiff, Wales during World War II. Between 1940 and the final raid on the city in March 1944 approximately 2,100 bombs fell, killing 355 people.
The Barrow Blitz is the name given to the Luftwaffe bombings of Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom during World War II. They took place primarily during April and May 1941, although the earliest Luftwaffe bombing occurred in September 1940. VSEL shipyard was the main target for bombing alongside Barrow's steelworks, which were formerly the largest in the world.
The Swansea Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of Swansea by the German Luftwaffe from 19 to 21 February 1941. A total of 230 people were killed and 397 were injured. Swansea was selected by the Germans as a legitimate strategic target due to its importance as a port and docks and the oil refinery just beyond, and its destruction was key to Nazi German war efforts as part of their strategic bombing campaign aimed at crippling coal export and demoralizing civilians and emergency services.
The term Exeter Blitz refers to the air raids by the German Luftwaffe on the British city of Exeter, Devon, during the Second World War. The city was bombed in April and May 1942 as part of the so-called "Baedeker raids", in which targets were chosen for their cultural and historical, rather than their strategic or military, value.
The Newcastle Blitz refers to the strategic bombing of Newcastle upon Tyne, England by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the second world war. Close to 400 people were killed between July 1940 and December 1941 during bombing raids on the city.
The Norwich Blitz refers to the heavy bombing of Norwich and surrounding area by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The bombings launched on numerous British cities were known as the Blitz.