115-711: 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 . Liverpool was the most heavily bombed area of the country outside London, due to the city having, along with Birkenhead , the largest port on the west coast and being of significant importance to the British war effort. Descriptions of damage were kept vague to hide information from
230-488: A better position than they were at its beginning". People referred to raids as if they were weather, stating that a day was "very blitzy". According to Anna Freud and Edward Glover , London civilians surprisingly did not suffer from widespread shell shock , unlike the soldiers in the Dunkirk evacuation . The psychoanalysts were correct, and the special network of psychiatric clinics opened to receive mental casualties of
345-607: A blank wall on my side of the street, and was consequently, sprawled in the gutter; if there had been a house or shop doorway in which to shelter, I could well have been speared by glass slivers bursting from the windows. On the theory that a moving object was harder to hit than a stationary one, I ran like a frightened alley cat, in the hope of avoiding an incendiary bomb or heavy piece of debris falling on me. Incendiary bombs, though quite small, were deadly if they fell on someone, and flak from our anti-aircraft guns or flying pieces of rubble and glass from bombed buildings, were more of
460-450: A considerable number. The German High Command devised an operation called "The Fire Plan" (German: Der Feuerplan ), which involved the use of the whole German heavy bomber fleet, flying in waves over London and Paris and dropping all the incendiary bombs that they could carry, until they were either all shot down or the crews were too exhausted to fly. The hope was that the two capitals would be engulfed in an inextinguishable blaze, causing
575-579: A crowd surge after a woman fell down the steps as she entered the station. A single direct hit on a shelter in Stoke Newington in October 1940 killed 160 civilians. Communal shelters never housed more than one seventh of Greater London residents. 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
690-601: A disaster with or without German air superiority. Regardless of the ability of the Luftwaffe to win air superiority, Hitler was frustrated it was not happening quickly enough. With no sign of the RAF weakening and the Luftflotten suffering many losses, OKL was keen for a change in strategy. To reduce losses further, strategy changed to prefer night raids, giving the bombers greater protection under cover of darkness. It
805-403: A further 190,000 damaged leaving 70,000 people homeless. 500 roads were closed to traffic as well as railways and tram lines being destroyed. 700 water mains and 80 sewers were damaged alongside gas, electricity and telephone services. 9,000 workers from outside the city and 2,700 troops helped to remove debris from streets. On the night of the 3rd and 4th of May alone, 400 fires were attended to by
920-527: A greater loss of manpower. On 7 September, the Germans shifted away from the destruction of the RAF's supporting structures. 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. The decision to change strategy is sometimes claimed as a major mistake by OKL. It
1035-550: A large bomb casing was filled with small sticks of incendiary ( bomblets ); the casing was designed to open at altitude, scattering the bomblets in order to cover a wide area. An explosive charge would then ignite the incendiary material, often starting a raging fire. The fire would burn at extreme temperatures that could destroy most buildings made of wood or other combustible materials (buildings constructed of stone tend to resist incendiary destruction unless they are first blown open by high explosives). The German Luftwaffe started
1150-539: A large number of firebombs, but even then the results were poor and they were generally ineffective in terms of the damage inflicted. They did have a considerable effect on the morale of the civilian population of the United Kingdom. After further experiments with 5-litre barrels of benzol , in 1918, the B-1E Elektron fire bomb (German: Elektronbrandbombe ) was developed by scientists and engineers at
1265-562: A menace than the chance of being caught directly by an exploding bomb. Another great danger was from falling power lines, still live and spitting like angry dragons...'I'll cross William Brown Street , where the Picton Library is, and skirt around the wall of St John's Garden . It'll give me a bit of protection,' I told myself. By doing this I avoided the wide open spaces of this handsome part of Liverpool and would be less likely to be hit. I would also bypass most of Lime Street , still
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#17327717494761380-614: A mixed load. Less successful was the Flammenbombe , a 250 kg or 500 kg high explosive bomb case filled with an inflammable oil mixture, which often failed to detonate and was withdrawn in January 1941. In World War II, incendiaries were principally developed in order to destroy the many small, decentralised war industries located (often intentionally) throughout vast tracts of city land in an effort to escape destruction by conventionally aimed high-explosive bombs. Nevertheless,
1495-637: A napalm-like substance that ignites in contact with air, is known as thickened pyrophoric agent , or TPA. Napalm proper is no longer used by the United States, although the kerosene -fuelled Mark 77 MOD 5 firebomb is currently in use. The United States has confirmed the use of Mark 77s in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Signatory states are bound by Protocol III of the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons which governs
1610-577: A night attack." After the raids in May 1941, the German air assault diminished, as Hitler's attention turned towards attacking the Soviet Union . The last German air raid on Liverpool took place on 10 January 1942, destroying several houses on Upper Stanhope Street. By a quirk of fate one of the houses destroyed was number 102, which had been the home of Alois Hitler, Jr , half brother of Adolf Hitler and
1725-571: A policy of unrestricted bombing. His hope was—for reasons of political prestige within Germany itself—that the German population would be protected from the Allied bombings. When this proved impossible, he began to fear that popular feeling would turn against his regime, and he redoubled efforts to mount a similar "terror offensive" against Britain in order to produce a stalemate in which both sides would hesitate to use bombing at all. A major problem in
1840-404: A positive result. However, the use of delayed-action bombs , while initially very effective, gradually had less impact, partly because they failed to detonate. The British had anticipated the change in strategy and dispersed its production facilities, making them less vulnerable to a concentrated attack. Regional commissioners were given plenipotentiary powers to restore communications and organise
1955-420: 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. The Luftwaffe 's strategy became increasingly aimless over the winter of 1940–1941. Disputes among OKL staff revolved more around tactics than strategy. This method condemned
2070-575: A thermite charge. A plan to fire bomb New York with new long range Zeppelins of the L70 class was proposed by the naval airship fleet commander Peter Strasser in July 1918, but it was vetoed by Admiral Reinhard Scheer . Incendiary bombs were used extensively in World War II as an effective bombing weapon, often in a conjunction with high-explosive bombs. Probably the most famous incendiary attacks are
2185-568: A weapon that was used only once in warfare. Napalm however, became an intrinsic element of US military action during the Vietnam War as forces made increasing use of it for its tactical and psychological effects. Reportedly about 388,000 tons of US napalm bombs were dropped in the region between 1963 and 1973, compared to 32,357 tons used over three years in the Korean War, and 16,500 tons dropped on Japan in 1945. Incendiary bombs used in
2300-618: A wing of the prison. 28 November saw a heavy raid on the city, and the most serious single incident, when a hit on an air-raid shelter in Durning Road caused 166 fatalities. Winston Churchill described it as the "single worst incident of the war". The air assault in 1940 came to a peak with the Christmas Blitz, a three-night bombardment from 20–22 December. A series of heavy raids took place in December 1940, referred to as
2415-458: Is argued that persisting with attacks on RAF airfields might have won air superiority for the Luftwaffe . Others argue that the Luftwaffe made little impression on Fighter Command in the last week of August and first week of September and that the shift in strategy was not decisive. It has also been argued that it was doubtful the Luftwaffe could have won air superiority before the "weather window" began to deteriorate in October. It
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#17327717494762530-510: The Luftwaffe had an unclear strategy and poor intelligence. The OKL had not been informed that Britain was to be considered a potential opponent until early 1938. It had no time to gather reliable intelligence on Britain's industries. Moreover, the OKL could not settle on an appropriate strategy. German planners had to decide whether the Luftwaffe should deliver the weight of its attacks against
2645-459: The Luftwaffe switched its main effort to night attacks. This became official policy on 7 October. The air campaign soon got underway against London and other British cities. However, the Luftwaffe faced limitations. Its aircraft— Dornier Do 17 , Junkers Ju 88 , and Heinkel He 111s —were capable of carrying out strategic missions but were incapable of doing greater damage because of their small bomb loads. The Luftwaffe 's decision in
2760-450: The Luftwaffe was expected to do so over Britain. From July until September 1940 the Luftwaffe attacked Fighter Command to gain air superiority as a prelude to invasion. This involved the bombing of English Channel convoys, ports, and RAF airfields and supporting industries. Destroying RAF Fighter Command would allow the Germans to gain control of the skies over the invasion area. It was supposed Bomber Command, Coastal Command , and
2875-516: The Reichsmarschall 's own explanation was that Hitler wanted to know only how many bombers there were, not how many engines each had. In July 1939, Göring arranged a display of the Luftwaffe 's most advanced equipment at Rechlin , to give the impression the air force was more prepared for a strategic air war than was actually the case. Although not specifically prepared to conduct independent strategic air operations against an opponent,
2990-472: The Anglican Cathedral was outlined against a rosy sky. It seemed less noisy here, and was totally deserted. The quiet rage, which had sustained me through the city, began to drain, and I was aware of intolerable fatigue. There were several hospitals at the top of the hill, where cars and ambulances were coming and going steadily. I wondered if I should give up, and take refuge in one of them. But I
3105-632: The British Red Cross and the Salvation Army worked to improve conditions. Entertainment included concerts, films, plays and books from local libraries. Although only a small number of Londoners used the mass shelters, when journalists, celebrities and foreigners visited they became part of the Beveridge Report , part of a national debate on social and class division. Most residents found that such divisions continued within
3220-603: The Committee on Imperial Defence estimated that an attack of 60 days would result in 600,000 dead and 1.2 million wounded. News reports of the Spanish Civil War , such as the bombing of Barcelona , supported the 50-casualties-per-tonne estimate. 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. In addition to high-explosive and incendiary bombs ,
3335-469: The Griesheim -Elektron chemical works. The bomb was ignited by a thermite charge, but the main incendiary effect was from the magnesium and aluminium alloy casing, which ignited at 650 °C, burned at 1,100 °C and emitted vapour that burned at 1,800 °C. A further advantage of the alloy casing was its lightness, being a quarter of the density of steel, which meant that each bomber could carry
3450-526: The Indian ". Although the intensity of the bombing was not as great as pre-war expectations, thus making an equal comparison impossible, no psychiatric crisis occurred because of the Blitz even during the period of greatest bombing of September 1940. 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
3565-542: The London Underground stations. 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. Underground officials were ordered to lock station entrances during raids but by the second week of heavy bombing,
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3680-678: The Phoney War , civilians were aware of the deadly power of aerial attacks through newsreels of Barcelona, the Bombing of Guernica and the Bombing of Shanghai . 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 . Harold Macmillan wrote in 1956 that he and others around him "thought of air warfare in 1938 rather as people think of nuclear war today". Based in part on
3795-606: The Royal Air Force over the United Kingdom). 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 . Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring , commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, ordered the new policy on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, London
3910-571: The Royal Navy could not operate under conditions of German air superiority. The Luftwaffe 's poor intelligence meant that their aircraft were not always able to locate their targets, and thus attacks on factories and airfields failed to achieve the desired results. British fighter aircraft production continued at a rate surpassing Germany's during the Battle of Britain by 2 to 1. The British produced 10,000 aircraft in 1940, in comparison to Germany's 8,000. The replacement of pilots and aircrew
4025-491: The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) adopted much of this apocalyptic thinking. The policy of RAF Bomber Command became an attempt to achieve victory through the destruction of civilian will, communications and industry. The Luftwaffe took a cautious view of strategic bombing , but the OKL did not oppose the strategic bombardment of industries or cities. It believed it could greatly affect
4140-529: The bombing of Dresden and the bombing of Tokyo on 10 March 1945 . Many different configurations of incendiary bombs and a wide range of filling materials such as isobutyl methacrylate (IM) polymer, napalm , and similar jellied-petroleum formulas were used, many of them developed by the US Chemical Warfare Service . Different methods of delivery, e.g. small bombs, bomblet clusters and large bombs, were tested and implemented. For example,
4255-425: The "Incendiary Bomb, 30-lb., Type J, Mk I", burned for approximately two minutes. Articles in late 1944 claimed that the flame was so hot it could crumble a brick wall. For propaganda purposes the RAF dubbed the new incendiary bomb the "Superflamer". Around fifty-five million incendiary bombs were dropped on Germany by Avro Lancasters alone. Many incendiary weapons developed and deployed during World War II were in
4370-482: The Allies to sue for peace. Thousands of Elektron bombs were stockpiled at forward bomber bases and the operation was scheduled for August and again in early September 1918, but on both occasions, the order to take off was countermanded at the last moment, perhaps because of the fear of Allied reprisals against German cities. The Royal Air Force had already used their own "Baby" incendiary bomb (BIB) which also contained
4485-709: The Blitz included the Custom House , Bluecoat Chambers , and Liverpool Museum . However, many buildings were restored after the War, while the Custom House was controversially demolished. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in May 1941 said after visiting Liverpool and the surrounding area, "I see the damage done by the enemy attacks, but I also see ... the spirit of an unconquered people." The Blitz Britain The Blitz 1942–1945 The Blitz
4600-423: The Blitz. The programme favoured back garden Anderson shelters and small brick surface shelters. Many of the latter were abandoned in 1940 as unsafe. Authorities expected that the raids would be brief and in daylight, rather than attacks by night, which forced Londoners to sleep in shelters. Deep shelters provided most protection against a direct hit. The government did not build them for large populations before
4715-462: 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. The greatest effect was to force the British to disperse the production of aircraft and spare parts. British wartime studies concluded that most cities took 10 to 15 days to recover when hit severely, but some, such as Birmingham, took three months. The German air offensive failed because
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4830-490: The Christmas Blitz, when 365 people were killed between 20–22 December. The raids saw several instances of direct hits on air raid shelters; on 20 December, 42 people died when a shelter was hit, while another 40 died when a bomb struck railway arches on Bentinck Street, where local people were sheltering. On 21 December, another hit on a shelter which killed 74 people. In her memoir Lime Street at Two , Helen Forrester described trying to get home from her job at Bootle during
4945-471: The Christmas Blitz: In the light of flares, fires, tracer bullets and searchlights , it was easy to see. I felt cross; I was not going to be kept from home by any German planes. I began to walk...At several points, the raid passed right overhead at a time when there seemed no place to hide...A series of bombs appeared to hit the next street, and I was suddenly glad that I had been faced with
5060-565: The Germans could use poison gas and even bacteriological warfare, all with a high degree of accuracy. In 1939, military theorist Basil Liddell-Hart predicted that 250,000 deaths and injuries in Britain could occur in the first week of war. London hospitals prepared for 300,000 casualties in the first week of war. British air raid sirens sounded for the first time 22 minutes after Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany . Although bombing attacks unexpectedly did not begin immediately during
5175-551: The Germans, and downplayed in the newspapers for propaganda purposes; many Liverpudlians thus felt that their suffering was overlooked compared to other places. Around 4,000 people were killed in the Merseyside area during the Blitz. This death toll was second only to London, which suffered over 40,000 by the end of the war. Liverpool, Bootle and the Wallasey Pool complex were strategically very important locations during
5290-610: The Luftwaffe High Command ( Oberkommando der Luftwaffe , OKL) did not develop a methodical strategy for destroying British war industry. Poor intelligence about British industry and economic efficiency led to OKL concentrating on tactics rather than strategy. The bombing effort was diluted by attacks against several sets of industries instead of constant pressure on the most vital. In the 1920s and 1930s, airpower theorists such as Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell claimed that air forces could win wars, obviating
5405-676: The RAF, and the Blitz became a night bombing campaign after October 1940. The Luftwaffe attacked the main Atlantic seaport of Liverpool in the Liverpool Blitz . The North Sea port of Hull , a convenient and easily found target or secondary target for bombers unable to locate their primary targets, suffered the Hull Blitz . The port cities of Bristol , Cardiff , Portsmouth , Plymouth , Southampton , Sunderland , Swansea , Belfast , and Glasgow were also bombed, as were
5520-652: The Second World War. The Port of Liverpool had for many years been the United Kingdom's main link with North America , and proved to be a key part in the British participation in the Battle of the Atlantic . As well as providing anchorage for naval ships from many nations, the port's quays and dockers handled over 90 per cent of all the war material brought into Britain from abroad with some 75 million tons passing through its 11 miles (18 km) of quays. Liverpool
5635-544: 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. The government distributed Anderson shelters until 1941 and that year began distributing the Morrison shelter , which could be used inside homes. Public demand caused the government in October 1940 to build new deep shelters within the Underground to hold 80,000 people but
5750-508: The air staff that war with Britain or even Russia was a possibility. The amount of firm operational and tactical preparation for a bombing campaign was minimal, largely because of the failure by Hitler as supreme commander to insist upon such a commitment. Ultimately, Hitler was trapped within his own vision of bombing as a terror weapon, formed in the 1930s when he threatened smaller nations into accepting German rule rather than submit to air bombardment. This had important implications. It showed
5865-415: The amount of space available and made detailed preparations for transporting evacuees. A trial blackout was held on 10 August 1939 and when Germany invaded Poland on 1 September, a blackout began at sunset. Lights were not allowed after dark for almost six years, and the blackout became by far the most unpopular aspect of the war for civilians, even more than rationing . The relocation of the government and
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#17327717494765980-402: The attacks closed due to lack of need. Although the stress of the war resulted in many anxiety attacks, eating disorders, fatigue, weeping, miscarriages, and other physical and mental ailments, society did not collapse. 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. Many civilians found that
6095-435: The balance of power on the battlefield by disrupting production and damaging civilian morale. OKL did not believe air power alone could be decisive, and the Luftwaffe did not adopt an official policy of the deliberate bombing of civilians until 1942. The vital industries and transport centres that would be targeted for shutdown were valid military targets. It could be claimed civilians were not to be targeted directly, but
6210-552: 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. General Walther Wever (Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff 1 March 1935 – 3 June 1936) championed strategic bombing and the building of suitable aircraft, although he emphasised
6325-447: 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. The cheerful crowds visiting bomb sites were so large they interfered with rescue work. Pub visits increased in number (beer was never rationed), and 13,000 attended cricket at Lord's . People left shelters when told instead of refusing to leave, although many housewives reportedly enjoyed
6440-708: The birthplace of Hitler's nephew, William Patrick Hitler . The house was never rebuilt and the whole site was eventually cleared of housing and grassed over. By the end German bombs had killed 2,716 people in Liverpool, 442 people in Birkenhead, 409 people in Bootle and 332 people in Wallasey. Today one of the most vivid symbols of the Liverpool Blitz is the burnt outer shell of St Luke's Church , located in
6555-410: The bombing of opponents than air defence, although he promoted the development of a bomber force in the 1930s and understood it was possible to use bombers for strategic purposes. He told OKL in 1939 that ruthless employment of the Luftwaffe against the heart of the British will to resist would follow when the moment was right. Hitler quickly developed scepticism toward strategic bombing, confirmed by
6670-802: The break from housework. Some people even told government surveyors that they enjoyed air raids if they occurred occasionally, perhaps once a week. Despite the attacks, defeat in Norway and France , and the threat of invasion, overall morale remained high. A Gallup poll found only 3% of Britons expected to lose the war in May 1940. Another poll found an 88% approval rating for Churchill in July. A third poll found 89% support for his leadership in October. Support for peace negotiations declined from 29% in February. Each setback caused more civilians to volunteer to become unpaid Local Defence Volunteers . Workers worked longer shifts and over weekends. Contributions rose to
6785-431: The breakdown of production would affect their morale and will to fight. German legal scholars of the 1930s carefully worked out guidelines for what type of bombing was permissible under international law. While direct attacks against civilians were ruled out as "terror bombing", the concept of attacking vital war industries—and probable heavy civilian casualties and breakdown of civilian morale—was ruled as acceptable. From
6900-654: The cellar steps. 'God! Whatever happened to you?' he exclaimed. I licked my parched lips. 'I walked,' I said simply. The bombing decreased in severity after the new year. May 1941 saw a renewal of the air assault on the region; a seven-night bombardment that devastated the city. The first bomb landed upon Seacombe , Wallasey , Wirral , at 22:15 on 1 May. The peak of the bombing occurred from 1–7 May 1941. It involved 681 Luftwaffe bombers; 2,315 high explosive bombs and 119 other explosives such as incendiaries were dropped. The raids put 69 out of 144 cargo berths out of action and inflicted 2,895 casualties. Liverpool Cathedral
7015-470: The city centre, which was destroyed by an incendiary bomb on 5 May 1941. The church was gutted during the firebombing but remained standing and, in its prominent position in the city, was a stark reminder of what Liverpool and the surrounding area had endured. It eventually became a garden of remembrance to commemorate the thousands of local men, women and children who died as a result of the bombing of their city and region. Other architectural casualties of
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#17327717494767130-595: The city. The first major air raid on Liverpool took place in August 1940, when 160 bombers attacked the city on the night of 28 August. This assault continued over the next three nights, then regularly for the rest of the year. There were 50 raids on the city during this three-month period. Some of these were minor, comprising a few aircraft, and lasting a few minutes, with others comprising up to 300 aircraft and lasting over ten hours. On 18 September, 22 inmates at Walton Gaol were killed when high-explosive bombs demolished
7245-461: The civil service was also planned but would only have occurred if necessary so as not to damage civilian morale. Not only was there evacuation over land, but also by ship. The Children's Overseas Reception Board was organised by the government to help parents send their children overseas to four British Dominions —Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The programme evacuated 2,664 boys and girls (ages 5–15) until its ending in October after
7360-551: The civilian destruction caused by such weapons quickly earned them a reputation as terror weapons with the targeted populations. Nazi Germany began the campaign of incendiary bombings at the start of World War II with the bombing of Warsaw , and continued with the London Blitz and the bombing of Moscow, among other cities. Later, an extensive reprisal was enacted by the Allies in the strategic bombing campaign that led to
7475-599: The civilian population", "tortur[ing] great masses of people". He conveyed these sentiments to US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Omar Bradley , who "never published the statement". Publicly, Churchill allowed Bradley "to issue a statement that confirmed U.K. support for U.S. napalm attacks". During the Vietnam War , the U.S. Air Force developed the CBU-55 , a cluster bomb incendiary fuelled by propane ,
7590-470: The commander of Luftflotte 3 (1 February 1939 – 23 August 1944) and Hans Jeschonnek , Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff (1 February 1939 – 19 August 1943). The Luftwaffe was not pressed into ground support operations because of pressure from the army or because it was led by ex-soldiers; indeed, the Luftwaffe favoured a model of joint inter-service operations rather than independent strategic air campaigns. Hitler paid less attention to
7705-639: The distribution of supplies to keep the war economy moving. London had nine million people—a fifth of the British population—living in an area of 750 square miles (1,940 square kilometres), which was difficult to defend because of its size. Based on experience with German strategic bombing during World War I against the United Kingdom, the British government estimated that 50 casualties—with about one-third killed—would result for every tonne of bombs dropped on London. The estimate of tonnes of bombs an enemy could drop per day grew as aircraft technology advanced, from 75 in 1922, to 150 in 1934, to 644 in 1937. In 1937
7820-459: The evacuations, organised by Liverpool Corporation , saw 8,500 children, parents and teachers moved from the city to rural areas and small towns in Lancashire , Wales , Cheshire , Shrewsbury and Shropshire . As months went by with no signs of an air-raid by the Luftwaffe, many parents brought their children back to Liverpool and, by January 1940, 40% of the evacuated children were back in
7935-402: The experience of German bombing in the First World War, politicians feared mass psychological trauma from aerial attacks and the collapse of civil society. 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. Winston Churchill told Parliament in 1934, "We must expect that, under
8050-422: The extent to which Hitler mistook Allied strategy for one of morale breaking instead of one of economic warfare , with the collapse of morale as a bonus. Hitler was much more attracted to the political aspects of bombing. 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
8165-447: The fire brigade. Bootle , to the north of the city, suffered heavy damage and loss of life. One notable incident here was a direct hit on a Co-op air raid shelter on the corner of Ash Street and Stanley Road. The exact total of casualties is unclear, though dozens of bodies were recovered and placed in a temporary mortuary which itself was later destroyed by incendiaries with over 180 corpses inside. The Times on 5 May 1941 carried
8280-403: The following report: "The Germans stated that Saturday night's attack on Liverpool was one of the heaviest ever made by their air force on Britain. Several hundred bombers had been used, visibility was good and docks and industrial works, storehouses and business centres, had been hit. In addition to many smaller fires, one conflagration, it was claimed, was greater than any hitherto observed during
8395-483: The form of bombs and shells whose main incendiary component is white phosphorus (WP), and can be used in an offensive anti-personnel role against enemy troop concentrations, but WP is also used for signalling, smoke screens , and target-marking purposes. The U.S. Army and marines used WP extensively in World War II and Korea for all three purposes, frequently using WP shells in large 4.2-inch chemical mortars. WP
8510-552: The government relented and ordered the stations to be opened. Each day orderly lines of people queued until 4:00 pm, when they were allowed to enter the stations. 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. Battle noises were muffled and sleep was easier in the deepest stations, but many people were killed from direct hits on stations. In March 1943, 173 men, women and children were crushed to death at Bethnal Green tube station in
8625-413: The importance of aviation in operational and tactical terms. Wever outlined five points of air strategy: Wever argued that OKL should not be solely educated in tactical and operational matters but also in grand strategy, war economics, armament production and the mentality of potential opponents (also known as intelligence analysis ). Wever's vision was not realised, staff studies in those subjects fell by
8740-478: The industrial centres of Birmingham , Coventry , Manchester , and Sheffield . More than 40,000 civilians were killed by Luftwaffe bombing during the war, almost half of them in the capital, where more than a million houses were destroyed or damaged. In early July 1940, the German High Command began planning Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union . Bombing failed to demoralise
8855-434: 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. Although it had equipment capable of doing serious damage,
8970-688: The late 20th century sometimes contained thermite , made from aluminium and ferric oxide . It takes very high temperatures to ignite, but when alight, it can burn through solid steel. In World War II, such devices were employed in incendiary grenades to burn through heavy armour plate, or as a quick welding mechanism to destroy artillery and other complex machined weapons. A variety of pyrophoric materials can also be used: selected organometallic compounds, most often triethylaluminium , trimethylaluminium , and some other alkyl and aryl derivatives of aluminium, magnesium , boron , zinc , sodium , and lithium , can be used. Thickened triethylaluminium,
9085-569: The latter part of the period, gunpowder was invented, which increased the sophistication of the weapons, starting with fire lances . The first incendiary devices to be dropped during World War I fell on coastal towns in the east of England on the night of 18–19 January 1915. The small number of German bombs, also known as firebombs, were finned containers filled with kerosene and oil and wrapped with tar-covered rope. They were dropped from Zeppelin airships . On 8 September 1915, Zeppelin L-13 dropped
9200-425: The main walk for prostitutes in the city, where I had no doubt it would be business as usual, blitz or no blitz; it was not the ladies I feared, but their pimps and hangers-on. The city was in turmoil, with service vehicles zipping recklessly through the battered streets. There seemed to be a very big fire at the beginning of Dale Street , and behind the buildings past which I ran up to the far end of Lime Street, there
9315-463: The managing of the Luftwaffe was Göring. 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 ". Such principles made it much harder to integrate the air force into
9430-441: The military structure encouraged the emergence of a major "communications gap" between Hitler and the Luftwaffe , which other factors helped to exacerbate. For one thing, Göring's fear of Hitler led him to falsify or misrepresent what information was available in the direction of an uncritical and over-optimistic interpretation of air strength. When Göring decided against continuing Wever's original heavy bomber programme in 1937,
9545-471: The near-annihilation of many German cities. In the Pacific War , during the last seven months of strategic bombing by B-29 Superfortresses in the air war against Japan , a change to firebombing tactics resulted in the death of 500,000 Japanese and the homelessness of five million more. Sixty-seven Japanese cities lost significant areas to incendiary attacks. The most deadly single bombing raid in history
9660-463: The need for land and sea combat. It was thought that " the bomber will always get through " and could not be resisted, particularly at night. Industry, seats of government and communications could be destroyed, depriving an opponent of the means to make war. Bombing civilians would cause a collapse of morale and a loss of production in the remaining factories. Democracies, where public opinion was allowed, were thought particularly vulnerable. The RAF and
9775-495: The night of June 10–11, 1953. Eighth Army chemical officer Donald Bode reported that on an "average good day" UN pilots used 70,000 US gallons (260,000 L) of napalm, with approximately 60,000 US gallons (230,000 L) of this thrown by US forces. British prime minister Winston Churchill privately criticized the use of napalm in Korea, writing that it was "very cruel", as US and UN forces, he wrote, were "splashing it all over
9890-423: The offensive over Britain to failure before it began. In an operational capacity, limitations in weapons technology and quick British reactions were making it more difficult to achieve strategic effect. Attacking ports, shipping and imports as well as disrupting rail traffic in the surrounding areas, especially the distribution of coal, an important fuel in all industrial economies of the Second World War, would net
10005-455: The overall strategy and produced in Göring a jealous and damaging defense of his "empire" while removing Hitler voluntarily from the systematic direction of the Luftwaffe at either the strategic or operational level. When Hitler tried to intervene more in the running of the air force later in the war, he was faced with a political conflict of his own making between himself and Göring, which
10120-461: The pavements, a short distance away a bomb fell in front of the Court Theatre , and a fire engine, racing to a call, fell into the crater, killing the entire crew of seven; so much for speed in such a situation. I was lucky that I did not fall over something or into something myself. I felt naked as I left Renshaw Street behind me, and climbed the hill towards Catherine Street . To my right,
10235-430: The period of heaviest bombing had passed before they were finished. By the end of 1940 improvements had been made in the Underground and in many other large shelters. Authorities provided stoves and bathrooms and canteen trains provided food. Tickets were issued for bunks in large shelters, to reduce the amount of time spent queuing. Committees quickly formed within shelters as informal governments, and organisations such as
10350-411: The petroleum-based Greek fire , were launched by throwing machines or administered through a siphon . Sulfur- and oil-soaked materials were sometimes ignited and thrown at the enemy, or attached to spears, arrows or bolts , and fired by hand or machine. Some siege techniques—such as mining and boring—relied on combustibles and fire to complete the collapse of walls and structures. Towards
10465-577: 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". Panic during the Munich crisis , such as the migration by 150,000 people to Wales, contributed to fear of social chaos. The government planned the evacuation of four million people—mostly women and children—from urban areas, including 1.4 million from London. It expected about 90% of evacuees to stay in private homes, conducted an extensive survey to determine
10580-674: The process of chemical reactions and use ignition rather than detonation to start or maintain the reaction. Napalm , for example, is petroleum especially thickened with certain chemicals into a gel to slow, but not stop, combustion, releasing energy over a longer time than an explosive device. In the case of napalm, the gel adheres to surfaces and resists suppression. A range of early thermal weapons were utilized by ancient , medieval / post-classical and early modern armies, including hot pitch , oil, resin , animal fat and other similar compounds. Substances such as quicklime and sulfur could be toxic and blinding. Incendiary mixtures, such as
10695-413: The raid had ended. The entire Huskisson No. 2 dock and the surrounding quays were destroyed and four people were killed. The explosion was so violent that some pieces of the ship's hull plating were blasted into a park over 1 mile (1.6 km) away. It took seventy-four hours for the fire to burn out. The seven night bombardment resulted in over 6,500 homes being completely demolished by aerial bombing and
10810-408: The results of the Blitz. He frequently complained of the Luftwaffe 's inability to damage industries sufficiently, saying, "The munitions industry cannot be impeded effectively by air raids ... usually, the prescribed targets are not hit". While the war was being planned, Hitler never insisted upon the Luftwaffe planning a strategic bombing campaign and did not even give ample warning to
10925-532: The shelters and many arguments and fights occurred over noise, space and other matters. Anti-Jewish sentiment was reported, particularly around the East End of London, with anti-Semitic graffiti and anti-Semitic rumours, such as that Jewish people were "hogging" air raid shelters. 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
11040-661: The sinking of the SS ; City of Benares with the loss of 81 children out of 100 on board. Much civil defence preparation in the form of shelters was left in the hands of local authorities and many areas such as Birmingham , Coventry , Belfast , and the East End of London did not have enough shelters. The unexpected delay to civilian bombing during the Phoney War meant that the shelter programme finished in June 1940, before
11155-602: The war because of cost, time to build and fears that their safety would cause occupants to refuse to leave to return to work or that anti-war sentiment would develop in large congregations of civilians. The government saw the leading role taken by the Communist Party in advocating the building of deep shelters as an attempt to damage civilian morale, especially after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939. The most important existing communal shelters were
11270-436: The war using the 1918-designed one-kilogram magnesium alloy B-1E Elektronbrandbombe ; later modifications included the addition of a small explosive charge intended to penetrate the roof of any building which it landed on. Racks holding 36 of these bombs were developed, four of which could, in turn, be fitted to an electrically triggered dispenser so that a single He 111 bomber could carry 1,152 incendiary bombs, or more usually
11385-731: The wayside, and the Air Academies focused on tactics, technology and operational planning rather than on independent strategic air offensives. In 1936, Wever was killed in an air crash, and the failure to implement his vision for the new Luftwaffe was largely attributable to his successors. Ex-army personnel and his successors as Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff, Albert Kesselring (3 June 1936 – 31 May 1937) and Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (1 June 1937 – 31 January 1939) are usually blamed for abandoning strategic planning for close air support . Two prominent enthusiasts for ground-support operations (direct or indirect) were Hugo Sperrle ,
11500-459: The weapon of choice for the British "dehousing" plan . The bomb consisted of a hollow body made from aluminium- magnesium alloy with a cast iron/steel nose, and filled with thermite incendiary pellets. It was capable of burning for up to ten minutes. There was also a high explosive version and delayed high explosive versions (2–4 minutes) which were designed to kill rescuers and firefighters. It
11615-623: The £5,000 " Spitfire Funds" to build fighters and the number of work days lost to strikes in 1940 was the lowest in history. Incendiary bomb Incendiary weapons , incendiary devices , incendiary munitions , or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry . Incendiaries utilize materials such as napalm , thermite , magnesium powder , chlorine trifluoride , or white phosphorus . Though colloquially often called " bombs ", they are not explosives but in fact operate to slow
11730-462: Was Operation Meetinghouse , an incendiary attack that killed some 100,000 Tokyo residents in one night. The 4 lb (1.8 kg) incendiary bomb, developed by ICI , was the standard light incendiary bomb used by RAF Bomber Command in very large numbers, declining slightly in 1944 to 35.8 million bombs produced (the decline being due to more bombs arriving from the United States). It was
11845-526: 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 Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940 (a battle for daylight air superiority between the Luftwaffe and
11960-485: Was also possible, if RAF losses became severe, that they could pull out to the north, wait for the German invasion, then redeploy southward again. 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 Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion),
12075-534: Was berthed in the Huskisson Dock . Although its eventual explosion is often attributed to a burning barrage balloon, this fire was put out. However flames from dock sheds that had been bombed spread to the Malakand , and this fire could not be contained. Despite valiant efforts by the fire brigade to extinguish the flames, they spread to the ship's cargo of 1,000 tons of bombs, which exploded a few hours after
12190-466: Was decided to focus on bombing Britain's industrial cities, in daylight to begin with. The main focus was London. The first major raid took place on 7 September. On 15 September, on a date known as Battle of Britain Day, a large-scale raid was launched in daylight, but suffered significant loss for no lasting gain. Although there were a few large air battles fought in daylight later in the month and into October,
12305-410: Was hit by a high explosive bomb which pierced the roof of the south-east transept before being deflected by an inner brick wall and exploding mid-air, damaging many stained glass windows. Another landed on the front steps without exploding but incendiaries destroyed equipment in the contractor's yard at the west end. One incident on 3 May involved the SS Malakand , a ship carrying munitions which
12420-428: Was more difficult. Both the RAF and Luftwaffe struggled to replace manpower losses, though the Germans had larger reserves of trained aircrew. The circumstances affected the Germans more than the British. Operating over home territory, British aircrew could fly again if they survived being shot down. German crews, even if they survived, faced capture. Moreover, bombers had four to five crewmen on board, representing
12535-449: Was normal for a proportion of high explosive bombs to be dropped during incendiary attacks in order to expose combustible material and to fill the streets with craters and rubble, hindering rescue services. Towards the end of World War Two, the British introduced a much improved 30 lb (14 kg) incendiary bomb, whose fall was retarded by a small parachute and on impact sent out an extremely hot flame for 15 ft (4.6 m); This,
12650-520: Was not fully resolved until the war was almost over. In 1940 and 1941, Göring'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. The deliberate separation of the Luftwaffe from the rest of
12765-409: Was obviously another heavy conflagration, which I afterwards was told was St John's market burning...As I ran, incendiaries fell like rain, and magnificent St George's Hall was alight; I was told later that there were hundreds of people sheltering in the cells underneath it, unaware that the building above them was in flames. Though I was aware only of a blizzard of bombs, flak and hazardous litter on
12880-515: Was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. Notable attacks included a large daylight attack against London on 15 September , a large raid on 29 December 1940 against London resulting in a firestorm known as the Second Great Fire of London , and a large raid on the night of 10–11 May 1941. The Luftwaffe gradually decreased daylight operations in favour of night attacks to evade attacks by
12995-569: Was the eastern end of a Transatlantic chain of supplies from North America. Other industries were also heavily concentrated in Liverpool and across the Mersey in Birkenhead . The evacuation of children (Operation Pied Piper) at the start of the war, in September 1939, was a pre-emptive measure to save the population of urban or military areas from German aerial bombing. Between 1–6 September
13110-542: Was very close to home, and hospitals could be hit, too. In fact, during that night the Royal Infirmary and the Mill Road Infirmary were severely damaged. I dragged onwards slowly, bothered by the smoke and dust in the atmosphere as well as by the sound of bombs whistling down on the city centre. At the sound of the front door being opened and closed, Father, his face filled with anxiety, came up from
13225-553: Was widely credited by many Allied soldiers for breaking up numerous German infantry attacks and creating havoc among enemy troop concentrations during the latter part of World War II. In both World War II and Korea, WP was found particularly useful in overcoming enemy human wave attacks . Napalm was widely used by the United States during the Korean War , most notably during the battle " Outpost Harry " in South Korea during
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