The+Blitz

= **__Blitz__ ** =

It was dangerous living in a big city during the war. Cities were the target of enemy aircraft that flew over at night and dropped bombs.

**At 4:56pm on 7 September 1940, the air raid sirens wailed as the German Air Force, the luftwaffe, launched a massive raid on London.** Over 350 bombers flew across the Channel from airfields in France and dropped 300 tonnes of bombs on the docks and streets of the East End of London. The bombs destroyed many buildings burying mother, fathers and children in the rubble The enemy attacks from the Luftwaffe (the German air force) were called Air Raids. What was the Blitz?

The **heavy and frequent bombing attacks** on **London** and other cities was known as the 'Blitz'. Night after night, from **September 1940 until May 1941**, German bombers attacked British cities, ports and industrial areas. London was bombed ever day and night, bar one, for 11 weeks. One third of London was destroyed.

On our visit to the Imperial War Museum, we took part in the Blitz Experience which transports visitors back to London during the Blitz. In these audio clips, some of our pupils reflect on the experience.

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Questions and Answers
What does 'Blitz' mean?

Blitz is a shorten form of the German word 'Blitzkrieg' (lightning war).

When did the Blitz start?

On the 7th September, 1940 the German air force changed its strategy of bombing the British air force (Battle of Britain) and began to concentrate on bombing London. Nearly 2,000 people were killed or wounded in London's first night of the Blitz.

During the first month, German Air Force dropped 5,300 tons of high explosives on London in just 24 nights.

When did air raids take place?

Most air raids happened at night.

How were people warned that an air raid was about to take place?

The wail of air raid sirens...

People were warned of a likely air raid by loud sirens, positioned in different parts of towns and cities. During the blitz, they became an almost daily part of life.

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The sirens made a very loud and long signal or warning sound. For an alert, the siren sound pitch rose and fell alternately. The All Clear was a continuous sound from the siren. Not every alert brought a raid, and sometimes raids happened when no alert had sounded. =====


 * When you hear the warning take cover at once. Remember that most of the injuries in an air raid are caused not by direct hits by bombs but by flying fragments of debris or by bits of shells. Stay under cover until you hear the sirens sounding continuously for two minutes on the same note which is the signal "Raiders Passed".//Air Raid Warnings// 1939 ||

**What other cities were bombed?**

Other cities and towns were also heavily bombed, including Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Plymouth, Birmingham, Coventry and Liverpool. One devastating raid on Coventry in November 1940 was the biggest air-raid the world had ever seen. 4,330 homes were destroyed and 554 people killed. At one point during the night 200 separate fires burned in the city.

**How many people died during the World War Two Blitz in Britain?**

During the Blitz 32,000 civilians were killed and 87,000 were seriously injured.

** What type of bombs were dropped? ** Different types of bombs were dropped from the enemy planes. There were:


 * H.E. (High Explosive) bombs of various weights;
 * Incendiary Bombs, also termed Fire Bombs as they caused fires. and
 * Oil Bombs.

Lucky for some:) One in every ten bombs that fell was a 'dud,'which meant that it did not explode on impact. But some bombs had a delayed action fuse, which meant they could go off at any time. This meant that it was almost impossible to tell which bombs were which. People had to be evacuated until the bombs had been made safe.

From 1944, two new types of weapons were used, they were known as flying bombs.


 * 1) The V1 ( Doodlebug) - They had no pilot and made a droning noise. As soon as the droning noise stopped people had 15 seconds to escape from the powerful blast that followed. Many V1's fell short into the sea, others fell in the countryside. Almost 9,250 V1's were fired against London, but less than 2,500 reached their target.
 * 2) The V2 - The V2's arrived without any warning sound. They also flew very fast and high up in the air; much too high to be shot down by the anti-aircraft guns of fighter aircraft.

**How did people protect themselves from the bombs during an air raid?**

Air Raid Shelters were built. To help prevent the Germans from seeing where the towns were, a blackout was rigorously enforced after darkness. This meant that all sources of light had to be blacked out.


 * What was life like during the Blitz? **

Life was very hard during the Blitz and frightening too. London, in particular was very bad as it was bombed nearly every night. People in London spent most nights sleeping in Air Raid Shelters.

No one within any distance of a likely target such as a big city could sleep entirely easy in their beds. Sometimes German bombers made mistakes and dropped their bombs in entirely the wrong areas. At other times, returning from a raid, they would dump their explosives anywhere in order to fly home in greater safety. Many bombs fell on the areas around the cities and in the Kent countryside, known as 'bomb alley' because it lay on the flight path to London.

It was difficult to move around at night time due to the Blackout and the problems it caused.

Families were separated with children being in evacuated.

Food and clothing were rationed and hard to get hold of because of shops being bombed.


 * How did the government try to protect cities from being bombed? **

Barrage balloons were put up to force the German planes to fly higher – so their bombing would be less accurate. The Barrage balloons were tethered by steel cables strong enough to destroy any aircraft which flew into them.

To stop enemy bombers finding their way up the Thames estuary, in 1943 the army built Redsands Fort, a group of anti-aircraft platforms off the Kent coast.
 * Redsands Fort **

The Blitz ended in mid-May 1941, when much of the German air force was sent east to prepare for the invasion of Russia.


 * What next? **

The next big air attacks came from the terrifying V-1 and V-2 attacks. These were flying bombs (doodlebugs) catapulted into the air from camouflaged launched sites in northern Europe.

Images of the London Blitz (pictures)

Cabinet War Rooms 1

Cabinet War Rooms 2

[|A War time home] (BBC)Have a look around a home and see if you can spot ways people protected themselves during the blitz.

= Why were Air Raid Shelters built? =

**People needed to protect themselves from the bombs being dropped by German aircraft.**

As the night raids became so frequent, many people were tired of being repeatedly interrupted during their sleep. Instead of goingo back and forth to the shelters, they virtually took up residence in a shelter.


 * What were Anderson Shelters? **

These shelters were half buried in the ground with earth heaped on top to protect them from bomb blasts.

They were made from six corrugated iron sheets bolted together at the top, with steel plates at either end, and measured 6ft 6in by 4ft 6in (1.95m by 1.35m). The entrance was protected by a steel shield and an earthen blast wall.

The government gave out anderson shelters free to people who earned below £5 per week. By September 1939 one and a half million Anderson shelters had been put up in gardens.


 * What were Anderson Shelters like? **

The Anderson Shelters were dark and damp and people were reluctant to use them at night.

In low-lying areas the shelters tended to flood and sleeping was difficult as they did not keep out the sound of the bombings.

Anderson shelters were given free to poor people. Men who earned more than £5 a week could buy one for £7. = = = Morrison Shelters =


 * When was the Morrison Shelter first introduced? **

The Morrison Shelter was introduced in March 1941, for people without gardens. The shelter, made from heavy steel, could also be used as a table. People sheltered underneath it during a raid. The Morrison shelter was named after the Minister for Home Security, Mr. Herbert Morrison.

The Morrison shelter was approximately 6 feet 6 inches (2m) long, 4 feet (1.2m) wide and 2 feet 6 inches (0.75m) high.

By the autumn of 1940 the government realised that air-raid shelters on the surface did not offer very good protection from high explosive bombs. Deeper shelters were used. Caves were used in many parts of Britain. Chislehurst caves were used as a shelter and the site is still open today for tourists.

On September 21, 1940 the London Underground started to be used as an air raid shelter. On the busiest night in 1940, 177,000 people slept on platforms. Many bought sandwiches, thermos flasks, pillows and blankets.

**Further information**

What would you take with you into an air raid shelter? Click and drag the objects

[|Diagram of an Anderson shelter]

Taking Shelter from Falling bombs

Memories of in the school air raid shelter We had to carry a gas mask which was issued in a cardboard box with a piece of string to sling over your shoulder........ Air raid shelters were built at the bottom of the playground where once we had practised our Hiawatha rabbit skin curing skills........

[[image:dwjs/My_Plane!.jpg width="218" height="183" caption="WW2 bombing plane drawn by Sophie.M"]]
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Click on the link above to hear air raid sirens and many other audio recordings.

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