However that attack was not an error. Belfast was bombed by the Nazis in World War II. Here are 10 facts about both the German Blitzkrieg and the Allied bombing of Germany. We were in exceptional good humour knowing that we were going for a new target, one of Englands last hiding places, said one pilot of the raid. At the core of this book is a compelling account of the Luftwaffe's blitz on Belfast in April-May 1941. Lecturer of History, Queens University, Belfast, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belfast_Blitz&oldid=1136721396, During the war years, Belfast shipyards built or converted over 3,000 navy vessels, repaired more than 22,000 others and launched over half a million tons of merchant shipping over 140. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated signs were kept off. Video, 00:01:23Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, One-minute World News. The youngest victim was just six-weeks-old. Compared to other cities, Belfast was virtually undefended. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. He believed that this was being done already but it was inevitable that a certain number of civilian lives should be lost in the course of heavy bombing from the air". Sometimes they were trying establish a blockade by destroying shipping and port facilities, sometimes they were directly attacking Fighter Command ground installations, sometimes they were targeting aircraft factories, and sometimes they were attempting to engage Fighter Command in the skies. Video, 00:03:09, Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Clydeside got its blitz during the period of the last moon. 255 corpses were laid out in St George's Market. On August 2, Luftwaffe commander Hermann Gring issued his Eagle Day directive, laying down a plan of attack in which a few massive blows from the air were to destroy British air power and so open the way for the invasion. For 57 nightsuntil November 2more than 1 million bombs were dropped on the capital city. Clydeside got its blitz during the period of the last moon. 2023 BBC. At the beginning of the Blitz, British ack ack gunners struggled to inflict meaningful damage on German bombers, but later developments in radar guidance greatly improved the effectiveness of both antiaircraft artillery and searchlights. All were exhausted. "Liverpool, Clydebank and Portsmouth all have a memorial to their victims of the Blitz. Eduard Hempel, the German Minister to Ireland, visited the Irish Ministry for External Affairs to offer sympathy and attempt an explanation. Only four were known still to be alive. The attacks were authorized by Germanys chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. William Joyce "Lord Haw-Haw" announced that "The Fhrer will give you time to bury your dead before the next attack Tuesday was only a sample." 2023 BBC. ", Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. The couple, who ran a children's home, stayed with Anna's parents, William and Harriette Denby, and her sisters, Dot and Isa, at Evelyn Gardens, off the Cavehill Road, in the north of the city. The Royal Air Force announced that Squadron Leader J.W.C. The "pothole blitz" is a common short-term initiative to combat storm weather damage. Up Next. "These people are often seen as a statistic but they were human beings, people who lived and grew up in - or moved to - Belfast and died in Belfast," Mr Freeburn, the museum's collections officer, says. For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters targeted the city, dropping high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices. 4. devised the Morrison shelter (named for Home Secretary Herbert Stanley Morrison) as an alternative to the Anderson shelter. (Great War casualties) had died in hospital beds, their eyes had been reverently closed, their hands crossed to their breasts. The Blitz began at about 4:00 in the afternoon on September 7, 1940, when German planes appeared over London. "[22], In his opinion, the greatest want was the lack of hospital facilities. But the RAF had not responded. When war broke out in 1939 the city did not expect to be attacked by German bombers: it was geographically remote and deemed a relatively . The Blitz was devastating for the people of London and other cities. Several accounts point out that Belfast, standing at the end of the long inlet of Belfast Lough, would be easily located. These private air-raid shelters were Anderson shelters, constructed of sheets of corrugated galvanised iron covered in earth. There were Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s and Dornier Do 17s. sprang into action, and Londoners, while maintaining the work, business, and efficiency of their city, displayed remarkable fortitude. However they were not in a position to communicate with the Germans, and information recovered from Germany after the war showed that the planning of the blitz was based entirely on German aerial reconnaissance. Reviewed by: Geoffrey Roberts. While some of the poorer and more crowded suburban areas suffered severely, the mansions of Mayfair, the luxury flats of Kensington, and Buckingham Palace itselfwhich was bombed four separate timesfared little better. It targeted the docks. When Germany bombed Belfast as part of the Blitz during World War Two, the massive air raids left more than a thousand people dead. 1. However, the Docklands was also a densely populated and impoverished area where thousands of working-class Londoners lived in run-down housing. The phrase Business as usual, written in chalk on boarded-up shop windows, exemplified the British determination to keep calm and carry on as best they could. A Raid From Above [27] One widespread criticism was that the Germans located Belfast by heading for Dublin and following the railway lines north. The wartime output of the yard included aircraft carriers HMS Formidable and HMS Unicorn, cruisers such as HMS Belfast and more than 130 other vessels used by the Royal Navy. "It says a lot about how these people are forgotten that there is no Blitz memorial in Belfast," Mr Freeburn says. German bombing of London during the Blitz, Discover how the Third Reich attacked Great Britain during World War II's Battle of Britain, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Watch President Roosevelt outline his Four Freedoms and learn how Britain defeated Germany's Luftwaffe. The first was on the night of 78 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. wardens, and members of the Home Guard drilling in the parks, life went on much as usual. Maps and documents uncovered at Gatow Airfield near Berlin in 1945 showed the level of detail involved. From September 1940 until May 1941, Britain was subjected to sustained enemy bombing campaign, now known as the Blitz. This amounted to nearly half of Britains total civilian deaths for the whole war. "There will always be people who will slip through the net but I am able to say at least 987 were killed across all raids.". In each station volunteers were asked for, as it was beyond their normal duties. In the first days of the Blitz, a tragic incident in the East End stoked public anger over the governments shelter policy. Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. The bombs continued to fall until 5am. It was not the first time the alarm had sounded to signify the presence of Luftwaffe bombers over the city. Train after train and bus after bus were filled with those next in line. The bombing of British cities - Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow Before the war broke out, civilians had been issued with gas masks and Anderson shelters, which people were encouraged to build at the. The Germans, however, saw Belfast as a legitimate target due to the shipyards in the city that were contributing to Britain's war efforts. Air power alone had failed to knock the United Kingdom out of the war. By the middle of December it had reached nearly 1,700,000 (adjusted for inflation, this was the equivalent of roughly 100 million in 2020). continuous trek to railway stations. During what was known as the "Belfast Blitz," 1,000 people were killed by bombs dropped by the Nazis in 1941 during the Second World War. These shelters were vital as these factories had many employees working late at night and early in the morning when Luftwaffe attacks were likely. By Jonathan Bardon. The South Hallsville School disaster prompted Londoners, especially residents of the East End, to find safer shelters, on their own if necessary. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. Under the leadership of amon de Valera it had declared its neutrality during the Second World War. MacDermott would be proved right. Ulster Historical Foundation. A Luftwaffe pilot gave this description "We were in exceptional good humour knowing that we were going for a new target, one of England's last hiding places. Belfast Blitz: Marking the lost lives 80 years on. On September 1, 1939, the day World War II began with Germanys invasion of Poland, the British government implemented a massive evacuation plan. His death (along with preceding ill-health) came at a bad time and arguably inadvertently caused a leadership vacuum. British Spies and Irish Rebels by Paul McMahon, Report by the Garda Sochna 23 October 1941 IMA G2/1722, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Irish Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures, "Eamon de Valera and Hitler: An Analysis of International Reaction to the Visit to the German Minister, May 1945", "Extracts from an article, "The Belfast Blitz, 1941", "Historical Topics Series 2 The Belfast Blitz", "Your Place and Mine The Belfast Blitz", "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Biographies", "Belfast Blitz: The night death and destruction rained down on city", "Multitext - the Blitz - Belfast during the second World War", http://www.niwarmemorial.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/The_Belfast_Blitz.pdf, http://www.proni.gov.uk/historical_topics_series_-_02_-_the_belfast_blitz.pdf, Extracts from an article on The Belfast Blitz, 1941. That contrasts with the figure that is often given of more than 900 killed on Easter Tuesday alone. The Germans established that Belfast was defended by only seven anti-aircraft batteries, which made it the most poorly defended city in the United Kingdom. 9. There was unease with the complacent attitude of the government, which led to resignations: Craigavon died on 24 November 1940. From their photographs, they identified suitable targets: There had been a number of small bombings, probably by planes that missed their targets over the River Clyde in Glasgow or the cities of the northwest of England. The higher the German planes had to fly to avoid the balloons, the less accurate they were when dropping their bombs. Nearby were the citys main power station, gasworks, telephone house and the Sirocco Engineering works. Nevertheless, through sheer weight of numbers, the Germans were on the brink of victory in late August 1940. The most heavily bombed area was that which lay between York Street and the Antrim Road, north of the city centre. Video, 00:01:38, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. In spite of blackouts, ubiquitous shelters and sandbags, the visible effects of mass evacuation, the presence of A.R.P. Revised estimates made decades later indicated that close to 600 men, women, and children had been killed in the bombing. After the first week of September, although night bombing on a large scale continued, the large mass attacks by day, which had proved so costly to the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, were replaced by smaller parties coming over in successive waves. After the bombing began on September 7, local authorities urged displaced people to take shelter at South Hallsville School. So had Clydeside until recently. The government announced that 77 people had died, but for years local residents insisted the toll was much higher. [citation needed]. Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. It lies where the Lagan River flows into a part of the Irish Sea. Between April 7 and May 6 of that year, Luftwaffe bombers unleashed death and destruction on the cities of Belfast, Bangor, Derry/Londonderry and Newtownards. Many in Northern Ireland thought that Belfast was outside the range of the Luftwaffe. Although it arrested German spies that its police and military intelligence services caught, the state never broke off diplomatic relations with Axis nations: the German Legation in Dublin remained open throughout the war. [citation needed] However on 20 October 1941 the Garda Sochna captured a comprehensive IRA report on captured member Helena Kelly giving a detailed analysis of damage inflicted on Belfast and highlighting prime targets such as Shortt and Harland aircraft factory and RAF Sydenham, describing them as 'the remaining and most outstanding objects of military significance, as yet unblitzed' and suggesting they should be 'bombed by the Luftwaffe as thoroughly as other areas in recent raids'[28][29], After three days, sometime after 6pm, the fire crews from south of the border began taking up their hoses and ladders to head for home. The British, on the other hand, were supremely well prepared for the kind of battle in which they now found themselves. ", US journalist Ben Robertson reported that at night Dublin was the only city without a blackout between New York and Moscow, and between Lisbon and Sweden and that German bombers often flew overhead to check their bearings using its lights, angering the British. The Battle of Britain As well as these two major targets, other firms in Belfast produced valuable materials for the war effort including munitions, linen, ropes, food supplies and, of course, cigarettes. "They have never been published before, never seen the light of day.". Beginning on Black Saturday, London was attacked on 57 straight nights. [citation needed]. In just these few hours, 430 people were killed and 1,600 were badly injured. Many of those who died as a result of enemy action lived in tightly packed, poorly constructed, terraced housing. Later, guided by the raging fires caused by the first attack, a second group of planes began another assault that lasted until 4:30 the following morning. Three nights later (April 1920) London was again subjected to a seven-hour raid, and the loss of life was considerable, especially among firefighters and the A.R.P. People hung black curtains in their windows so that no lights showed outside their houses. He was replaced by 54-year-old Sir Basil Brooke on 1 May. The Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) This view was probably influenced by the decision of the IRA Army Council to support Germany. The working-class living close to industrial centres suffered more than anyone over the course of the four raids. After the war, when the first girl from the home got married Billy gave her away, having lost his only daughter. The danger faced in London was greatly increased when the V2 attacks started and the casualty figures mirrored those of the Blitz.. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Despite the attacks, Belfast continued to contribute to the war effort, and within less than a year the city witnessed the arrival of thousands of American troops. Major Sen O'Sullivan reported on the intensity of the bombing in some areas, such as the Antrim Road, where bombs "fell within fifteen to twenty yards of one another." An earlier flight on Oct. 18 allowed the crew to plot several targets in the city. During the whole period, although the citys operation was disrupted in ways that were sometimes serious, no essential service was more than temporarily impaired. [21] Mass graves for the unclaimed bodies were dug in the Milltown and Belfast City Cemeteries. Belfast, Irish Bal Feirste, city, district, and capital of Northern Ireland, on the River Lagan, at its entrance to Belfast Lough (inlet of the sea). From papers recovered after the war, we know of a Luftwaffe reconnaissance flight over Belfast on 30 November 1940. They remained for three days, until they were sent back by the Northern Ireland government. They all say the same thing, that the government is no good. The raids on London primarily targeted the Docklands area of the East End. The first was on the night of 7-8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. Initially it was thought that the Germans had mistaken this reservoir for the harbour and shipyards, where many ships, including HMS Ark Royal were being repaired. Video, 00:00:51, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. 13 died, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds, misfired. It was not the last time Belfast would suffer. Belfast suffered a series of bombing raids in the spring of 1941, which became known as the 'Blitz of Belfast'. Death had to a certain extent been made decent. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Historical Topics Series 2, The Belfast Blitz, 2007, This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 20:18. Video, 00:01:41, The German bombing of Coventry. Video, 00:01:37, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. One of every six Londoners was made homeless at some point during the Blitz, and at least 1.1 million houses and flats were damaged or destroyed. St George's Church in High Street was damaged by fire. Barton wrote: "the Catholic population was much more strongly opposed to conscription, was inclined to sympathise with Germany", "there were suspicions that the Germans were assisted in identifying targets, held by the Unionist population." The attacks were authorized by Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. Learn how your comment data is processed. That night almost 300 people, many from the Protestant Shankill area, took refuge in the Clonard Monastery in the Catholic Falls Road. As well as photographs, the Luftwaffe gathered information on landmarks, potential targets and defences or lack thereof. The attacks by both V1's and V2's only ended as the Allies advanced up through Western Europe . A modern bomb census has attempted to pinpoint the location of every bomb dropped on London during the Blitz, and the visualization of that data makes clear how thoroughly the Luftwaffe saturated the city. Yesterday for once the people of Ireland were united under the shadow of a national blow. 24 - The tyres Dunlop were invented in Belfast in 1887 25 - The two H&W cranes are named Samson and Goliath 26 - The Albert Clock is Ireland's leaning tower 27 - The mobile defibrillator was invented in Belfast 28 - Belfast's ice hockey team, the Giants, is one of the best in Europe. Few children had been successfully evacuated. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. Because basements, a logical destination in the event of an air raid, were a relative rarity in Britain, the A.R.P. John Clarke MacDermott, the Minister of Public Security, after the first bombing, initiated the "Hiram Plan" to evacuate the city and to return Belfast to 'normality' as quickly as possible. There is no slacking in our loyalty. The creeping TikTok bans. In clear weather, targets were easily identifiable. An air raid shelter on Hallidays Road received a direct hit, killing all those in it. The mortuary services had emergency plans to deal with only 200 bodies. 6. Video, 00:02:12, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. Very early in the German bombing campaign, it became clear that the preparationshowever extensive they seemed to have beenwere inadequate. Belfast, the city with the highest population density in the UK at the time, also had the lowest proportion of public air-raid shelters. Contributions poured in from every part of the world in such profusion that on October 28 its scope was extended to cover the whole of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Video, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Violy dies aged 78, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Mother who killed her five children euthanised. James Craig, Lord Craigavon, had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921 up until his death in 1940. Londoners enjoyed three weeks of uneasy peace until May 1011, the night of a full moon, when the Luftwaffe launched the most intense raid of the Blitz. The night raids on London continued into 1941, and January 1011 saw exceptionally heavy attacks; the Mansion House (residence of the lord mayor of London) and the Bank of England narrowly avoided destruction when a bomb fell directly between them, creating a gigantic crater. 2. The ill-fated ship was built in the city in 1912, and to this day, there is a museum dedicated to its building and the lives of all of those on board. The British government had anticipated air attacks on its population centres, and it had predicted catastrophic casualties. Over 100 German planes made contact with barrage balloon cables during the Blitz, and two-thirds of them crashed or made forced landings on British soil. In The Blitz: Belfast in the War Years, Brian Barton wrote: "Government Ministers felt with justification, that the Germans were able to use the unblacked out lights in the south to guide them to their targets in the North." Burke Street which ran between Annadale and Dawson streets in the New Lodge area, was completely wiped off the map with all its 20 houses flattened and all of the occupants killed.[16]. In early 1941 the Germans launched another wave of attacks, this time focusing on ports. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/the-Blitz, National Museums Liverpool - Merseyside Maritime Museum - The Blitz, The History Learning Site - The Blitz and World War Two. The 2017 film Zoo depicts an air raid during the Belfast Blitz. These balloons, the largest of which were some 60 feet (18 metres) long, were essentially an airspace denial tool. Weighing 46,328 tonnes, Titanic was to be the largest manmade moveable object the world had ever seen. Another large-scale attack followed on March 19, when hundreds of houses and shops, many churches, six hospitals, and other public buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. On May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the Blitz as he shifted his forces eastward against the Soviet Union. It was the worst wartime raid outside of London in the UK. 7. 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. There was no smokescreen ability, however there were some barrage balloons positioned strategically for protection. Some are a total loss; others are already under repair with little outward sign of the damage sustained: Besides Buckingham palace, the chapel of which was wrecked, and Guildhall (the six-centuries old centre of London civic ceremonies and of great architectural beauty), which was destroyed by fire, Kensington palace (the London home of the earl of Athlone, governor general of Canada, and the birthplace of Queen Mary and Queen Victoria), the banqueting hall of Eltham palace (dating from King Johns time and long a royal residence), Lambeth palace (the archbishop of Canterbury), and Holland house (famous for its 17th century domestic architecture, its political associations, and its art treasures), suffered, the latter severely. Unlike N Ireland, the Irish Free State was no longer part of the UK. People are leaving from all parts of town and not only from the bombed areas. Video, 00:01:15The Belfast blitz, Up Next. "There are plans for one but there isn't one yet. On occasion, forces consisting of as many as 300 to 400 aircraft would cross the coast by day and split into small groups, and a few planes would succeed in penetrating Londons outer defenses. On the ground, there were only 22 anti-aircraft guns positioned around the city, six light and 16 heavy, and on the first night only seven of these were manned and operational. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. The nights of November 3 and 28 were the only occasions during this period in which Londons peace was unbroken by siren or bomb. Similar initiatives bearing the same name were ordered in the past decade by former mayors Libby . He stated that "he would once more tell his government how he felt about the matter and he would ask them to confine the operations to military objectives as far as it was humanly possible. Incendiary bombs predominated in this raid. The seeming normality of life on the Home Front was shattered in 1944 when the first of the V1's landed. But Mr Freeburn's research casts doubt on this. Video, 00:01:37Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. [19], 220,000 people fled from the city. Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The district of Belfast has an area of 44 square miles (115 square km). As many as 5,000 people had packed into this network of underground tunnels, which was dangerously overcrowded, dirty, and dark. The refugees looked dazed and horror stricken and many had neglected to bring more than a few belongings Any and every means of exit from the city was availed of and the final destination appeared to be a matter of indifference. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. The M.V. John Wood Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre in Belfast in 1887. The city has been a leader in women's rights. Protection of the city fell to seven anti-aircraft batteries of 16 heavy guns and six light guns. 29 - Belfast was once bigger than Dublin The national government also provided funds to local municipalities to construct public air-raid shelters. Belfast Blitz: Facts In total there were four attacks on the County Antrim city. Many bodies and body parts could not be identified. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn." About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000. Liverpool, for example, protected by 100 guns. By then most of the major fires were under control and the firemen from Clydeside and other British cities were arriving. Omissions? Three vessels nearing completion at Harland and Wolff's were hit as was its power station. At the start of World War Two, Belfast had considered itself safe from an aerial attack, as the city's leaders believed that Belfast was simply too far away for Luftwaffe bombers to reach - assuming that they would have to fly from Nazi Germany. Just eight days earlier, eight planes destroyed the aircraft fuselage factory and damaged the docks, with 15 people ultimately killed as a result of that raid. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In his interview, Becker stated that only military objectives were aimed for. The Belfast blitz. Fighter Commands efforts were greatly aided by the lack of any consistent plan of action on the part of the Germans. Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go. On 4-5 May, another raid, made up of 204 bombers, killed another 203 people and the following night 22 more died. 55,000 British civilian casualties were sustained through German bombing before the end of 1940 This included 23,000 deaths. The firm had produced Handley Page Hereford bombers since 1936. Belfast was ill-prepared for the blitz. (Some authors count this as the second raid of four). Over the course of three days, some 1.5 million civiliansthe overwhelming majority of them childrenwere transported from urban centres to rural areas that were believed to be safe. By 6am, within two hours of the request for assistance, 71 firemen with 13 fire tenders from Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin, and Dn Laoghaire were on their way to cross the Irish border to assist their Belfast colleagues. Some had received food, others were famished. On September 10, 1940, the school was flattened by a German bomb, and people huddled in the basement were killed or trapped in the rubble. However Belfast was not mentioned again by the Nazis. That evening over 150 bombers left their bases in northern France and the Netherlands and headed for Belfast. You can see the difference in those letters - post-Blitz is very much a grieving tone. By the time the raid was over, at least 744 people had lost their lives, including some living in places such as Newtownards, Bangor and Londonderry. His reply was: "We here today are in a state of war and we are prepared with the rest of the United Kingdom and Empire to face all the responsibilities that imposes on the Ulster people.
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