Victory for the Royal Air Forces (RAFs) Fighter Command blocked this possibility and, in fact, created the conditions for Britains survival and the eventual destruction of the Third Reich. Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. Brian Barton of Queen's University, Belfast, has written most on this topic.[19]. On the 17th I heard that hundreds who either could not get away or could not leave for other reasons simply went out into the fields and remained in the open all night with whatever they could take in the way of covering. The higher the German planes had to fly to avoid the balloons, the less accurate they were when dropping their bombs. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn." Belfast has the world's largest dry dock. An earlier flight on Oct. 18 allowed the crew to plot several targets in the city. This view was probably influenced by the decision of the IRA Army Council to support Germany. 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. The district of Belfast has an area of 44 square miles (115 square km). [21] Mass graves for the unclaimed bodies were dug in the Milltown and Belfast City Cemeteries. Islington parish church, the rebuilt Our Lady of Victories (Kensington), the French church by Leicester square, St. Annes, Soho (famous for its music), All Souls, Langham place, and Christ Church in Westminster Bridge road (whose towerfortunately savedcommemorates President Lincolns abolition of slavery), were among a large number of others. It was the worst wartime raid outside of London in the UK. Other Belfast factories manufactured gun mountings. 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. [citation needed]. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. The city covers a total area of 132.5 square kilometers (51 square miles). 2023 BBC. The area included the Harland and Wolff Ltd. Shipyard, the Short and Harland Ltd. Aircraft Factory, and the airfield at RAF Sydenham. For 57 nightsuntil November 2more than 1 million bombs were dropped on the capital city. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. Only four were known still to be alive. In total over 1,300 houses were demolished, some 5,000 badly damaged, nearly 30,000 slightly damaged while 20,000 required "first aid repairs".[3]. Maps and documents uncovered at Gatow Airfield near Berlin in 1945 showed the level of detail involved. Gring had insisted that such an attack was an impossibility, because of the citys formidable air defense network. The A.R.P. This option had been forbidden by city officials, who feared that once people began sleeping in Underground stations, they would be reluctant to return to the surface and resume daily life. There was no opposition. The Germans expanded the Blitz to other cities in November 1940. [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. More than 1,000 people were killed, and the damage was more widespread than on any previous occasion. London seemed ablaze from the docks to Westminster, much damage was done, and casualties were high. The Luftwaffe had lost more than 600 aircraft, and, although the RAF had lost fewer than half that many, the battle was claiming British fighters and experienced pilots at too great a rate. [17] A stray bomber attacked Derry, killing 15. Video, 00:00:26The German bombing of Coventry, Living through the London Blitz. "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. 19.99. Taoiseach amon de Valera formally protested to Berlin. Poor visibility on the night meant that the accuracy of the bombers was hampered and the explosives were dropped on densely populated areas of Belfast. On April 16 an attack even fiercer and more indiscriminate than those of the previous autumn started at 9:00 pm and continued until 5:00 the following morning; 500 aircraft were believed to have flown over in continuous waves, raining an estimated 450 tons of bombs across the city. 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). Because basements, a logical destination in the event of an air raid, were a relative rarity in Britain, the A.R.P. 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. I felt outraged, I should have felt sympathy, grief, but instead feelings of revulsion and disgust assailed me. The Blitz began at about 4:00 in the afternoon on September 7, 1940, when German planes appeared over London. sprang into action, and Londoners, while maintaining the work, business, and efficiency of their city, displayed remarkable fortitude. Several theatres and many cinemas were open, and there were even a few sporting events. Video, 00:00:51, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. They prevented low-flying aircraft from approaching their targets at optimal altitudes and angles of attack. 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. While Anderson shelters offered good protection from bomb fragments and debris, they were cold and damp and generally ill-suited for prolonged occupancy. The past doesnt change, its just over.. From a purely military perspective, the Blitz was entirely counterproductive to the main purpose of Germanys air offensiveto dominate the skies in advance of an invasion of England. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. The Premier Online Military History Magazine, Re-printed with permission fromWartimeNI.com. The initial human cost of the Blitz was lower than the government had expected, but the level of destruction exceeded the governments dire predictions. And even then, Westminster stated it was not ample provision; Stormont still worried about the costs to industry. Video, 00:01:38At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. Video, 00:02:12, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "[22], In his opinion, the greatest want was the lack of hospital facilities. Some 27 percent of Londoners utilized private shelters, such as Anderson shelters, while the remaining 64 percent spent their evenings on duty with some branch of the civil defense or remained in their own homes. The bombs caused death and destruction across the city, affecting those of all religions and political backgrounds. The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. 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. As many as 5,000 people had packed into this network of underground tunnels, which was dangerously overcrowded, dirty, and dark. 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. 1. For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters targeted the city, dropping high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices. 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. The government announced that 77 people had died, but for years local residents insisted the toll was much higher. He was succeeded by J. M. Andrews, then 69 years old, who was no more capable of dealing with the situation than his predecessor. For more than six months, German planes had flown reconnaissance flights over Belfast. Fighter Commands efforts were greatly aided by the lack of any consistent plan of action on the part of the Germans. At 10:40 on the evening of Easter Tuesday 1941 air raid sirens sounded across Belfast, sending people across the city scrambling for safety - in one of the 200 public shelters in the city or the thousands of shelters or other "safe" spaces in private homes. 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." What happened in 1941 changed the city forever. 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. In spite of blackouts, ubiquitous shelters and sandbags, the visible effects of mass evacuation, the presence of A.R.P. In addition, there simply was not enough space for everyone who needed shelter in one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world. As the UK was preparing for the conflict, the factories and shipyards of Belfast were gearing up. The 2017 film Zoo depicts an air raid during the Belfast Blitz. This part of Belfast was the only one required to provide air raid shelters for workers. Interesting facts about Belfast. A Raid From Above Nearby residential areas in east Belfast were also hit when "203 metric tonnes of high explosive bombs, 80 land mines attached to parachutes, and 800 firebomb canisters containing 96,000 incendiary bombs"[16] were dropped. The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two. On May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the Blitz as he shifted his forces eastward against the Soviet Union. Death had to a certain extent been made decent. Most of the objectives laid out by the reconnaissance crews were of either military or industrial importance. Belfast was bombed by the Nazis in World War II. Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow.. Over 20 hospitals were hit, among them the London (many times), St. Thomass, St. Bartholomews, and the childrens hospital in Great Ormond st., as well as Chelsea hospital, the home for the aged and invalid soldiers, built by Wren. Subs offer. Air power alone had failed to knock the United Kingdom out of the war. About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000. Guided by Davies, the people of the shelter created an ad hoc government and established a set of rules. 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. Rescue workers search through the rubble of Eglington Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after a German Luftwaffe air raid, 7 May 1941, Anna (left) and her husband Billy (back right) survived while Harriette, Dorothy and Billy were killed along with Dot and Isa, Dot and Isa, with Dorothy when she was a toddler, Royal Welch Fusiliers assist in clearing bomb damage in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 7 May 1941, Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. 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." In just these few hours, 430 people were killed and 1,600 were badly injured. Air-raid damage was widespread; hospitals, clubs, churches, museums, residential and shopping streets, hotels, public houses, theatres, schools, monuments, newspaper offices, embassies, and the London Zoo were bombed. The first was on the night of 7-8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. The attacks were authorized by Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. These shelters were vital as these factories had many employees working late at night and early in the morning when Luftwaffe attacks were likely. Train after train and bus after bus were filled with those next in line. Strand Public Elementary school, York Road railway station, the adjacent Midland Hotel on York Road, and Salisbury Avenue tram depot were all hit. I was definitely one of the first over the target and as I flew in there was no great defence because there were not a great many aircraft over the target at that point, recalled Becker. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), The Belfast Blitz Inside the Deadly 1941 Luftwaffe Raids on Northern Ireland, Dutch Weapons and American Independence How the United Provinces Made a Fortune Supplying Muskets in the Revolutionary War , USS Devilfish The Curious Case of the Only U.S. Navy Submarine to be Attacked by a Kamikaze, The Chinchas War Inside the Little-Known Conflict Between Peru and Spain Over Animal Turds, The Battle for Nassau Inside the First Overseas Mission for Americas Marines, Mustang vs. Corsair Inside the U.S. Navys 1944 Match-Up Between the Two Fighters, Stickin It To Em The Last of the Great Bayonet Charges, Bloody First Contact When Vikings Clashed with Native North Americans, Battlefield Stalingrad Four Maps That Tell the Story of World War Twos Pivotal Struggle. It remains a high death toll - a shocking number of people killed in just a few weeks. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 6. The Titanic was built in Belfast. These balloons, the largest of which were some 60 feet (18 metres) long, were essentially an airspace denial tool. It has been reported that on Easter Tuesday, Belfast suffered the highest loss of life of any city in the UK in a single raid.
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