the blitz facts homework help

What other cities were bombed?

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.

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

Two million houses (60 per cent of these in London) were destroyed in the Blitz.

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

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, which had a rocket type of propulsion to launch a war head. They were known as flying bombs.

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. About 2,000 were destroyed by anti-aircraft gunfire; 2,000 by fighter planes, and almost 300 by barrage balloons. The first doodlebug exploded in Swanscombe in Kent.
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.

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 the remainder of their explosives at random 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 causes.

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.

Redsands Fort

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.

When did the blitz end?

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

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, Occupied Europe.

Further information

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.

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The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

20th Century

10 Facts About the Blitz and the Bombing of Germany

Simon Parkin

05 sep 2021.

September 1940 marked a shift in Germany’s aerial war against Britain. What was based on tactical strikes against airfields and radar stations in order to prepare for an invasion changed to wide-scale bombing of London with the aim of forcing surrender .

The extent of destruction wrought by Germany’s bombs no doubt inspired reprisals later in the war , such intense bombing raids carried out by the British and Allied forces on civilian targets in Germany.

Here are 10 facts about both the German Blitzkrieg and the Allied bombing of Germany.

1. 55,000 British civilian casualties were sustained through German bombing before the end of 1940

This included 23,000 deaths.

2. London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights from 7 September 1940

Harrington Square, Mornington Crescent, in the aftermath of a German bombing raid on London in the first days of the Blitz, 9th September 1940. The bus was empty at the time, but eleven people were killed in the houses.

Image Credit: H. F. Davis / Public Domain

3. At this time, as many as 180,000 people per night sheltered within the London underground system

An Air raid shelter in a London Underground station in London during the Blitz.

Image Credit: US Government / Public Domain

4. The rubble from bombed cities was used to lay runways for the RAF across the south and east of England

5. Total civilian deaths during the Blitz were around 40,000

Extensive bomb and blast damage to Hallam Street and Duchess Street during the Blitz, Westminster, London 1940

Image Credit: City of Westminster Archives / Public Domain

The Blitz effectively ended when Operation Sealion was abandoned in May 1941. By the end of the war about 60,000 British civilians had died through German bombing .

6. The first British air raid on a concentrated civilian population was over Mannheim on 16 December 1940

The ruins of the Alte Nationalthrater in Mannheim, 1945.

Image Credit: Public Domain

7. The RAF’s first 1000-bomber air raid was conducted on 30 May 1942 over Cologne

The Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) stands seemingly undamaged (although having been directly hit several times and damaged severely) while entire area surrounding it is completely devastated. April 1945.

Image Credit: U.S. Department of Defense Archives / CC

Although only 380 died, the historic city was devastated.

8. Single Allied bombing operations over Hamburg and Dresden in July 1943 and February 1945 killed 40,000 and 25,000 civilians, respectively

Hundreds of thousands more were made refugees.

9. Berlin lost around 60,000 of its population to Allied bombing by the end of the war

wreckage of the Anhalter Station near the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.

Image Credit: Bundesarchiv / CC

10. Overall, German civilian deaths totalled as many as 600,000

Bodies awaiting cremation after the bombing of Dresden.

Image Credit: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-08778-0001 / Hahn / CC-BY-SA 3.0

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The Great Fire of London was a fire that was so big that it burned nearly all of the buildings in London, with the exception of the Tower of London as that was made from stone, and stone doesn't burn up easily.

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29th July 2018

The blitz (which is German for “lightning war”) was a period where the Germans started dropping bombs on large British cities such as London. It lasted from 7th September 1940 to 11th May 1941 and killed 43,000 people over the 8 months it happened. How did the major cities prepare for this?

Air raid shelters

Throughout the major cities, London in particular, there were multiple air-raid shelters. Before there was a bomb attack, an air-raid siren would sound and everyone would stop what they were doing and head to the nearest air-raid shelter, whether that be in their back garden or in the street.

You can hear the air-raid siren sound below:

What were they made from?

Air-raid shelters were made from rugged metal and other materials given to them at the beginning of the war by the Government. They may have had some protection at the top, such as sand bags, which helped protect it if a bomb exploded nearby.

Regardless of whether you were in a city or not, you had to have a gas mask. This was so everyone would be safe in the event of a mustard gas attack.

What is mustard gas?

Mustard gas was a deadly gas used during World War I (but not during World War II.) This gas can cause large blisters on any uncovered skin and in the lungs (if breathed in.) It’s now classified as a chemical weapon.

There was no mustard gas attack in the UK during WW2 because the Nazis knew that Britain would fight back even more should they have used it.

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Britain in WW2 - The Blitz - Facts & Worksheets

Subject: History

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

14 April 2024

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Learn about the characteristic features of the Blitz in Britain during the Second World War, where bombing raids took place, how the bombing could be stopped and the different ways civilians protected themselves. The set includes facts sheets/posters, real pictures (use as flashcards or posters), worksheets and planning.

Facts sheets/posters and real pictures: • What was the Blitz? • London Landmarks • What could be done to stop the bombers? • How did people protect themselves? • The Blackout • Gas Masks

Worksheets: • What was the blitz? - Use word bank to write brief description • What could be done to stop the bombers? - Describe 4 methods used • How did people protect themselves? - Describe 4 methods used • Ways families could protect themselves (table) - advantages and disadvantages • The effects of air raids (blank) - Write an account from what you have read. What happened when the bomb landed? How were people who lived there affected?

I have also created additional sets (sold separately) BRITAIN IN WW2 – Work Volunteers https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/britain-in-ww2-work-volunteers-11995179

BRITAIN IN WW2 – Children Evacuees https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/britain-in-ww2-children-evacuees-11995160

BRITAIN IN WW2 – Food Rationing https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/britain-in-ww2-food-rationing-11995169

For updates go to my Facebook page – Marie’s Teaching Resources Thanks for looking :)

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BRITAIN IN WW2 - Facts & Worksheets BUNDLE

BRITAIN IN WW2 – FACTS & WORHSHEETS BUNDLE 4 sets – all sets include facts sheets/posters, real pictures (use as flashcards or posters), worksheets and planning. BRITAIN IN WW2 – The Blitz Learn about the characteristic features of the Blitz in Britain during the Second World War, where bombing raids took place, how the bombing could be stopped and the different ways civilians protected themselves. BRITAIN IN WW2 – Work Volunteers Learn about men and women who volunteered for different duties to help the country in Britain during the Second World War and how the war affected people’s lives. BRITAIN IN WW2 – Food Rationing Learn about why food rationing was necessary in England during WW2, how food rationing worked, when different types of food were gradually rationed, and why people were asked to grow their own food. BRITAIN IN WW2 – Children Evacuees Learn why children were evacuated in England during WW2, what it was like to be an evacuee away from home, how the local area was affected by the war and what it was like to be a child living in this area. For updates go to my Facebook page – Marie’s Teaching Resources Thanks for looking :)

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