The Blitz

  • How did people protect themselves from the bombs

    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.
  • 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.
  • 1940-1941

    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.
  • thousands of deaths

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