Birmingham Blitz
Encyclopedia
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
of the city of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, beginning on 9 August 1940 and ending on 23 April 1943. Overall, around 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Birmingham making it the third most heavily bombed city in the United Kingdom in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, behind only London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Liverpool
Liverpool Blitz
The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the British city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, at the time mostly within the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire but commonly known as Merseyside, during the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe.Liverpool, Bootle, and the...
.
Damage
Situated in the MidlandsEnglish Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, Birmingham is an important industrial and manufacturing location and is also heavily populated, being the UK's second largest city. 2,241 people were killed, and 3,010 seriously injured. A further 3,682 sustained lesser injuries. 12,391 houses, 302 factories and 239 other buildings were destroyed, with many more damaged. Official figures state that 5,129 high explosive bombs and 48 parachute mines landed on the city, although there are no figures for the number of incendiary bombs that were dropped. Of the high explosive bombs, around one fifth failed to detonate and one third of the parachute mines were left suspended after the parachute cords became caught in various obstacles such as trees.
At the out break of war Birmingham, along with industrial centres, were considered to at risk from paratroop assault; consequently citizens were asked to be on guard for parachutes. However, because people of that era were not used to seeing many planes and had certainly never seen a parachute, mistakes were made. In particular, in Small Heath, the German bombers were after the B.S.A. site and dropped incendiaries; these incendiaries were attached to parachutes and came down by the score. This obviously caused mass panic, not for the bombs but because everyone thought they were paratroopers! (memories of Mrs. Mary Randles and Mrs. Minnie Lacy)
The first fatality of the bombing in Birmingham was a soldier in Erdington
Erdington
Erdington is a suburb northeast of Birmingham city centre, England and bordering Sutton Coldfield. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...
, home on leave from his unit. That night, eight bombs were dropped by a single German plane. It is believed the intended target was Fort Dunlop
Fort Dunlop
Fort Dunlop , is the common name of the original tyre factory and main office of Dunlop Rubber in the Erdington district of Birmingham, England. It was established in 1917, and by 1954 the entire factory area employed 10,000 workers...
or Bromford Tubular Rolling Mills.
On 25th August 1940, the roof and interior of the old Market Hall in the Bull Ring was destroyed by an incendiary attack. Completed in 1835, it remained as an empty shell after the war and was used for small exhibitions and open markets. It was eventually bulldozed in the 1960s with the Bull Ring redevelopment.
On the night of 23rd of November a bomb hit a viaduct which brought water from the Elan Valley Reservoirs
Elan Valley Reservoirs
The Elan Valley Reservoirs are a chain of man-made lakes and reservoirs in the Elan Valley in Powys, Mid Wales , using the rivers Elan and Claerwen...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Birmingham's water supply was cut off, so lakes and canals were drained nearly dry to fill the tenders of the fire engines. The Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
were on high alert to start blowing up Birmingham to create massive firebreaks if a firestorm started as that would have been the only way to have stopped the city burning out of control. Men worked night and day to repair the viaduct in just 5 days.
The night of 11th December 1940 was the longest raid of the Blitz. 200 German Bombers pounded Birmingham for 13 hours. During this raid all but the fine tower and classical west portico of St Thomas' Church on Bath Row was destroyed. The ruins of which now form part of St. Thomas' Peace Garden
St. Thomas' Peace Garden
St Thomas' Peace Garden is a small public park in Birmingham, England designated as a monument to peace and a memorial to all those killed in armed conflict. It was designed around the tower and west porticos of St. Thomas's Church, Bath Row, which was half demolished in the Birmingham Blitz in...
, a public park designated as a monument to peace and a memorial to all those killed in armed conflict.
The aerodrome factory, in Castle Bromwich, which produced 59% of all Spitfires which flew in the war, was also damaged by bombing and it was thought production would have to stop for repairs to made, both to the building and also equipment. However, word had spread and off duty worker started to drift in and started repairing machinery and making temporary repairs to the fabric of the building making it safe and water-proof. This allowed those actually at work to carry on, all be it at reduced speed. At the end of their shift they then took over the repair work of the factory; Those they replaced then "clocked" on for their shift. Some went for two days without sleep, purely for the war effort.
The nights of 9th and 10th April 1941 saw over 650 bombs and 1000s of incendiaries fall on the city centre destroying the Prince of Wales Theatre, and much of New Street and High Street.
Important industrial targets
| Name | Location | Production | |
| Aerodrome Factory | Castle Bromwich | 1,200+ Spitfires & Lancasters | |
| Austin "Shadow Factory" | Longbridge | 2,866 Fairey Battles, Hurricanes, Stirlings & Lancasters | |
| Austin Works | Longbridge | 500 Military Vehicles/week | |
| Rover | Solihull | Bristol Hercules Engines | |
| Fisher and Ludlow | Birmingham | Lancaster Wings, Shell Casings, Bombs | |
| Reynold | Birmingham | Spitfire Wing Space, Light Alloy Tubing | |
| GEC | Birmingham | Plastic Components | |
| SU Carburettors | Birmingham | Aero-carburettors | |
| Birmingham Small Arms Factory | Birmingham | Rifles | sten guns (100% of all made) |
Other targets included:
Dunlop, Lucas, Metro-Cammell, Morris Commercial
Morris Commercial Cars
Morris Commercial Cars Limited was a British manufacturer of commercial vehicles founded by William Morris, who was also the founder of the Morris Motor Company.-History:...
, British Timken, Hudson's Whistles and the Monitor Radio Company.
Aftermath
The massive bomb damage on civilian housing in Birmingham led to the development of many large housing estates across the city for some 20 years after the Second World War. These neighbourhoods included Castle ValeCastle Vale
Castle Vale is a housing estate located near Erdington currently Castle Vale votes with Tyburn Ward which is part of Erdington constituency, northeast of Birmingham city centre in England...
and Chelmsley Wood
Chelmsley Wood
Chelmsley Wood is a neighbourhood, civil parish and large housing estate in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, England, with a population of 13,010. It is located near Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. It lies adjacent to Birmingham...
. Some of the bomb-damaged inner city areas such as Ladywood
Ladywood
Ladywood is an inner-city area in Birmingham, England. It is a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Ladywood ward and the wards of Aston, Nechells and Soho. In June 2004, Birmingham City Council conducted a city-wide "Ward Boundary...
and Highgate
Highgate, Birmingham
Highgate is an area of Birmingham, England. Following the Big City Plan of February 2008, Highgate is now a district of Birmingham City Centre. This area is regarded as the site of the original Anglo-Saxon settlement which gave the city of Birmingham its name....
were redeveloped with modern housing after the war.