List of strategic bombing over the United Kingdom in World War II

A list of strategic bombing over the United Kingdom in World War II includes the towns and cities that received significant aerial destruction from 1940 to 1942 in the United Kingdom. After mid-1944 the Luftwaffe would struggle to defend their own skies.

History

The main German bombing across the UK occurred until June 1941.^[1] Around 40,000 people were killed. The German raids began as daylight raids, but would later be mostly at night from September 1940 onwards.

The Luftwaffe dropped around 36,800 tonnes in 1940 and around 21,800 tonnes in 1941. It would drop around 3,000 tonnes per year from then on.

Strategic bombing

Bombing of Birmingham; Birmingham had many armaments factories, with aircraft and automotive factories
Bombing of Cardiff; Cardiff was a relatively straightforward city to find, being on the sea
Bombing of Liverpool; Liverpool was the main port to receive cargo from the US
Bombing of London - The Blitz; it began over London on 7 September 1940, and inadvertently gave the RAF Fighter Command airfields of South East England the time and unexpected opportunity to repair their much-damaged facilities; the Blitz ended on 11 May 1941
Bombing of Manchester; the Manchester area contained many factories, such as Avro
Bombing of Plymouth; Plymouth was the home of much of the Royal Navy
Bombing of Southampton; Southampton was an important port and contained the Supermarine works, situated next to the sea
Bombing of Kingston Upon Hull; Kingston upon Hull was the most severely damaged British city or town during the Second World War, with 95 percent of houses damaged.^[2]