AIR RAID !

1. AIR RAID!

2. What is an air raid? Where did they happen? What did the government do? How did people protect themselves?

3. What is an air raid? Air raids occurred throughout the war. An air raid was a bombing strike from the air. The British air force (the RAF) andGerman air force (called the Luftwaffe) were involved, and both countries suffered heavy casualties during the air raids. The sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941 is known as the Blitz.‘Blitz’ is a shortened term for the German word ‘Blitzkrieg’ or ‘Lightning War’ Each night, signal planes dropped incendiary bombs (or fire bombs) designed as signals for the bomber planes. After the incendiary bombs, came the high explosives. BACK

4. Where did they happen? Some residential areas were struck, but mostly bombers targeted places that were important to the war effort, like military sites, factories, airports and ship yards. The first German air attack took place in London on the evening of 7 September 1940. Within months, Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry, Glasgow and other cities were hit too. When the Blitz started, London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights. By the end of May 1941, over 43,000 civilians, half of them in London, had been killed by bombing and more than a million houses destroyed or damaged in London alone. BACK

5. What did the government do? BACK

6. Britain was blacked out on 1st September 1939. The BLACKOUT! Everyone had to cover their windows . and doors at night (before sunset) with heavy . blackout curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent any . . glimmer of light from escaping and aiding enemy aircraft during the bombing raids. • Street lights were turned off or dimmed. • Traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted • covers to deflect the beam down to the ground. Thousands of people were injured or died in road accidentsbecause of the lack oflighting.White stripes were painted on the roadsand on lamp-posts. Men were even advised to leave their shirt-tails hanging out tobe seenby cars! BACK

7. How did people protect themselves? When the Luftwaffe approached, local Air Raid Wardens arranged for the sounding of sirens. People were now expected to immediately take cover before the raid actually started. Another siren was played to announce that it was safe to leave the air raid shelters. BACK

8. Gas Masks Everyone in Britain was given a gas mask in a cardboard box, to protect them from gas bombs, which could be dropped during air raids. 38 million gas masks were given out by September 1939. They were never to be needed. To warn people of a gas attack, the air raidwardens would sound the gas rattle. To sound all-clear theywould ring a bell. There were several different kinds of gas mask. Children were given masks which resembled Mickey Mouse to comfort them. There were even gas masks for babies.

10. Seeking Shelter As soon as war was declared, every family . with a garden received an air raid shelter . (Called an Anderson Shelter). They were . damp, uncomfortable, and were often . overcrowded. Families could also choose an indoor shelter, called a Morrison Shelter. Many schools also had bomb shelters - but schoolwork didn’t have to stop! Why do you think people might prefer a Morrison Shelter? Which shelter do you think seems safer? In the winter of 1940, many Londoners slept in the underground rail stations. Why do you think they did this?

12. What do you think?

13. What happened in Germany? In Germany the bombing was equally as damaging.Incendiary bombs caused great destruction, causing firestorms. Hamburg was one such place that suffered a firestorm in 1943 as did Dresden in February 1945.  61 German cities were attacked during the war:3.6 million homes were destroyed7.5 million people became homeless