North Queensferry School – WWII

1941 – The Luftwaffe changes tactics

 
After the air raid on the Forth in October 1939, things were relatively quiet until the heavy air raids of the Battle of Britain from 10 July until 31 October 1940, and the Blitz from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941.

This chart was created from daily reports complied during the war. It reveals that London and the south-east were the worst hit, but the Luftwaffe bombers made it much further across the west and north of the UK than some realise (purple shows the most intense levels of bombing while the red indicates there were numerous attacks in that area).

The Bombing Britain website gives more information.

Click on “Essay” for an article about this topics
Click on “Data” to download an Excel spreadsheet which details every air raid.

On the nights of 13-14 and 14-15 March 1941 Luftwaffe bombers raided Clydeside and inflicted casualties in several industrial centres. Glasgow suffered the highest number of fatalities (about 650), but in proportion to its population of about 50,000 the burgh of Clydebank suffered the worst. According to an official count in 1942 the Clydebank raids killed 528 people and seriously injured 617, compared to totals of 1,200 people, and 1,100 in the whole of Clydeside.

Heavy raids continued during 1942, but by 1943 hit and run raids with relatively few aircraft became more common.