| Birmingham Blitz | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theStrategic bombing campaign ofWorld War II | |||||||
 High Street, looking towards theBull Ring area after heavy bombing, on 10 April 1941. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Combatants | |||||||
 Germany |  United Kingdom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Adolf HitlerHermann Göring | Winston Churchill | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 LuftwaffeKampfgeschwader 55Kampfgeschwader 51 |  Royal Air ForceCivil Defence ServiceHome Guard | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown |
| ||||||
  Location of the city of Birmingham | |||||||
TheBirmingham Blitz was theheavy bombing by theNazi GermanLuftwaffe of the city ofBirmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greaterBlitz, which was part of theBattle of Britain; and ending on 23 April 1943. Situated in theMidlands, Birmingham,the most populous British city outsideLondon, was considered an important industrial and manufacturing location. Around 1,852 tons of bombs were dropped on Birmingham, making it the third most heavily bombed city in the United Kingdom in theSecond World War, behindLondon andLiverpool.[1]
There was also significant bombing of towns in the neighbouringBlack Country, particularly inDudley,Tipton,Smethwick andWest Bromwich, where there were hundreds of casualties.
As with most provincial cities bombed during the Blitz, reports of the bombing were kept low key. Wartime censorship meant that Birmingham was not mentioned by name in contemporary news reports about the bombing, being referred to instead as a "Midland Town". This was done to keep the Germans from knowing the outcome of their raids.[2]
Overall, there were 365 air raid alerts, and 77 actual air raids on Birmingham, eight of which were classified as major (in which at least 100 tons of bombs were dropped).[1][3] Official figures state that 5,129 high explosive bombs and 48parachute mines landed on the city, along with many thousands ofincendiary bombs. 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.[4] In total, 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.[5]
The first air raid on the city took place on 9 August 1940, carried out by a single aircraft which dropped its bombs onErdington. One person was killed, and six injured.[4] On 13 August theaircraft factory inCastle Bromwich which producedSpitfires was attacked. Eleven bombs hit the main target causing significant damage. 7 people were killed, and 41 injured.[6][7] The first raid on the city centre occurred on 25/26 August, 25 people were killed in the raid, and the roof and interior of the oldMarket Hall in theBull Ring was destroyed after being set ablaze by incendiary bombs.[7][8]Birmingham Small Arms plant atSmall Heath, the sole producer ofservice rifle barrels andmain aircraft machine guns, was first bombed on the same day, resulting in one high explosive bomb and a shower of incendiaries hitting the main barrel mill.
Regular small raids followed over August, September, October and early November. The city centre was badly hit between 25 and 30 October. Among the buildings hit wereBirmingham University, theArt Gallery and theTown Hall. The roof of theCouncil House was damaged by fire, and on the 29th,St Philip's Cathedral suffered serious fire damage after being hit by an incendiary.[9][8]
In November 1940, a series of heavy air raids on Birmingham took place. Between the 19th and 28th of that month around 800 people were killed and 2,345 injured, with 20,000 civilians made homeless.[10]
On the first evening of the bombing, just five days after the devastating attackon nearby Coventry, the first major air raid was launched against Birmingham, when around 440 bombers attacked the city, killing 450 people and badly injuring 540. Around 400 tonnes of high explosives were dropped during the raid, including 18parachute mines.[9][7] The raid turned out to be the most severe attack on Birmingham in the course of the war. A number of factories were badly damaged in the raid, including theLucas Industries andGEC works. TheBirmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) factory was badly damaged, causing loss of production and trapping hundreds of workers. 53 employees were killed, 89 were injured, 30 of them seriously, and rifle production was halted for three months. The resulting delays in productions reportedly caused most worries to Prime MinisterWinston Churchill among all the industrial damage during the Blitz,[11] so theMinistry of Supply and BSA immediately began a process of production dispersal throughout Britain, through theshadow factory scheme. A member of theHome Guard and one of the company's electricians were later awarded theGeorge Medal for their bravery in helping the trapped workers.[12]
The following night 200 bombers returned for another heavy raid, dropping 118 tonnes of explosives and 9,500 incendiaries, causing widespread damage. The main bus depot inHockley was among the buildings hit, destroying or damaging 100 vehicles.[9][8]
A third consecutive major raid followed on 21/22 November. During this eleven-hour raid, large numbers of incendiaries were dropped, starting over 600 fires. The water supply system was badly damaged by bombs, causing three-fifths of the city to lose mains water supply; firefighters, therefore, had to draw water from the city's canals. Supporting fire brigades from across the country were drafted in to help, and the fires were eventually brought under control.[10] Nevertheless, Birmingham's water supply remained in a critical state, only one-fifth of the normal quantity would have been available if there had been another raid, leading the Regional Commissioner to comment "Birmingham will burn down if theLuftwaffe comes again tonight." However, there was no other raid that night, and this gave engineers time to repair the water mains.[13]
Around 60 bombers attacked Birmingham on 4 December. The Wittontram depot was badly damaged in this raid. One week later, on the night of 11 December another major raid involving 278 bombers was launched against the city. This was the longest raid of the Blitz lasting for 13 hours. Apart from explosives, around 25,000 incendiaries were dropped during the raid, causing widespread fires in both residential and industrial areas.[9] 263 people were killed and 243 badly injured.[2] All but the fine tower and classical west portico ofSt Thomas' Church on Bath Row was destroyed in the raid. Its ruins now form part ofSt. Thomas' Peace Garden, a public park designated as a monument to peace and a memorial to all those killed in armed conflict.
Further heavy raids followed in 1941, on 11 March 135 bombers attacked the city. On 9 and 10 April, Birmingham was subjected to two heavy raids. In the first of these, 235 bombers dropped 280 tonnes of explosives and 40,000 incendiaries, concentrated on the city-centre. TheBull Ring,New Street, High Street, and Dale End all suffered heavy damage,St Martin in the Bull Ring was damaged and the Prince of Wales Theatre and Midland Arcade were destroyed.[8] Other areas includingSmall Heath,Aston andNechells, also suffered heavy damage. On the second night, 245 bombers dropped 245 tonnes of explosives and 43,000 incendiaries, causing major damage inSolihull,Hall Green andErdington.[14] The two April raids caused 1,121 casualties.[8]
On the night of 16 May, another large raid caused damage to theWolseley Motors factory and theICI factory, although a navigation error meant that most of the bombers dropped their bombs on nearbyNuneaton by mistake.[14]
The last significant raid on Birmingham came on 27 July 1942, when around 60 to 70 bombers attacked the city. The very last raid on the city came on 23 April 1943 when just two bombs fell onBordesley Green, causing slight injury, and the last air raid siren sounded on 15 May 1944.[8]
TheBlack Country area also suffered from air raids from theLuftwaffe aiming for targets there and in Birmingham, although there was less damage and fewer casualties in the Black Country than in Birmingham. These included:
| Name | Location | Production |
| Aerodrome Factory | Castle Bromwich | 1,200+ Spitfires & Lancasters |
| Austin "Shadow Factory" | Longbridge | 2,866Fairey 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 Spars, 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,Chance Brothers,Lucas,Metro-Cammell,Morris Commercial, British Timken,Hudson's Whistles and theMonitor Radio Company.
Several service people were decorated for their heroism during the blitz. They include:
On October 8, 2005, a memorial sculpture, named 'The Tree of Life' sculpted byLorenzo Quinn, dedicated to the victims of the Blitz was unveiled adjacent toSt Martin's Church.[21]
The massive bomb damage on civilian housing in Birmingham contributed to the development of many large council estates across the city for some 20 years after the Second World War. These neighbourhoods includedCastle Vale andChelmsley Wood. Another major factor in the construction of these new properties was to replace the 19th century slums in the inner city areas.
Some of the bomb-damaged inner city areas such asLadywood andHighgate were redeveloped with modern housing after the war, although these were mostly less densely populated than before.
