DOCSLIB.ORG

What Were the Effects of the Belfast Blitz?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
What Were the Effects of the Belfast Blitz? In 1941 Belfast was targeted by over 150 Luftwaffe bombers. Why? Northern Ireland’s industrial contribution Northern Ireland’s strategic importance • N. Ireland played a key role in the war effort by • N. Ireland’s geographical position allowed it to play a key manufacturing weapons and munitions. role in the Battle of the Atlantic. • Harland and Wolff produced 150 ships and converted • The naval bases in N. Ireland (Belfast, Larne and 3,000 vessels into warships. It also produced 500 tanks. Londonderry) were crucial in helping to win that battle by • Engineering works like Mackies produced armaments and protecting the Western Approaches and combating the munitions. For example, over 75 million shells were threat of the German U-boats by providing anti- produced for the war, and materials for D-Day were also submarine escorts. produced in Belfast. • Without the ports and airfields of N. Ireland, it would • Shorts made 1,500 bombers, while the linen and textile have been much more difficult to protect the Atlantic sea- industries were expanded to produce parachutes, routes between Britain and America, and convoys could uniforms and tents. have been easy prey for U-Boats. The naval and air bases kept the sea lanes open during the Battle of the Atlantic. Weaknesses of Belfast’s Defences Reasons why Belfast was so weakly defended • Belfast’s sole squadron of Hurricanes could not fly at night • Craigavon and the Unionist government were more • The city’s balloon barrage was very light. concerned with dealing with the IRA and internal security • There were only 6 light and 16 heavy anti aircraft guns. • Stormont was faced with serious domestic problems in the 1930s e.g. unemployment and social deprivation • There were no searchlights until after the first German raid; Belfast had searchlights but these had been • Complacency: there was an almost unshakeable belief that transferred to the mainland in 1939 The because of its location Northern Ireland would not be a • The city’s passive defences (firemen, ARP, medical) were target. Even the Committee of Imperial Defence said in under equipped, understaffed and unready Belfast 1939 that ‘there was little likelihood of an attack’. • When war broke out there were only 4 air raid shelters; Blitz • There was a great deal of confusion over responsibility. It they were made from sandbags and were found in the was never made clear where the responsibilities of London grounds of the City Hall. ended and those of Belfast began. There was similar confusion about the roles of the Northern Ireland • After the raids on Coventry in November 1940 the number of air raid shelters was increased but they could still only government and that of the local councils. provide protection for 25% of the city’s population. • The Northern Ireland government was unwilling to commit itself to large scale defence spending, preferring to keep a tight grip on the purse strings. Effects of the Belfast Blitz • The air raids claimed the lives of 955 people, with almost 2,500 being injured. • Over 56,000 houses were destroyed or damaged (53% of the total) • The production at the Harland and Wolff shipyards did not recover for six months. • There was a less hostile attitude to Eire as its government had sent fire engines to N. Ireland to help during the Blitz. • At least 100,000 people left Belfast to get away from the bombing, and to try to find homes in the country. • There was deep criticism of John Andrew’s government in N. Ireland. In 1943 he was replaced as the Unionist leader by Sir Basil Brooke..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • World War II
    World War II. – “The Blitz“ This information report describes the events of “The Blitz” during the Second World War in London. The attacks between 7th September 1940 and 10 th May 1941 are known as “The Blitz”. The report is based upon information from http://www.secondworldwar.co.uk/ , http://www.worldwar2database.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz . Prelude to the War in London The Second World War started on 1 st September 1939 with the German attack on Poland. The War in London began nearly one year later. On 24 th August 1940 the German Air Force flew an attack against Thames Haven, whereby some German bombers dropped bombs on London. At this time London was not officially a target of the German Air Force. As a return, the Royal Air Force attacked Berlin. On 5th September 1940 Hitler ordered his troops to attack London by day and by night. It was the beginning of the Second World War in London. Attack on Thames Haven in 1940 The Attacks First phase The first phase of the Second World War in London was from early September 1940 to mid November 1940. In this first phase of the Second World War Hitler achieved great military success. Hitler planned to destroy the Royal Air Force to achieve his goal of British invasion. His instruction of a sustainable bombing of London and other major cities like Birmingham and Manchester began towards the end of the Battle of Britain, which the British won. Hitler ordered the German Air Force to switch their attention from the Royal Air Force to urban centres of industrial and political significance.
    [Show full text]
  • The Blitz and Its Legacy
    THE BLITZ AND ITS LEGACY 3 – 4 SEPTEMBER 2010 PORTLAND HALL, LITTLE TITCHFIELD STREET, LONDON W1W 7UW ABSTRACTS Conference organised by Dr Mark Clapson, University of Westminster Professor Peter Larkham, Birmingham City University (Re)planning the Metropolis: Process and Product in the Post-War London David Adams and Peter J Larkham Birmingham City University [email protected] [email protected] London, by far the UK’s largest city, was both its worst-damaged city during the Second World War and also was clearly suffering from significant pre-war social, economic and physical problems. As in many places, the wartime damage was seized upon as the opportunity to replan, sometimes radically, at all scales from the City core to the county and region. The hierarchy of plans thus produced, especially those by Abercrombie, is often celebrated as ‘models’, cited as being highly influential in shaping post-war planning thought and practice, and innovative. But much critical attention has also focused on the proposed physical product, especially the seductively-illustrated but flawed beaux-arts street layouts of the Royal Academy plans. Reconstruction-era replanning has been the focus of much attention over the past two decades, and it is appropriate now to re-consider the London experience in the light of our more detailed knowledge of processes and plans elsewhere in the UK. This paper therefore evaluates the London plan hierarchy in terms of process, using new biographical work on some of the authors together with archival research; product, examining exactly what was proposed, and the extent to which the different plans and different levels in the spatial planning hierarchy were integrated; and impact, particularly in terms of how concepts developed (or perhaps more accurately promoted) in the London plans influenced subsequent plans and planning in the UK.
    [Show full text]
  • Creating, Transmitting and Maintaining Handed-Down Memories of the Emergency in Ireland
    Études irlandaises 46-1 | 2021 Passer au crible les traces du passé : modèles, cadres et métaphores The War That Never Came: Creating, Transmitting and Maintaining Handed-Down Memories of the Emergency in Ireland. Acknowledging Family Recollections of WWII Patrick Gormally Electronic version URL: https://journals.openedition.org/etudesirlandaises/10759 DOI: 10.4000/etudesirlandaises.10759 ISSN: 2259-8863 Publisher Presses universitaires de Caen Printed version Date of publication: 8 July 2021 Number of pages: 143-167 ISBN: 978-2-38185-030-6 ISSN: 0183-973X Electronic reference Patrick Gormally, “The War That Never Came: Creating, Transmitting and Maintaining Handed-Down Memories of the Emergency in Ireland. Acknowledging Family Recollections of WWII”, Études irlandaises [Online], 46-1 | 2021, Online since 08 July 2021, connection on 10 July 2021. URL: http:// journals.openedition.org/etudesirlandaises/10759 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/etudesirlandaises. 10759 Études irlandaises est mise à disposition selon les termes de la Licence Creative Commons Attribution - Pas d’Utilisation Commerciale - Partage dans les Mêmes Conditions 4.0 International. The War That Never Came: Creating, Transmitting and Maintaining Handed- Down Memories of the Emergency in Ireland. Acknowledging Family Recollections of WWII 1 Abstract: Within the context of WWII, this essay explores the notion of national and personal conflict within individuals and communities in Ireland, part of which had undergone the severing of imperial connections and the attainment of national independence less than a full generation before. In Ireland, the conflict of war on a wider stage impinged upon an inner conflict closer to the heart. To go or not to go… to war.
    [Show full text]
  • The Belfast Blitz
    The Belfast Blitz Blitz is short for ‘Blitzkrieg’ which is the German word for a lightning war. It was named after the bombs, light flashes and the noise of the German bomber planes in the Second World War. Belfast was one of the most bombed cities in the UK. The worst attacks were on 15th April 1941 and 4th May 1941. Unprepared James Craig (Lord Craigavon) was prime minister of Northern Ireland and was responsible for preparing Belfast for any attacks by the German ‘Luftwaffe’. He and his team did very little to prepare the city for the bombings. In fact, they even forgot to tell the army that an attack might happen! Belfast was completely unprepared for the Blitz. Belfast had a large number of people living in the city but it had very few air raid shelters. There were only 200 public shelters in the whole of Belfast for everyone to share. Searchlights were designed to scan the sky for bombing aircrafts. However, they were not even set up before the attacks began. The Germans were much better prepared. They knew Belfast was not ready for them. They choose seven targets to hit: Belfast Power Station, Belfast Waterworks, Connswater Gasworks, Harland and Wolff Shipyards, Rank and Co. Mill, Short’s Aircraft Factory and Victoria Barracks. Why Was Belfast Attacked? Belfast was famous and still is famous for ship building and aircraft building. At the time of the Blitz, the Harland and Wolff shipyards were some of the largest in the world. There were over 3,000 ships in the Belfast docks area and the Germans wanted to destroy them.
    [Show full text]
  • The Axis Advances
    wh07_te_ch17_s02_MOD_s.fm Page 568 Monday, March 12, 2007 2:32WH07MOD_se_CH17_s02_s.fm PM Page 568 Monday, January 29, 2007 6:01 PM Step-by-Step German fighter plane SECTION Instruction 2 WITNESS HISTORY AUDIO Objectives Janina’s War Story As you teach this section, keep students “ It was 10:30 in the morning and I was helping my focused on the following objectives to help mother and a servant girl with bags and baskets as them answer the Section Focus Question they set out for the market. Suddenly the high- and master core content. pitch scream of diving planes caused everyone to 2 freeze. Countless explosions shook our house ■ Describe how the Axis powers came to followed by the rat-tat-tat of strafing machine control much of Europe, but failed to guns. We could only stare at each other in horror. conquer Britain. Later reports would confirm that several German Janina Sulkowska in ■ Summarize Germany’s invasion of the the early 1930s Stukas had screamed out of a blue sky and . Soviet Union. dropped several bombs along the main street— and then returned to strafe the market. The carnage ■ Understand the horror of the genocide was terrible. the Nazis committed. —Janina Sulkowska,” Krzemieniec, Poland, ■ Describe the role of the United States September 12, 1939 before and after joining World War II. Focus Question Which regions were attacked and occupied by the Axis powers, and what was life like under their occupation? Prepare to Read The Axis Advances Build Background Knowledge L3 Objectives Diplomacy and compromise had not satisfied the Axis powers’ Remind students that the German attack • Describe how the Axis powers came to control hunger for empire.
    [Show full text]
  • Handbook of Second Level Educational Research: Breaking the S.E.A.L
    Provided by the author(s) and NUI Galway in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite the published version when available. Title Handbook of second level educational research: Breaking the S.E.A.L. Student engagement with archives for learning Author(s) Flynn, Paul; Houlihan, Barry Publication Date 2017-07 Publication Flynn, Paul, & Houlihan, Barry. (2017). Handbook of second Information level educational research: Breaking the S.E.A.L. Student engagement with archives for learning. Galway: NUI Galway. Publisher NUI Galway Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/6687 Downloaded 2021-09-24T14:02:50Z Some rights reserved. For more information, please see the item record link above. Handbook of Second Level Educational Research Breaking the S.E.A.L. Student Engagement with Archives for Learning, NUI Galway, 2017 Editors: Paul Flynn and Barry Houlihan ISBN: 978-1-908358-56-1 Table of Contents Foreword 7 Introduction 9 Moneenageisha Community College 10 Alanna O’Reilly Deborah Sampson Gannett and Her Role in the Continental Army During the American Revolutionary War. 11 Mitchelle Dupe The Death of Emmett Till and its Effect on American Civil Rights Movement. 11 Andreea Duma Joan Parlea: His Role in the Germany Army Between 1941-1943. 11 Paddy Hogan An Irishmans' Role in The Suez Crisis. 11 Presentation College Headford 12 Michael McLoughlin Trench Warfare in World War 1 13 Ezra Heraty The Gallant Heroics of Pigeons during the Great War 14 Sophie Smith The White Rose Movement 15 Maggie Larson The Hollywood Blacklist: Influences on Film Content 1933-50 16 Diarmaid Conway Michael Cusack – Gaelic Games Pioneer 18 Ciara Varley Emily Hobhouse in the Anglo-Boer War 19 Andrew Egan !3 The Hunger Striking in Irish Republicanism 21 Joey Maguire Michael Cusack 23 Coláiste Mhuire, Ballygar 24 Mártin Quinn The Iranian Hostage Crisis: How the Canadian Embassy Workers Helped to Rescue the Six Escaped Hostages.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloads of Technical Information
    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2018 Nuclear Spaces: Simulations of Nuclear Warfare in Film, by the Numbers, and on the Atomic Battlefield Donald J. Kinney Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES NUCLEAR SPACES: SIMULATIONS OF NUCLEAR WARFARE IN FILM, BY THE NUMBERS, AND ON THE ATOMIC BATTLEFIELD By DONALD J KINNEY A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2018 Donald J. Kinney defended this dissertation on October 15, 2018. The members of the supervisory committee were: Ronald E. Doel Professor Directing Dissertation Joseph R. Hellweg University Representative Jonathan A. Grant Committee Member Kristine C. Harper Committee Member Guenter Kurt Piehler Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii For Morgan, Nala, Sebastian, Eliza, John, James, and Annette, who all took their turns on watch as I worked. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee, Kris Harper, Jonathan Grant, Kurt Piehler, and Joseph Hellweg. I would especially like to thank Ron Doel, without whom none of this would have been possible. It has been a very long road since that afternoon in Powell's City of Books, but Ron made certain that I did not despair. Thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract..............................................................................................................................................................vii 1.
    [Show full text]
  • What Were the Effects of the Belfast Blitz?
    What were the effects of the Belfast Blitz? Learning Intentions: Describe the weaknesses of Northern Ireland’s defences Explain why Belfast was so badly defeated Analyse the key effects of the Belfast Blitz On 7th September 1940 London was attacked. It was the beginning of 2 months of nightly bombing raids. This extended to Liverpool, Coventry and Glasgow. By March 1941 over 28,000 people had been killed. Why did Germany carry out this bombing campaign? 2 main reasons: 1) To disrupt war effort 2) To break the morale of the civilian population (withdraw from war) In 1941 Belfast was targeted by over 150 Luftwaffe bombers. Why? • Germany was aware of the key role that a number of the city’s industries were playing in the war effort. • Northern Ireland was playing an important strategic role in the war effort Northern Ireland’s industrial contribution Northern Ireland’s strategic importance Use your knowledge to complete the table The weaknesses of Belfast’s Defences • In the middle of your page write ‘The Belfast Blitz’. Weaknesses Reasons why • Now read the handout pdf. of Belfast’s Belfast was Defences so weakly defended. • Create two different arms for your spider diagram The • Weaknesses of Belfast’s defences Belfast • Reasons why Belfast was so weakly Blitz defended. • Use the handout to complete your spider diagram. The weaknesses of Belfast’s Defences In 1941 Belfast was targeted by Reasons why Weaknesses 150 Luftwaffe bombers. They Belfast was of Belfast’s visited Belfast four times; so weakly Defences defended. 7-8 April, 15-16 April, 4-5 May and The 5-6 May.
    [Show full text]
  • Coventry: Thursday, 14 November 1940 Ebook, Epub
    COVENTRY: THURSDAY, 14 NOVEMBER 1940 PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Frederick Taylor | 368 pages | 10 Jan 2017 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781408860281 | English | London, United Kingdom Coventry: Thursday, 14 November 1940 PDF Book Coventry Cathedral was left as a ruin, and is today still the principal reminder of the bombing. Historian Dr Henry Irving, an associate fellow at the Institute of English Studies, said: "What Harrisson describes is a psychological desperation and helplessness. Spence later knighted for this work insisted that instead of re-building the old cathedral it should be kept in ruins as a garden of remembrance and that the new cathedral should be built alongside, the two buildings together effectively forming one church. Retrieved 15 October He said: "The houses on both sides of the street were burning. Accessibility help Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer. They state that while Churchill was indeed aware that a major bombing raid would take place, no one knew what the target would be. Preview — Coventry by Frederick Taylor. Teaching the Bible through popular culture and the arts. Aug 08, Luke Ryan rated it really liked it. The target was Coventry, a manufacturing city in the heart of England with a beautiful medieval centre. Given the intensity of the raid, casualties were limited by the fact that a large number of Coventrians "trekked" out of the city at night to sleep in nearby towns or villages following the earlier air raids. It also provided the push America needed to join Britain in the war. Scientist Reginald Victor Jones , who led the British side in the Battle of the Beams , wrote that "Enigma signals to the X-beam stations were not broken in time" and that he was unaware that Coventry was the intended target.
    [Show full text]
  • Allied Intervention and Domestic Opposition to the Nazi Regime During World War II
    Maja Adena, Ruben Enikolopov, Maria Petrova, and Hans-Joachim Voth Bombs, Broadcasts and Resistance: Allied Intervention and Domestic Opposition to the Nazi Regime during World War II Discussion Paper SP II 2021–301 February 2021 Research Area Markets and Choice Research Unit Economics of Change Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung gGmbH Reichpietschufer 50 10785 Berlin Germany www.wzb.eu Copyright remains with the authors. Discussion papers of the WZB serve to disseminate the research results of work in progress prior to publication to encourage the exchange of ideas and aca- demic debate. Inclusion of a paper in the discussion paper series does not con- stitute publication and should not limit publication in any other venue. The discussion papers published by the WZB represent the views of the respective author(s) and not of the institute as a whole. Affiliation of the authors: Maja Adena, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung Ruben Enikolopov, New Economic School, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona In- stitute for Political Economy and Governance, Barcelona GSE, and ICREA Maria Petrova, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Institute for Political Economy and Governance, Barcelona GSE, New Economic School, and ICREA Hans-Joachim Voth, Zurich University (corresponding author; [email protected]) Abstract Bombs, Broadcasts and Resistance: Allied Intervention and Domestic Opposition to the Nazi Regime during World War II* Can bombs and broadcasts instigate resistance against a foreign regime? In this paper, we examine the canonical case of bombing designed to undermine enemy morale—the Allied bomber offensive against Germany during World War II. Our evidence shows that air power and the airwaves indeed undermined regime support.
    [Show full text]
  • Bombed, 128, 142, 160; Surrenders, 153 Aarhus: and an Air Attack, 209
    Index compiled by the author Aachen: bombed, 128, 142, 160; surrenders, 153 Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Aarhus: and an air attack, 209 Peoples of Russia (VS-KONR): 176 Abbeville: 160 Armenians: 230 Abdul Kalam, A P.J.: quoted, 226 Arnhem: 163, 207, 210, 214 Abyssinia (Ethiopia): 16, 116, 206, 213, 222; war dead, Arromanches: 150, 151, 222 257 Ascension Island: 121 Acasta (destroyer): 131 Aschaffenburg: bombed, 167 ‘Ace of the Deep’: 91 ‘Asia Women’s Fund’: to make reparations, 200 Adam, Ken: 210 Assam: 192, 218, 244 Adenauer, Konrad: 240 Athens: 33, 34, 98, 107, 109; Churchill in, 220; liberated, Admiral Graf Spee: 5 162 Admiral Hipper: 83 Atlantic Charter: 220, 221 Admiral Scheer: 28, 83 Atlantic Ferry Organisation (ATFERO): 29 Adriatica (Displaced Persons’ (DP) camp): 238 Atlantic Ocean: 51, 52, 70, 74, 119, 120 Afric Star (merchant ship): sunk, 30 atom bomb: 134, 198, 222; dropped, 201, 202 African-American soldiers: in action, 168, 211 atrocities against civilians: 35, 40, 57, 59, 61, 79, 98, 100, Agent Zigzag: 117 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 112, 156, 173, 192, 229, Akashi: bombed, 193 233 Alamein: 80, 109, 213, 226 Attlee, Clement: and Dresden, 175 Alaska-Canada (Alcan) Highway: 82 Attu Island: 82 Albania: 16, 33, 162, 209, 229, 230; war dead, 256 Aung San, General: leads resistance, 192 Albanian volunteers with the SS: 73 Auschwitz: 88, 90, 91, 101, 103, 109; deportations to, Alderney Island: 224 107, 158; revolt in, 108, 218; escapees from, and a Aleutian Islands: 56, 63, 82 bombing request, 158; evacuated,
    [Show full text]
  • ZOOS and ZOO ANIMALS DURING HUMAN CONFLICT 1870-1947 Clelly Johnson Clemson University, [email protected]
    Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 8-2015 PRISONERS IN WAR: ZOOS AND ZOO ANIMALS DURING HUMAN CONFLICT 1870-1947 Clelly Johnson Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Clelly, "PRISONERS IN WAR: ZOOS AND ZOO ANIMALS DURING HUMAN CONFLICT 1870-1947" (2015). All Theses. 2222. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/2222 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PRISONERS IN WAR: ZOOS AND ZOO ANIMALS DURING HUMAN CONFLICT 1870-1947 ________________________________________________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University ________________________________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts History ________________________________________________________________________ by Clelly Alexander Johnson August 2015 _______________________________________________________________________ Accepted by: Dr. Michael Silvestri, Committee Chair Dr. Alan Grubb Dr. Michael Meng ABSTRACT Animals are sentient beings capable of many of the same feelings experienced by humans. They mourn a loss, they feel love and loyalty, and they experience fear. During wars and conflicts, fear is a prevailing emotion among humans, who worry for their well- being. Animals, too, feel fear during human conflicts, and that fear is magnified when those animals are caged. History has shown the victimization of zoo animals during military conflicts. Zoo animals already lack agency over their own lives, and in times of war, they are seen as a liability.
    [Show full text]