Manchester Blitz

The city of Manchester in North West England and its surrounding areas were heavily bombed during the Second World War by the GermanLuftwaffe in what became known as the Manchester Blitz. The Christmas Blitz was one of three major raids^[a] on Manchester, which was an important port (although not on the coast, Manchester served ocean shipping by a ship canal) and industrial city; Trafford Park in neighbouring Stretford was a major centre of war production.

Air raids began in August 1940, and in September 1940 the Palace Theatre on Oxford Street was hit. The heaviest raids occurred on the nights of 22/23 and 23/24 December 1940, killing an estimated 684 people and injuring more than 2,000.^[1]Manchester Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, the Free Trade Hall and the Manchester Assize Courts were among the large buildings damaged. On the night of 22/23 December, 272 tons of high explosives were dropped, and another 195 tons the following night. Almost 2,000 incendiaries were also dropped on the city over the two nights.^[1] The aircraft spread fanwise over the city and adopted the by-then familiar tactic of dropping flares followed by incendiaries and high explosives with later waves targeting the fires caused by the earlier attacks. There were other less intensive bombing raids across Britain^[2] and two German aircraft were reported to have been lost over the British Isles on 24 December; one crashed in the sea near Blackpool and the other, loaded with incendiaries and flares, crashed in flames near Sussex with no survivors.^[3]

Neighbouring Salford, Stretford and other districts were also badly damaged by the bombing. It is estimated that more than 215 people were killed and 910 injured in Salford, and more than 8,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.^[1] Seventy-three were killed in Stretford, and many more were injured.^[4]

En junio de 1941, las bombas alemanas dañaron el Hospital Salford Royal original en Chapel Street , en la intersección con Adelphi Street, matando a 14  enfermeras. ^{[ 5 ]}

El 11 de marzo de 1941, el estadio de fútbol Old Trafford , sede del Manchester United FC , fue alcanzado por una bomba dirigida al complejo industrial de Trafford Park , que destrozó el terreno de juego y demolió las gradas. El estadio fue reconstruido después de la guerra y reabierto en 1949, hasta entonces el United jugó en el estadio Maine Road del Manchester City . ^{[ 6 ]}

En junio de 1941, las bombas alemanas dañaron la sede de la policía. Manchester continuó siendo bombardeada por la Luftwaffe durante toda la guerra y se convirtió en objetivo de las bombas volantes V-1 . En la víspera de Navidad de 1944, bombarderos Heinkel He 111 que sobrevolaban la costa de Yorkshire lanzaron 45 bombas volantes contra Manchester. Ninguna V-1 impactó en Manchester, pero 27  personas en la cercana Oldham murieron a causa de una bomba perdida. Otras 17 personas murieron en otros lugares y 109 resultaron heridas en total. Aviones De Havilland Mosquito de la RAF derribaron un bombardero alemán sobre el Mar del Norte y dañaron gravemente otro, provocando que se estrellara en Alemania. ^{[ 7 ]}

• Historia de Manchester
• El Blitz

Notas

Citas

Bibliografía

• Daily Dispatch and Evening Chronicle (1945) Nuestro bombardeo: cielo rojo sobre Manchester . Manchester: Kemsley Newspapers (Edición facsímil de Aurora Publishing, Bolton, [ca. 2000] ISBN 978-1-85926-049-4).

• El bombardeo navideño de Manchester, por Frank Walsh
• Mapa interactivo de los lugares bombardeados en Manchester que muestra dónde murieron civiles en los ataques navideños de 1940.
• Un reportaje retrospectivo minuto a minuto sobre el bombardeo de Manchester en el Manchester Evening News.