You may think that London was the worst hit city in the blitz-but actually it was Plymouth! Overall, in Plymouth 1,172 people died and a further 4,450 people were severely injured! The two main shopping centres and nearly every civic building were destroyed, as well as 26 schools, 8 cinemas and 41 churches. A total of 3,754 houses were destroyed, with a further 18,398 being seriously damaged. Overall there was 59 bombing attacks.
The reason that the air raids affected the people of Plymouth was that they were all overnight. This meant that every night, everyone had to traipse out of their soft, warm beds to the cold, wet shelters in the back garden. Every morning saw people wandering around the streets, evaluating the damage and trying to fix the damage done to their homes.
The worst air raid was on the night of 22nd and 23rd April 1941. Devonport was the main target because it is main British naval base.The Germans wanted to destroy this because it had a lot of Naval supplies and other equipment which would be vital for the Allies to use against them in battle. If these supplies were destroyed, the German force would be at an advantage, as they would have more weapons and machines to use to defeat and contribute to winning the war.
At around 11:30pm on the 22nd, the Devonport Telephone Exchange was hit and the Air Raid Precaution's control centre was obliterated, leaving communications very limited. One of the most horrific incidents of the night was that an air raid shelter took a direct hit by a bomb, and killed 7 people immediately.
The reason that the air raids affected the people of Plymouth was that they were all overnight. This meant that every night, everyone had to traipse out of their soft, warm beds to the cold, wet shelters in the back garden. Every morning saw people wandering around the streets, evaluating the damage and trying to fix the damage done to their homes.
The worst air raid was on the night of 22nd and 23rd April 1941. Devonport was the main target because it is main British naval base.The Germans wanted to destroy this because it had a lot of Naval supplies and other equipment which would be vital for the Allies to use against them in battle. If these supplies were destroyed, the German force would be at an advantage, as they would have more weapons and machines to use to defeat and contribute to winning the war.
At around 11:30pm on the 22nd, the Devonport Telephone Exchange was hit and the Air Raid Precaution's control centre was obliterated, leaving communications very limited. One of the most horrific incidents of the night was that an air raid shelter took a direct hit by a bomb, and killed 7 people immediately.