Sheffield Blitz

The first German air raid against Sheffield took place on 18 August 1940. An unknown number of aircraft were launched against the city, dropping bombs on Blackbrook Road in Lodge Moor in the western suburbs; there were no casualties. This was followed on 23 August by a raid against the Siemens steelworks in Stocksbridge, during which one person was injured and minor damage was caused to the factory but the majority of bombs fell on farmland to the north. A third, more substantial bombing raid took place on 29 August, affecting the south side of the city centre and the light-industrial suburbs of Highfield and Lowfield; four people were killed in a bomb explosion on Sheaf Street, close to Sheffield Midland railway station. A further bombing raid took place against the city on 10–11 September. ==12 December raid==

On the afternoon of Thursday, 12 December, British monitoring stations detected X Verfahren (sometimes called X-Gerät) radio beams being laid across northern England and calculated that the likely target of the coming raid would be Sheffield. At about 9:30pm, a line of bombs fell on Campo Lane and Vicar Lane, demolishing the West end of the Cathedral. At about 10:50pm a 500 kg bomb fell on and destroyed the C&A and Burtons buildings opposite the Marples Hotel in Fitzalan Square. At 11:44pm, The Marples Hotel itself received a direct hit. The death toll of this incident was 78, the single biggest loss of life in the attacks. Full details of the identities of the victims and the extensive police efforts made to ensure everyone was identified can be found in the Sheffield City Archives. The deceased were later found in the cellar, a large concrete box with deep encasing floors and walls beneath the carriageway outside the Marples building. The majority of the bombs on this night fell on the city centre or residential districts, with the last bombs falling at 4:00am. ==15 December raid==

The second night of the Blitz saw the first use of a new German policy for their pathfinders. High-explosive bombs were no longer carried and were replaced by incendiaries. On this night the pathfinder force was made up of 16 Heinkel 111s, which dropped 11,520 B1 E1 incendiaries between 7:00pm and 7:50pm. The 15 large fires and the numerous small fires started were visible from 150km away. The main raid was carried out by 50 Heinkel 111s and 11 Dornier 17s, and finished at 10:15pm. Many steelworks received hits, including Hadfields, Brown Bayleys and Steel, Peech and Tozer Ltd, although the damage was not serious enough to affect production. ==Later raids==

December 1940 marked the end of the primary bombing campaign against Sheffield, as the Luftwaffe continued to be weakened and targets switched to cities and industrial sites within closer proximity of the European mainland. Some lighter bombing raids did continue against Sheffield for several more months however, whenever weather conditions permitted. Further bombing raids against the city were recorded on 15–16 January 1941, on 4–5 February 1941, and on 15 February 1941. The final attack on Sheffield took place on 8 May 1941, when a fleet of 34 aircraft dropped more than 53 tonnes of high explosives and 802 incendiary canisters over the city. ==Aftermath==

In total over 660 people were killed, 1,500 injured and 40,000 made homeless. 3,000 homes were demolished, with a further 3,000 badly damaged. A total of 78,000 homes received damage. Six George Medals were awarded to citizens of Sheffield for their bravery during the raids. 134 victims of the raids were buried in a communal grave in City Road Cemetery. ==Stage play==

Operation Crucible, a play about the Sheffield Blitz by Kieran Knowles, has been performed in London, Sheffield and New York. ==References==