Plymouth Blitz | |||||
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Part of the Strategic bombing campaign of World War II | |||||
![]() Winston Churchill is cheered by workers during a visit to bomb-damaged Plymouth on 2 May 1941 | |||||
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Belligerents | |||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||
1,174 civilians killed 4,448 injured 22,143 houses damaged or destroyed | Unknown | ||||
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The Plymouth Blitz was a series of bombing raids carried out by the Nazi German Luftwaffe on the English city of Plymouth in the Second World War. The bombings launched on numerous British cities were known as the Blitz.
The royal dockyards at HMNB Devonport were the main target in order to facilitate Nazi German efforts during the Battle of the Atlantic. Portsmouth, some 170 miles away in Hampshire, was also targeted by the Luftwaffe due to the presence of a royal dockyard there. Despite this, civilian casualties were very high and the dockyards continued in operation.