Smithsonian.com

Image: Screenshot from bombsight.org

From October 7th, 1940, to June 6th, 1941, Britain was under siege. In an barrage now called simply the Blitz, the Germans dropped over 100 tones of explosives on 16 British cities, including London. Here’s the BBC on the Blitz:

The first German raids on British cities had already taken place by the end of August 1940, when Birmingham and Liverpool were attacked, but on 7 September the Blitz intensified when around 950 German aircraft attacked London. It was the first and last mass daylight raid on London, but it heralded the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing.

The daylight raid alone caused some 300 civilian deaths and a further 1,300 serious injuries; by the end of the Blitz, around 30,000 Londoners would be left dead, with another 50,000 injured. Fortunately, millions of children, mothers, patients and pensioners had already been evacuated to the countryside.

Now, this interactive map shows you just how many bombs rained down on London, and where they fell. Here’s what Bomb Sight says about their data:

With Bomb Sight you can discover what it was like in London, during WW2 Luftwaffe Blitz bombing raids, exploring maps, images and memories. The Bomb Sight web map and mobile app reveals WW2 bomb census maps between 7/10/1940 and 06/06/1941, previously available only by viewing them in the Reading Room of The National Archives.

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