September 7, 1940 – BBC World Service News – Mutual Report From London – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
September 7, 1940 – In what was termed by German Radio to be a response to British Raids over Berlin, German bombers began to instigate a series of night raids, referred to as “terror raids” over London. Prior to this, Germany had concentrated on Britain’s industrial centers, but with British raids over Berlin, and what German radio also called “attacks on civilian areas”, all bets were off and a new and costlier phase of the war had begun.
The Royal Airforce was issuing communiqués giving detail assessments of damages, casualties and loss of German planes, which were considerable, compared to Britain and the raids over Berlin.
But the overall effect was creating one of terror on the ground, for both sides.
On September 7, 1940, 300 German bombers raided London, in the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. This bombing “blitzkrieg” (lightning war) would continue until May 1941.
British intelligence had had an inkling of the coming bombardment. Evidence of the large-scale movement of German barges in the Channel and the interrogation of German spies had led them to the correct conclusion-unfortunately, it was just as the London docks were suffering the onslaught of Day One of the Blitz. By the end of the day, German planes had dropped 337 tons of bombs on London. Even though civilian populations were not the primary target that day, the poorest of London slum areas-the East End–felt the fallout literally, from direct hits of errant bombs as well as the fires that broke out and spread throughout the vicinity. Four hundred and forty-eight civilians were killed that afternoon and evening.
During the night of September 7th and 8th 1940, while London was under its first constant day and night attack, British Bomber Command sent 92 aircraft to various targets along the Channel coast attacking many targets that were bases for numerous invasion barges and barge installations. Other attacks were made in many of the forest areas and to the Ruhr Dam area. Dunkirk and Calais come under heavy attack from Bomber Command. They returned just prior to daybreak without loss.
And that was what was going on, this September 7, 1940 as reported by the BBC World Service and Mutual Radio via Shortwave.
As you know, we’ve suspended indefinitely our ads in order to make Past Daily a better
experience for you without all the distractions and pop-ups. Because of that, we’re relying more on your support through Patreon to keep us up and running every day. For as little as $5.00 a month you can make a huge difference as well as be able to download all of our posts for free (news, history, music). You’ll see a banner just below. Click on that and become a subscriber – it’s easy, painless and does a world of good.
