Bomb Gallery

Mogul locomotive No. 8314 with bomb damage in 1941

A 4300 Mogul locomotive, No. 8314, lies amongst the debris following an air raid in Weymouth on 17th January 1941. Star Class locomotive, Princess Charlotte, can be seen to the right of the photograph and has escaped the worst of the damage. The south coast of Britain was easy prey for the German Luftwaffe based in Northern France, and the ports of Weymouth and Portland were prime targets for bombers due to their naval connections.

A Sea Hurricane being loaded onto an armed merchant ship at Cardiff docks, c.1941

As well as assisting in the transportation of military goods by rail the GWR also facilitated the war effort at their docks. This fascinating image from c.1941 shows a Sea Hurricane being loaded onto an armed merchant ship at the GWR docks in Cardiff. Once on board, the Sea Hurricane would eventually be attached to a catapult, seen here on the deck of the ship. In the absence of a runway the catapult fired the Sea Hurricane at high speed into the air, but unless a nearby aircraft carrier or airstrip was on hand to receive a return landing, the Hurricanes (their pilots having already ejected) would often ditch in the sea.

Market Hall, Birmingham, 1941 AA42/00726

The High Street elevation of Market Hall showing damage caused by an incendiary attack. Bull Ring, Birmingham. Photographed by G B Mason for the National Buildings Record, 1941. The former Market Hall dated from the 1830s. It was destroyed during the Birmingham Blitz and remained as an empty shell until it was demolished in 1963 as part of the Bull Ring Centre development. This view shows the windows bricked up and the roof missing as a result of the incendiary devices dropped on the 25th August 1940.

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