UXO risk in Coventry

Why was Coventry targeted and bombed in WWII?

Beginning in the Victorian period, Coventry established itself as one of the country’s most industrious manufacturing hubs, and by the 1930’s was home to the majority of Britain’s automotive industry. During wartime, these companies were tasked with the production of military vehicles and equipment, a fact that German military intelligence foresaw.

As such, a number of key areas and factories within the city were designated as strategic bombing targets for the Luftwaffe.

Home Office Bombing Statistics for Coventry

Details obtained from the official Home Office bombing statistics, indicates the quantity and type of bombs that fell on the County Borough of Coventry during WWII (excluding incendiary bombs).

A total of 3,425 recorded bombs fell on the County Borough of Coventry, equating to 179 items of ordnance per 1,000 acres.

Major bombing raids in Coventry

RAF Ansty, to the east of Coventry was the first area to be bombed on the 25th June 1940, whilst the first main raid on the city was in August 1940. Sporadic raids continued until 14th November 1940, when the first and most destructive concentrated raid took place. Codenamed Operation Mondscheinsonate (Moonlight Sonata), this raid was intended to destroy Coventry’s industrial heart, targeting the main automotive and manufacturing works in the city.

This raid was one of the first that utilised radar navigation, which combined with the scale of the raid made it especially accurate and devastating – it was the single most concentrated raid on a British city during WWII.

During this one raid, over 4,300 homes were destroyed, and overall two-thirds of the cities buildings sustained some degree of damage. The most notable casualties were the medieval cathedral, Daimler factory, Humber Hillman factory and the Alfred Herbert machine works in Coventry.

Throughout the war, Coventry sustained some of the worst damage per square mile of any British city. The 41 air raids comprising the ‘Coventry Blitz’ claimed some 1,236 casualties, over 41,000 damaged or destroyed properties and 111 of 180 factories were damaged – including 75 which were completely destroyed.

Perhaps the most heavily bombed single structure in Coventry was the Daimler Factory in Radford, which during WWII was engaged in war work, manufacturing armoured cars, aircraft engines and small arms – including the famous Bren Light Machinegun¹.

Over the course of the war the factory was struck by 150 HE bombs, three Parachute Mines, 17 delayed action bombs and numerous incendiaries. As a result, the factory was out of action for a number of periods during the war, with production moved to other ‘shadow factories’ outside of the city to ensure its important work could continue.

By the end of 1941, the Radford site was so heavily damaged that production of the Daimler Dingo and Daimler Armoured car was moved to the BSA plant in Birmingham.

To record the bombing, the City Architects Office produced a number of bomb survey maps and war damage reports, which (as seen below) roughly indicate the areas within the city that were bombed or sustained bomb damage.

Unfortunately, these records only cover the two largest raids, meaning that records for a number of other raids are not available. As such, the bomb damage records for Coventry tend to be mixed. While inner city areas are well covered for the most part, records for the suburbs are lacking and sometimes do not provide any coverage at all.