UXO risk in Exeter

Why was Exeter targeted and bombed in WWII?

As a major city near the south-west coast of England, Exeter was a prominent and fairly convenient target for the Luftwaffe, with bombers flying across the channel not needing to penetrate far into the country to conduct a strategic bombing attack.

19 significant air raids were recorded on Exeter between August 1940 and 1942, resulting in 265 fatalities and almost 800 injuries¹. A significant number of smaller ‘tip and run’ raids occurred throughout the war along the south coast. Exeter’s heaviest raids occurred during the so-called ‘Baedeker Blitz’, apparently a retaliation for the RAF bombing of the German city of Lubeck². These raids did not primarily attack targets for their strategic significance, but their cultural and historic value.

Home Office Bombing Statistics for Exeter

Exeter was not as heavily bombed as Britain’s largest cities, nevertheless the County Borough sustained an overall moderate bombing density according to official Home Office bombing statistics, with an average of 65.7 items of ordnance recorded per 1,000 acres.

While Exeter’s largest raids occurred in 1942, bombing was recorded as early as August 1940. These earlier incidents were relatively infrequent in nature, until the ‘Baedecker’ raid where the city was actively targeted by approximately 40 aircraft. Bombing continued sporadically late into the war, with the final casualty occurring in autumn 1944.

Historic and culturally important buildings with no military significance in Exeter were damaged by bombing, including the Cathedral, in order to demoralise the population. Targets of strategic significance were identified across the city however, as the Luftwaffe reconnaissance photograph above illustrates.

Major Air Raid Incidents in Exeter

• 17th September 1940 – six HE bombs dropped in the area around Devon & Exeter Girls’ Training School, resulting in the evacuation of seven streets.
• 28th November 1940 – two parachute mines fall in Heavitree, killing four and injuring 26, and causing damage recorded across an enormous area – more than 20 streets.
• 23rd April 1942 – seven HE bombs and hundreds of incendiary bombs, causing five fatalities and widespread damage and fires.
• 4th May 1942 – the ‘Baedeker’ raid, in which approximately 10,000 incendiary bombs and 160 HE bombs were dropped. The raid caused 156 fatalities, with 563 injured.
• 30th December 1942 – six 500kg HE bombs dropped, killing 19 people.

Detonation of unearthed 1,000kg HE unexploded bomb in Exeter

In early 2021, a very large 1,000kg ‘Hermann’ HE bomb was discovered during excavation works next to a care home near the University of Exeter³. The bomb was deemed unsafe, and was destroyed in situ following evacuation in a 400 metre radius. Despite precautions including surrounding the bomb with more than 400 tonnes of sand, the resulting blast threw debris up to a distance of 250 metres.