UXO risk in Manchester

Why was Manchester targeted and bombed in WWII?

The city of Manchester, located in the historic county of Lancashire, was bombed repeatedly by the Luftwaffe during WWII, primarily due to its many prominent industrial targets. Manchester was not targeted with the same intensity and frequency as other major British cities such as Liverpool, Coventry and Birmingham, however it was still subject to several major raids.

Some of the key targets for the Luftwaffe were the Manchester/Salford Docks, crucial for transporting cargo and passengers to and from North America¹. Additionally, Manchester’s railway infrastructure which included Manchester Central Station was also a designated target, as were its gas works, oil refinery, collieries and the Manchester Ship Canal.

Wartime targeting systems tended to be inaccurate and consequently neighbouring areas would often sustain collateral bombing. Manchester was protected by a number of barrage balloons which forced aircraft to approach their targets at higher altitudes, thereby further reducing bomb accuracy.

The Salford Docks are highlighted on the Luftwaffe target photograph below.

Home Office Bombing Statistics for Manchester

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

A total of 738 bombs fell on Manchester, equating to an average of 27 items of recorded ordnance per 1,000 acres.

Major bombing raids on Manchester

After the surrender of France on 20th June 1940, the first bomb in the Manchester area struck Salford on the 29th July, falling between Trafford Road and Ordsall Lane². At first, bombing raids took place during daylight hours. However, in October 1940, the Luftwaffe switched its methods to night attacks.While the Manchester-area endured a number of bombing raids throughout the autumn of 1940, the most devastating attack took place in the days immediately preceding Christmas which became known as the ‘Christmas Blitz’.

The Christmas Blitz

From 22—24 December, the Luftwaffe executed an aerial assault over the course of two, consecutive evenings, in an effort to maximize both the damage and disruption to their targets. Nearly 450 bombers raided Manchester, dropping 467 tons of high explosives and many thousands of incendiaries. Many of the city’s firefighters and their equipment were still at Liverpool where they had been sent as reinforcements the previous evening. Consequently, 400 fires erupted, 2,000 people were injured, and more than 700 died³.

Many major buildings were destroyed: the Free Trade Hall, Cross Street Chapel, the Corn Exchange and Smithfield Market were all badly damaged⁴. There was an uncontainable fire across the clothing and cotton goods warehouse district of Portland Street, George Street and Piccadilly, with the inflammable textiles helping to spread the flames. Eventually the military had to be called in to dynamite some buildings to create fire breaks. Parts of the area were still smouldering over a week later⁵.

The destruction was on an unprecedented scale, the likes of which Manchester had never experienced. Main roads into the city were impassable due to debris, craters, and unexploded bombs.

The image below is an extract of a Manchester bomb map from the University of Manchester Library. Originally used by the City Architect’s Department, the maps show fire bombs as red dots, high explosives as blue dots and line mines as green dots. Red shaded buildings represent demolished buildings while pink shaded buildings were damaged but still standing.