sentences:  Portsmouth was elevated from Town to City status on 21 April 1926.As a major Naval Base and Dockyard the city was bombed extensively during the Second World War.Nazi German Luftwaffe night-time air raids began on 24 August 1940 when 1,320 high explosive bombs and 38,000 incendiary devices were dropped on the city, damaging the Guildhall, 30 churches, 8 schools, 1 hospital and over 80,000 homes.