The Belfast blitz during World War Two
The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two.
About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000 people homeless.
Belfast was largely unprepared for an attack of such a scale as 200 German bombers shelled the city on 15 April 1941.
Many in Northern Ireland thought that Belfast was outside the range of the Luftwaffe.
The Germans, however, saw Belfast as a legitimate target due to the shipyards in the city that were contributing to Britain's war efforts.
Poor visibility on the night meant that the accuracy of the bombers was hampered and the explosives were dropped on densely populated areas of Belfast.
It was the worst wartime raid outside of London in the UK.
15 Apr 2016
- From the section Northern Ireland