The Blitz

The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, in 1940 and 1941, during World War II. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term Blitzkrieg, the German word meaning 'lightning war'.

The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940 (a battle for daylight air superiority between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force over the United Kingdom). By September 1940, the Luftwaffe had lost the Battle of Britain and the German air fleets (Luftflotten) were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation. Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, ordered the new policy on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. The Luftwaffe gradually decreased daylight operations in favor of night attacks to evade attacks by the RAF, and the Blitz became a night bombing campaign after October 1940.

Ultimately, because the German High Command did not develop a strategy designed to actually attack the UK's war industry, the attacks essentially failed. Nor were the attacks enough to demoralize the British into surrendering. The attacks ended in May 1941, as Germany prepared to attack the Soviet Union.

The Blitz in Or Even Eagle Flew

On 9 September 1941, a couple of days after the Germans launched the Blitz , 609 Squadron made their way to London to meet a German attack. During the fighting, Amelia Earhart, a volunteer with 609 Squadron, made her second kill.