Barrow Blitz

The Barrow Blitz is the name given to the Luftwaffe bombings of Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom during World War II.

[1] The town, with a population of around 75,000 in 1941,[3] was targeted by the Luftwaffe mainly for its shipbuilding industry (similar to the Clydebank Blitz) which was one of the most sophisticated in the world and built many submarines and ships for the Royal Navy.

[4] The entrance to a large underground air-raid shelter that was used by shipyard workers can be found in the car park of the Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness development.

[7] Two fire watchers were killed in May 1941 when the hammer head crane they were stationed in at Vickers Shipyard was bombed by the Luftwaffe.

A local housewife, Nella Last wrote diaries of her everyday experiences on the home front during the war and after for the Mass-Observation project which were published in a series of books.

Stella Rimington, later head of MI5, moved out of London to Barrow at the age of four when the war started, and lived there during the Blitz there.

The Hindenburg flying over Walney Island in 1936.
Target dossier of Barrow-in-Furness, German Luftwaffe July 1941
Damage caused by bombing during 1941 on Newland Street looking towards Hindpool Road.
Barrow Town Hall narrowly avoided major damage during the 1941 spell of bombings.
Barrow was one of the most successful shipbuilding centres in Europe, the main reason it became a target. Aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable was launched by Winston Churchill in the town in 1940.