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Map Charts Every WWII Bomb Strike in London

Map Charts Every WWII Bomb Strike in London

A new interactive map shows the site of every bomb dropped on London by German warplanes during eight months of the World War Two Blitz.

The Bomb Sight project, available online and as a mobile app, details the scale of Germany's aerial assault on the British capital between October 1940 and June 1941.

The map, the result of a year-long project, uses red bomb symbols to illustrate where each bomb fell in the greater city.

During the Blitz - German for "lightning" - the Luftwaffe killed thousands and destroyed more than a million homes, in an assault meant to weaken Britain’s economy and demoralise its citizens.

"When you look at these maps and see the proliferation of bombs dropped on the capital, it does illustrate the meaning of the word 'Blitz,'" said geographer Dr Kate Jones of the University of Portsmouth, who devised the project.

"It seems astonishing that London survived the onslaught."

The Bomb Sight project uses maps of a bomb census that until now had only been available to view at the National Archives.

Users can manipulate the map and zoom into specific streets or boroughs as well as find out what type of bomb was dropped where.

The website allows users to find out where and what sort of bombs fell in a given area, and explore photos from the Imperial War Museum and stories from those involved or affected by the war from the BBC's war archives.

The associated Android app also gives users an augmented reality view that allows them to point their phone at a street scene and, using the phone's camera and GPS, see a display of the bombs that fell nearby.

The website and online app, funded by higher education charity Jisc, were designed to make the map available to the general public, especially students, teachers and citizen researchers.

Paola Marchionni, Jisc programme manager, called it a "fantastic resource".

To view the map, visit the website at bombsight.org.