THe Luftwaffe bombing of Dublin

Colbro · Post by **Colbro** » 22 Feb 2003 00:30

Does anybody know anything about this?

kobold · Post by **kobold** » 22 Feb 2003 02:09

its not something i had heard of!

try here:

http://www.ulst.ac.uk/thisisland/module ... mbing.html

(google for ever)

dave

Benoit Douville · Post by **Benoit Douville** » 22 Feb 2003 02:15

I didn't know that Dublin was bomb during World War II. Very interesting info!

Regards

dricha · Post by **dricha** » 22 Feb 2003 05:20

Yes Dublin was bombed on 31 may 1941 by the luftwaffe,37 people were killed and many injured The excuse was that the pilots confused thought they were over Belfast.After the war germany payed Ireland 370,000 pounds in compensation

Colbro · Post by **Colbro** » 22 Feb 2003 10:02

My father was a radio engineer and just before the war, he did a course on television, which was just starting to come in. The war put a stop to that.
Although 32 years old in 1939, Dad was immediately called up into the RAF, because they needed technicians to work on developing radar installations etc and his early assignments were in the south of England. Later he was located at various camps around Harpenden, Oakley, Bedford etc and was demobbed at Little Staughton, near St Neots. Dad later worked on the beam bending. See here:
http://www.f-e-mail.com/images/Beam.htm
Guess who was on night shift that night?

dricha · Post by **dricha** » 22 Feb 2003 20:23

Thats interesting there were so many different theorys about why this happened one was that the luftwaffe bombers mistook the lights in Dublin for Belfast city i also heard something about this radio beam bending could you tell us a little bit more about this incident from your dads perspective

Colbro · Post by **Colbro** » 22 Feb 2003 20:40

Sorry! Dad never talked much about the war. He died in 1981 and I never found out about his work with the beam bending until about three years ago. I was born in 1944 but my elder brothers were born 1935 and 1937. We were talking in the pub about Dad and when they mentioned the Dublin bombing and the beam bending, I said "This is news to me!!" They were surprised, they always assumed I knew about it!
I certainly don't think that there was a British plot to bomb Dublin! The beam bending was only to assure that they didn't bomb Belfast, which would be blacked out. Presumably, Dublin wasn't. However, there may have been thick cloud cover. The only people who know for certain are the people who bombed Dublin and the chances are, after all these years, they may be no longer with us.

lisset · Post by **lisset** » 23 Feb 2003 14:09

As far as I am aware the raid may have been meant for Liverpool , but the "beam was bent " and the force ended up over Dublin in error.
Best regards
james (lisset).

Psycho Mike · Post by **Psycho Mike** » 23 Feb 2003 14:18

I have also heard the allegation that the IRA had men with lights go to the mountains after this incident to guide the planes to England and avoid hitting Ireland, is this true or is it propaganda?

lisset · Post by **lisset** » 23 Feb 2003 14:24

I would imagine that this is propaganda Mike.
Gortz was of the opinion that any IRA men active at that time were a liability and alwyas made it custom and practise to have as much incriminating evidence on them as possible in the event of being apprehended !

harry palmer · Post by **harry palmer** » 08 Apr 2003 14:29

Recent investigation into this bombing has cast doubt on the “beam-bending” theory. The Luftwaffe operated a somewhat similar system of night bombing to that used by RAF Bomber Command, with only a few pathfinder aircraft being fitted with this type of equipment. The aircraft that bombed Dublin in May 1941 dropped wildly inaccurate parachute mines, unlikely ordnance for a pathfinder, and the bombing took place in the early hours of the morning, again an unlikely time for an aircraft supposedly leading a stream of bombers.
Ironically, the Dublin Fire Brigade that responded to the disaster had crossed the border to render aid to Belfast when it was “Blitzed” a month previously, and few of them claimed to be in any doubt that this was Germany’s revenge for that act.

The Luftwaffe actually bombed Ireland on other occasions: http://www.csn.ul.ie/~dan/war/bombings.html
Several Irish merchant ships were also sunk by the Kriegsmarine.

lisset · Post by **lisset** » 08 Apr 2003 15:03

Harry , I followed your link...some of the incidents I knew about ...most interesting to see some bombs fell near Carrickmacross....I go fishing in that area. An only thunk that someone was well lost when they ditched their bombs there , also Malin...wonder what they expected to hit there!
Thank you
James

Ike_FI · Post by **Ike_FI** » 12 Apr 2003 16:58

harry palmer wrote:http://www.csn.ul.ie/~dan/war/bombings.html
Several Irish merchant ships were also sunk by the Kriegsmarine.

Quite surprising that they also bombed a place in Co. Donegal, the pilots must have beed really badly lost, or seeking the peace of nature. An area worth a visit, if you ask me, btw!

While we are at this, do you happen to know how many airplanes of the belligerent parties landed on Ireland and what happened to them?

lisset · Post by **lisset** » 12 Apr 2003 18:22

There are probably a number of users who can say more than I can on this subject.
A number of Luftwaffe aircraft , FW-200's /HE-111's and some JU-88's came to Ireland due to navigational errors , seeking refuge with battle damage or crashed in bad weather.
Aircrew are buried in the German Wargraves Comission just south of Dublin in The Wicklow Mountains.
Surivors were interned in the Curragh Camp.

Allied aircraft quite a few crashedor force lanaded...some as a result of naviagtional error or bad weather on ferry flights across the Atlantic ...( I know some B-17's and B-24's did) , Spitfires Hurricanes , Blenhiems , Lightenings, Hampdens , Wellingtons are some of types I know came down.
Sunderlands from Lough Erne one or two crashed off West Coast (422 RCAF a/c f/ld. in Clew Bay near Clare Island , 201 Sq. a/c flew into Mount Brandon near Tralee in bad weather.
A Lerwick of 209 landed (out of fuel) at Bundoran in May 1941.....some Cats. landed at various palces Foynes , and Lough Gill In Sligo....I know of a 201 Sunderland which landed on Lough Melvin just a few miles from Lough Erne (Castle Archdale ...most Westerly Flying boat base)......having been talked down to Lough Ernes flare path the control tower told them ..."don't know where you are but you arn't here ! ".
"Warplanes Reserach Group of Ireland "are well up on Ireland's Wartime Aviation...likewise "Ulster Aviation Society."
Almost all Allied aircrew and aircraft were back in Northern ireland within 24 hours of landing....all Luftwaffe cxrews spent the war in Ireland.

davethelight · Post by **davethelight** » 13 Apr 2003 02:40

I heard that the Luftwaffe bombed Ireland quite deliberately as a warning to the Irish government not to come into the war on the Allied side or to help Brittain in any way. Apparently, in late 1940, early 1941, Churchill was putting pressure on the Irish Government for use of Irish port facilities and air fields on the west coast of Ireland so as to be able to provide more far reaching air cover and safe havens for Brittish convoys coming from America.
The Irish government apparently refused and Chirchill was so angry with this that he threatened to invade the Republic. The Germans bombed Ireland as a warning to them of the consequences that would follow should they succumb to Churchill's demands.

That's what I heard anyway, what do other people think?

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THe Luftwaffe bombing of Dublin

THe Luftwaffe bombing of Dublin

Luftwaffe bombing of Dublin.

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