Sheffield Blitz

Sheffield Blitz
Part of the Strategic bombing campaign of the Second World War
Devastation in Sheffield city centre after the Blitz
Date 12–15 December 1940 (1940-12-12 – 1940-12-15) (4 days) Location Sheffield, England 53°23′N 1°28′W / 53.383°N 1.467°W / 53.383; -1.467 Result German strategic failure: steel factories in Sheffield continued to operate and provide essential supplies for the war effort. Widespread damage and civilian casualties, Sheffield in extensive structural ruins.
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Winston Churchill Hugh Dowding Frederick Pile Owen Tudor Boyd Sir Leslie Gossage	Adolf Hitler Hermann Göring Hugo Sperrle Albert Kesselring Hans Jeschonnek
Casualties and losses
660+ dead 1,500+ injured 40,000+ homeless 3,000+ houses destroyed	Unknown

The Sheffield Blitz is the name given to the worst nights of German Luftwaffe bombing in Sheffield, England, during the Second World War. It took place during nighttime on 12 and 15 December 1940.

In 1940, Sheffield was a city of about 560,000 people and contained industries primarily centred on steel and armaments. Hadfields steelworks was also the only place in the UK at that time where 18-inch armour-piercing shells were made. Most factories were located in the East End of the city beside the River Don. Documents captured at the end of the war showed the targets for the raids included the Atlas Steelworks, Brown Bayley Steelworks, Meadowhall Iron Works, River Don Works, Darnall Wagon Works, Tinsley Park Collieries, East Hecla Works and Orgreave Coke Ovens.^[1]

The full moon was on 14 December 1940,^[2] and both blitz nights were cold and clear.

The German code name for the operation was Schmelztiegel ("Crucible").