New map shows where Blitz bombs fell in London

An interactive map has been created showing where German bombs landed on London during eight months of the Second World War Blitz.

The year-long mapping project, devised by geographer Dr Kate Jones of the University of Portsmouth, uses red bomb symbols to illustrate where each bomb landed.

The map shows how the entire greater city, from Egham in the west to Dartford in the east, Potters Bar in the north and Caterham in the south, was obliterated.

Dr Jones said: "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', which comes from the German meaning lightning war.

"It seems astonishing that London survived the onslaught."The Bomb Sight project demonstrates the clustering together of lots of different data using the power of geography."

Dr Jones chose to focus on the period of the Blitz which saw the most intensive bombing period by the Luftwaffe which killed thousands and destroyed more than a million homes.

The Bomb Sight project uses a slightly longer timeframe for mapping what bombs fell where because it uses maps of the London Second World War bomb census, taken between October 1940 and June 1941 which until now has only been available to view in the reading room at the National Archives.

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