On This Day: 5th May 1941

On This Day: 5th May 1941

Date: 05/05/2015 10:11

On 5th May, 1941, denizens of Belfast were waking up to the devastating aftermath of the second German air raid on the city. The first attack on Easter Tuesday, 15 April, had resulted in some 900 deaths - outside of London, this represented the largest loss of life in a single night's bombing raid.

Known as the 'fire blitz' due to the heavy use of incendiary bombs - some 96,000 of which were dropped - the second attack on 4/5 May brought a further 150 fatalities, with much damage concentrated on the harbour estate, Queen's Island and residential areas in the east of the city.

This image from the Ulster Museum's collection, gives some idea of the extent of the destruction that was wrought on the city by the attacks.