Hitler's 'Mini Nuke' - Germany's WWII Mega-Bomb Attack

On 13 February 1941, a lone Heinkel III dropped the most powerful bomb in the German inventory on London, causing immense devastation and loss of life. Kept secret from the British public, the Luftwaffe had deployed a giant SC2500, a hugely-powerful demolition bomb rarely used in WWII. Find out the full story here...
Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
Visit my audio book channel 'War Stories with Mark Felton': • One Thousand Miles to ...
Help support my channel:
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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Primary Source: ''The Blitz: Then & Now: Volume 2', Ed. Winston G. Ramsey, (After The Battle: 1990)
Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Feel Falkirk

[@markiesmith4537]

My father was a mile away when the bomb was dropped and was having a shave in preparation for going out...The bang from the bomb was so bone-crunchingly loud he not only cut himself but found himself thrown to the floor! Great video as usual Mark!

[@tancreddehauteville764]

I guess they didn't have electric razors back then!

[@johnp8131]

My Dad lived in Edgware with his Mother and siblings back then and used to commute between Stag Lane and the De Havilland works at Hatfield at the time. I presume he must have missed the explosion, as most evenings after work, from 1940 to 43, he was on the 3.7inch AA guns, with the Home Guard, at Gunnersbury Park in west London.

[@LeroxYT]

One of my grandpas was a young kid, 7 in 1943 i think, hes already dead sadly, but he told my father alot of stories, i should ask him about that, i mean he shouldve noticed that bomb i think

[@Munakas-wq3gp]

I'm surprised that it's still being covered that the British had found out about the guidance system and jammed it, making it inaccurate. So this may well have been the result of a covert op by the British government itself, trading off civillians to the vital factory.

[@robertfish4052]

My grandad mortars the Germans in Holland. He mostly wouldn't talk about it. He kept laughing too much.

[@Sevenigma777]

I have been steadily reading about ww2 for 30+ years and i would never think in 2024 i would hear a story i knew nothing about but of course the amazing Dr. Felton delivers just that!

[@Jermster_91]

Here is a fun fact you might not know. Hitler sent a telegram to the Governor of Texas expressing condolences from him and the German Reich after a Natural Gas explosion killed 300 students at a school on March 18th, 1937.

[@thischannelisbackon5679]

This channel puts the history channel to shame

[@atanumaulik7093]

WWII is inexhaustible.

[@seanstipsky9473]

Same here!

[@jean-louislalonde6070]

Same here. I'm still learning new facts and stories about WW2.

[@rharbi01]

My mother, uncle and grandmother were under that. House collapsed, grandmother hospitalised for a year, children rescued by my grandfather, both traumatised. The echoes are still there, my 97 year old aunt remembers the devastation of the area. My mother's description of seeing her Dad coming to get her through the collapsed bedroom window haunt me still. The rescuers had been walking over my grandmother, lying under the rubble, for several hours before she was found.

[@jetzers]

So sad to hear... We can't imagine what The Golden Generation had to endure during WW2.

[@the5thmusketeer215]

@@jetzers True. But, if the irresponsible & imbecilic Warmongers in NATO & the EU have their way, we won’t have to “imagine” it much longer….. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jamesross1799]

My grandma used to talk about being bombed in Wakefield on March 15th 41 . Wakefield got off very lightly compared to other local cities notably Sheffield.

[@alexhatfield2987]

I don’t usually comment on posts. But your family lived experience is powerful testimony and adds an emotional quality with anecdotal evidence that compliments Mark Felton’s research well. Thanks for sharing your family history.

[@Blox117]

@@jetzers "golden" lol

[@veritasvincit2745]

My nan remembered the bombing in Darlaston and lived with minor pieces of shrapnel in her legs until she died in 2018. A few years ago I was working in Witton in Birmingham and workmen discovered a German UXB when they were digging near the Aston Expressway. The Bomb Squad was called in and the area evacuated. I was working just outside the exclusion zone. A day or two later the Army performed a controlled detonation on the bomb just as I was on my lunch break with the windows open. It made me smile that eight decades apart both me and my nan heard the sound of probably the same type of enemy bomb.

[@iamgermane]

This bomb sounds like it would have gone like a tactical nuke, like from an atomic cannon.

[@MrBagpipes]

To be fair Darlaston still looks like a bomb has hit it.

[@veritasvincit2745]

@@MrBagpipes The June 1941 raid caused over a million quids worth of improvements, right?

[@philhawley1219]

@@veritasvincit2745 The earthquake of 2003 in Dudley caused £10 million worth of improvement.

[@hoofie2002]

​@@iamgermane not really

[@skraggybones]

You have one of the best channels on KZbin. And by far and away the best historical channel by a large margin. Thank you for the videos.

[@lm157]

Agree 100%. Mr Felton's vids are always well researched and made. This channel might be called "Only facts" as well. Always worth watching.

[@theChickenstones]

Agreed. Respect from Australia.

[@tommis1985]

I really appreciate the un-biased and non-sensationalized nature of your films Mark! It's like a breath of fresh air when it comes to WW2 history being retold!

[@Ac54-pvr7X-QWk2]

We love you Mark Felton. Thanks for another banger

[@lukefriesenhahn8186]

No pun intended. 😂

[@DarkMatterX1]

The havok wreaked and destruction wrought by WWII is nearly inconceivable. With this in mind, the number of people who seem today to be howling for and cheering on the instigation of a WWIII is inexplicable. Jingo is a hell of a drug.

[@johnpotter4750]

I have seen an equal area of devastation when I was seven outside the gates of Stratford Railway Works (behind Windmill Road) it was so popular for the Luftwaffe they later manage to hit the few remaining occupied roads with a V2. An Utter rubble field in 1955 surrounded still with devastated buildings both North and West side (they didn't bother to cover the area with wood advertising boards unlike inner London, just bare for all to see).

[@joegordon5117]

The Prefabs you showed for temporary housing were still being used many decades after the war - I had an aunt who lived in one in Kilsyth, not too far from Glasgow, they were relatively unchanged, despite being "temporary", put up to replace housing lost during the war. It was only in the 1980s the local council totally renovated the prefabs, turning them into something more like cosy wee cottages.

[@cartridgepad]

were they built out of asbestos?

[@MichaelGGarry]

Still have them in places like Sunderland.....

[@philipwardle6820]

@@cartridgepadAsbestos cement sheets I believe - also used until the early 60s build car garages by using the sheets as clading on wood frames

[@grahvis]

For many people, it was the first time they lived somewhere where they had fitted kitchens and indoor bathrooms.

[@mike-cl7pb]

There are plenty of prefabs in use that were refurbished in the late 1980-90s by replacing the concrete panels with brick and insulation digging out the clinker under concrete slabs and under pinning the footing were necessary depending on the type Airey, Cornish etc. I worked on them.

[@garylawson5381]

Dr Felton, you mentioned at the end of the video that local area where the bomb was dropped wanted the place to be remembered. The heartbreaking thought crossed my mind, that after eighty years the pain of war can still be felt. Thanks again Mark Felton Productions!

[@smark667]

Wild seeing an area I know well in this light. Spent 30 years just down the road from there!

[@silent1967]

Thank you Dr. Felton, LEST WE FORGET.

[@joetheplumber5781]

Dr. Felton, thank you so much for keeping the memories alive.

[@nigelo92]

That SC1000 controlled explosion had tons and tons of sand on it too right.

[@michaelporzio7384]

1:36 size matters. Not to be outdone the British came up with the 10,000 kg "Grand Slam" to be used on German U-Boot pens. Designed by Barnes Wallis who developed the Dambuster bombs among other things. "Banger" of an episode, Dr. Felton. Let us all remember the many dead from WWII.

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

The Grand Slam was the original Bunker Buster.

[@brianperry]

The 'Cookie' has more in common with the German bomb than the Tallboy or Grandslam, they were armour piecing Earthquake bombs designed for a different purpose.

[@mattisafool]

think you are confused. operation grand slam was orchestrated by mr goldfinger

[@michaelporzio7384]

@@mattisafool LOL that explains Rita Hayworth embracing the MAX bomb. She would have been a great Bond girl.

[@ktipuss]

The precise detail of the "Dambuster" bombs was kept secret for long after the War. In the movie about it (1955) the bombs were shown as spherical, which they were not in reality. A subject for a Dr Felton video maybe?

[@jamesgarman4788]

As always, another brilliant video by Mark Felton Productions!!!!

[@harryshuman9637]

Oh no, War Thunder's paws has reached Mark Felton too

[@user-sd3ik9rt6d]

Got to pay the bills.

[@johndough1703]

When he reaches Art Investment Scams and Temu promotion I’m out. (War Thunder is a great game btw)

[@spacewolfjr]

@@johndough1703I'm not a gamer but I can appreciate that the game at least fits with his content.

[@matt.willoughby]

It's a great fit, an excellent war game on an excellent war story channel

[@raymondcoventry1221]

@@johndough1703 We've already been given the chance to become Scottish Lairds, can't wait to invest in fine art!

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

The British "tallboy" and "Grand Slam" bombs were NOT blast bombs, but deep penetration "Earthquake bombs". British "blast bombs" were prefixed with the letters "HC" for "high capacity" (referring to the proportion of explosive filling in relation to the casing of the bomb) the most commonly used being the "HC4000" which weighed 4000lbs as compared to the 5500lbs of the "SC2500".

[@tancreddehauteville764]

So basically, bunker busters. The British approach was to cause devastation with incendiaries and generate cumulative heat power rather than pure explosive power. I would assume that it was cheaper and easier to manufacture these fire bombs than develop huge sophisticated explosive bombs.

[@deadandburied7626]

Explosive bombs went to the USAAF first, we used incendiary to make up shortfall.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

@@tancreddehauteville764 Why do you suggest it was "The British approach" and not "the German approach"? Have a read about "Operation Moonlight Sonata" the Luftwaffe bombing of Coventry on the night of 13/14 November 1940. The Germans first plastered the city with a then unprecedented 650 tons of high explosive blast bombs to shatter buildings thereby providing a plentiful supply of exposed combustibles, mixed with deep penetration "SD" bombs to knock out the underground gas, electricity and water mains and only after that initial attack force had withdrawn then dropped 36,000 incendiary bombs as well as over 100 "Flammenbombe" or "oil bombs" solely with the intention of generating a firestorm. Where the Germans failed in their objective was that their attacks took place scattered over the whole night of 13/14th Nov 1940, with several lulls due to poor German co-ordination of their bomber forces which allowed the fire brigades of Coventry and the surrounding cities to get in and control the spread of the fires thereby preventing them from joining up into one huge conflagration. The fact that the fire storm never developed was down to the inexperience of the German air planners, and the unstinting efforts of the British fire & rescue services, an NOT because the Germans ever stopped to consider that their efforts were in any way immoral. The British learned from their experiences of being on the repeated receiving end of such German attacks to formulate their own response, which they first put into practice with "Operation Gomorrah", which was the RAF firebombing of Hamburg in July 1943.

[@40hup]

Yes, but the "earthquake" was the intended main cause of damage - devestating for all housing and bunkers in a wider area. But it is true, that they were mostly for dedicated military targets and infrastructure of high value. But the HC-airmines (US: "LC", also known as "blockbusters") were part of a deliberate WMD strategy against urban civilian populations: First cause damage to a lot of housing with conventional bombs and big air mines that blow the roofs away in a wide area, then attack in following waves with incendiary ammunitions to cause an precalculated (prevailing winds, etc.) inextinguishable firestorm, to wipe out a whole city, and kill also by suffocation (all oxygen used up by the fire) or the induction of carbon monoixide by the fires in otherwise intact cellars and air raid shelters as perfected in Hamburg (there even called "Operation Gomorrah"), Dresden and Tokyo.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

@@tancreddehauteville764 What makes you think it was "the British approach" to burn cities to the ground? Read about the German's "Operation Moonlight Sonata", as the unprecedented German bombing of the British city of Coventry in Nov 1940 was known. The Germans, using their "X Gerät" accurate radio guidance bombing system placed target markers over the city centre of Coventry and then dropped 500 tons of high explosive bombs ( a mixture of surface "blast bombs" to demolish property to block access to the narrow old streets of the city centre and to provide a large amount of exposed timbers and combustibles, combined with a hefty sprinkling of deeper pentration bombs to set up blast waves through the underlying ground so as to break and disrupt gas & water mains... broken gas mains for increased combustiblilty and broken water mains to hamper the fire fighting efforts of the British fire services). Once this initial wave of bombers had done their work then flew in further waves of German bombers to scatter 33,000 incendiary bombs together with upto 100 oil filled "Flammenbombe", which the British had not even developed at that point of the war. The WHOLE intended purpose of this pattern of attack (as was discovered in post war captured German documentation) was to try to create the world's FIRST aerially generated firestorm. Where the Germans failed was in the poor coordination of their bomber forces, which meant that during the raids there were a number of lulls where the British firefighters on the ground could move into the city and prevent the joining up of numerous large fires which would have otherwise created an overwhelming sea of fire. The lessons that the British defences learned during German attacks such as these laid the groundwork for their OWN plan of attack when they returned the "favour" to the Germans 3 years later during "Operation Gomorrah" the attack on the city of Hamburg in July 1943. The British achieved what the Germans failed to achieve by the use of a "bomber stream" of well marshalled bomber forces that carried out the same type of attack as that on Coventry but without the lulls in the attack to prevent the German fire service's ability to contain the fire situation. As a result the many large fires created during "Gomorrah" burned uncontained, and consequently joined into an ocean of flame that destroyed Hamburg city centre outright. The Germans failed by the poor planning of their unprecedented attempt to burn a city to the ground, NOT because they thought it would be immoral to carry out such an attack in the first place.

[@toonbat]

It's insane to think that the Hiroshima bomb had a yield of 16,000 tons of tnt, while this monster had a yield of 2.7 tons. Imagine six thousand of these things dropping on your city at once.

[@MVProfits]

And now there are many way more powerful bombs than what was used in Hiroshima. A madness, a arm's race where everyone comes last.

[@timburr4453]

Tough to fathom. Just...vaporizes a persons soul

[@DrLoverLover]

A horrible act of inhumanity

[@michaeldavid6284]

@toonbat Right...at 16,000 vs 2.7, calling this bomb a mini nuke is ridiculous.

[@toonbat]

I would say it's not ridiculous. The smallest nuke on record, the davy crockett nuclear device, was only 22 tons of TNT. Sure, that's still an order of magnitude difference, but the difference between the smallest nuke and the largest nuke is still way bigger than that, with the Tsar bomba being 50,000,000 tons vs the davy crockett's 22. @@michaeldavid6284

[@strongerandwiser2023]

By far the best history KZbin channel. Absolutely love it Mark. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this.

[@MyLateralThawts]

Reminded me of something of a WW 2 mystery about a type of bomb the Germans used in only a few bombing missions. The bombs were dropped during Operation Barbarossa using, in at least one case, using the FW-190. The effect was consistent with fuel air bombs and devastatingly effective. The mystery is why the Luftwaffe stopped using them?

[@user-uf1qh4im4z]

The Germans never deployed any FABs during the war. Perhaps it was a more napalm like device ?

[@Frankthetank-et7wo]

They stopped using them because the Russians thought the burns caused by them were akin to chemical burns and threatened to use Chemical Weapons.

[@blacksheep4185]

My grand uncle was a sergeant within a Luftwaffe 12.8 cm FlaK unit. He told me as their FlaK unit covered the retreat of the german Army over the italian Strait of Messina they got one day "special" ammunition for their deliberate use. He said these were projectiles with pressurized air (Druckluftgeschosse) which caused quite some casualties among the allied bombers. But after short time this ammunition was taken away from them again. It was rumoured that the allied gave the message that if these ammunitions were further used there was the thread of using poisenous gas instead against them... No clue until today about further backgrounds but my grand uncle was an upright man.

[@zeljkostamatovic7382]

Britanci i Amerikanci mogu koristititi tjekiom rata što hoće. Kad vide da drugi( u ovom slučaju Njemci) imaju bolje oružje od njih prijet sa kemijskim ili drugim zabranjnim oružjem. Ta praksa se nastavila i nakon WII, a pogotovo se vidi zadnji 30 g. a tek u ovom ukrajiskom- ruskom ratu dolazi do izražaja. Danas nisu htjeli osudit cioniste nego stavljaju veto, a Britanci pa i Hrvatska u kojoj živim ko psići rade što gazda u DC kaže. Jad jadni da nemože biti veći. 😥😥😥 ​@@blacksheep4185

[@Springbok295]

What sort of ammunition was this? Was it like a fuel-air explosive?@@blacksheep4185

[@dawson9652]

Thank you for making this video. I've always wondered about the history of this bomb.

[@dougcrawford7507]

Thanks Dr. Felton. As always well researched and fascinating.

[@mitchmatthews6713]

Thanks for the continued education! Cheers, Mark!

[@luke8329]

The women hugging the bomb is quite the photograph.

[@MarkFeltonProductions]

Rita Hayworth - noted Hollywood star.

[@marcoflumino]

@@MarkFeltonProductions Damn I thought I recognised the woman.....

[@bdleo300]

The bomb looks like a big diIdo 😀

[@plunder1956]

A friend of mine lived in a Pre-fab home a bit larger than the one shown in this video (That was in 1977 not far from Windsor, so these emergency homes were still in use then!) Britain took decades to recover from WW2, in some ways it never did.

[@MrXdmp]

Thanks Dr. Felton!

[@brianvernon7754]

Fantastic, as always. Thank you for such great videos.

[@user-em2pe3rf4h]

Christ. We should all be grateful that the Nazis never achieved building an actual atom bomb. We all very well could be speaking German, Japanese or Italian depending on how the axis carved up the world. Thanks for another great episode Dr. Felton, cheers from the States!

[@youtubesnamingpolicysucks]

If you think the Germans wouldn't have used a nuke against Japan or Italy, you're deluding yourself. Hitler only ever had these "allies" as a means to an end, and there is no doubt he would have turned on them the moment he could have.

[@derf9465]

😂😂😂 Most the country drives German cars, watches an Olympic games in the same format as Hitlers, siemens power our tills and factory machines......... I'd say they won with banks not tanks

[@tpl608]

They had the idea. And they had the idea of a space shuttle to drop a bomb on the USA. Their version was a ramp and not a ricket. Hitler was approached when scientists in Germany wrote the paper that convinced those all around the world that a bomb was possible. Hitler told them it was Jew science and funding never really happened. His polices helped prevent them from getting the atomic bomb.

[@justin8894]

Same format as Hitler’s? NTSC had nothing to do with Hitler. Going back, all analog TV formats date back to the 1920’s North America.

[@dennygatz7459]

Europe will just speak Arabic instead.

[@johnflanagan2316]

Thank you Mark your videos are so informative and sometimes a little scary. ✌️ ❤

[@fredericksaxton3991]

Thank you Dr Felton. I see Ravenstone Road no longer exists. I also see on Byng maps with birds-eye view of the site the high rise blocks and the 20 storey blocks of flats going up to accomodate our recent arrivals. I can understand local 'discussions' getting heated.

[@TheCardiganR]

There's not many locals left in that neck of the woods these days to complain about any newcomers.

[@thEannoyingE]

I never knew about this, thanks for this history lesson. You never disappoint.

[@harridan.]

i appreciate you sharing that! what an experience.

[@dougtyler7788]

Enjoying the channel ! Keep up the good work. Mild Canadian winter here to. Been good for us to get things done around the farm as well.

[@williambarr2846]

Thank you Mark for another informative, and professional, well put together narrative concerning one of the "lesser known" occurrences of the second WW- Viewing your presentation's is always a "wise" decision!

[@gregmiller9710]

its a good friday when Dr. Felton's got a show! :)

[@etowahman1]

Excellent work Sir Mark. As usual you over achieved. 👍

[@predragdjuric-tt9uc]

a great very interesting video Mr Felton as always.have a good one.

[@russwoodward8251]

Thank you Dr. Felton.

[@657449]

You never disappoint. Thank you for this story.

[@Astro_Gardener]

Thanks Mark for video, never knew this had happened before.

[@rsacchi100]

Another video on a relatively obscure WWII incident. Thanks for producing.

[@YO3A007]

Excellent documentary. Excellent commentary. In my humble opinion, you deserve a Pulitzer. There is a reason you have over 2 million subscribers. I always look forward to your next video. THX.

[@mikemanners1069]

One of the best channels on You Tube.....i always give a thumbs up

[@jasonmussett2129]

Excellent as always. I always learn something new👍👍

[@ahaz3469]

I walk past this area regularly but I’ve never even heard from this trade by. Thank you Dr Felton for such an enlightening video. I will be sure to check the park out and respects

[@JustSomeVideos0]

Fascinating story. I live a couple of miles from this site and hadn't heard of the WW2 history. I always wondered why such a large site was available for development so much later than the surrounding houses. Even nearer my home there's three parallel roads- each one has a 1950s house which stands out as the rest of the houses are from much earlier. The three later houses line up perfectly- clearly a bomber had dropped bombs which had hit in a line. One of the local buildings got hit by a parachute mine, requiring extensive works over 50 metres away. Bizarre fact was that the curator of a museum used to live in our old house (about 200 metres away) and during the blitz they use to store the Domesday Book in our loft rather than keeping it in the museum! That may explain the chanting golden faced monks that used to walk out of the walls in the house!

[@ednamartin1205]

No, they would have been a result of alcohol or substance abuse.

[@JustSomeVideos0]

@@ednamartin1205 You'ld be surprised. I don't believe in ghosts but that place had some wierd shizzle going on. I used to see a child sitting at the top of the stairs above my bedroom watching me. I thought it was my childhood imagination (certainly not alcohol or substance abuse). Years later I talked to my (now deceased) mum about it. She said "oh yes, he's there quite frequently". Um. Hello? New underpants in Rm1 please..... Like I say I don't believe in ghosts and it might have just been a strange shadow that our brain (ever desperately looking for humans) perceives as a person. I don't believe but I can't explain........

[@smegheadGOAT]

I love Dr, Felton and the way he crafts his videos with the use of words like stupendous.

[@caw25sha]

De Havilland moved their aircraft production to Hatfield in the early 30s but Stag Lane was still used for engine production (the Gypsy used in Tiger Moths) and I believe also propellors. At the time of this bombing they had probably also started jet engine development there. I wonder why the Luftwaffe chose it. They presumably needed a target they had a good chance of hitting with a single bomb so you'd think they would select somewhere that could be reliably "eyeballed" even at night. A naval dockyard perhaps?

[@F_Tim1961]

Spies ??

[@lowellwhite1603]

I remember reading in an obscure 1960’s publication (Gruppe 66 Archiv) that the Germans were developing a liquid air bomb of similar power to the air-fuel bombs such as the American Daisy Cutter used in Vietnam and MOAB (Mother Of All Bombs) used in Afghanistan. The liquid air bomb, in theory , had the power of a tactical nuke.

[@billwilson-es5yn]

The engineer that headed German Flak development invented several sir-fuel bombs that used liquid oxygen and finely powdered coal. His first ones were AAA rounds where the blast was to throw the heavy bomber formations into each other. Then he made aerial bombs that were used a few times against massed armor formations in Russia until the Luftwaffe refused to carry them after a couple blew up in flight to the front. He supposedly had some made to be fired out of Nebelwerfers at Normandy Beach defenses but those were ordered to be taken far to the rear for disposal after a few began to leak liquid oxygen. Someone then got Hitler interested in making bombers that could reach the US into a giant sir-fuel bomb that would detonate over Washington DC, NYC and other major cities. Their crews would set it on autopilot before bailing out over the Atlantic Ocean to be picked up by a waiting U-Boat. Hitler dropped the idea after Donitz refused to cooperate, saying it would be a suicide mission for the aircraft and sub crews.

[@gordonsmith665]

We lived in Burnt Oak (Watling Avenue) throughout the war and about a couple of miles from Stagg Lane and I do remember the large explosion. Rumours abounded at the time and I believe it was circulated that they had dropped a big bomb in the Welsh Harp. When that bomb was released there was a tremendous "rush of air" -unlike other bombs I heard. It was around that time that we had a big raid which tried to hit Hendon Aerodrome. They hit Colindale Tube station -killing a number air force personell

[@thomasprochaska5083]

by far the best history channel on youtube!!!!!!!!

[@user-zl8km4sh9p]

Another incredible story. Thanks as always.

[@Valkanna.Nublet]

I always chuckle when someone mentions temporary prefab housing. I grew up near Newport Wales in the 70s and 80s and there was an estate there that still had those 'temporary' homes. I've since moved away, but apparently most were finally replaced around the turn of the century and but there are still some there today, according to news articles online. 80 year old 'temporary' homes.

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

A testament to British resilience and craftsmanship.

[@davidcronan4072]

I lived in a prefab and ours was of American design. We moved out in 1953 but they were still in use 20 years later. .@@eucliduschaumeau8813

[@lm157]

"Temporary" always stay active longer, whatever it is, than dedicated or built for purpose. Funny, isn't it?

[@ktipuss]

I came across a photo in a book about London's trams showing a pair of pre-fab houses straddling the tramline at Woodhurst Road Loop, Plumstead. Several vacant blocks beside them. Either a large bomb took them all out, or a stick of bombs closely placed. (Book: "London Tramway Twilight", by Robert J Harley, Capital Transport Publishing 2000).

[@tomhenry897]

Testament to how broke England was

[@sirgalahad1376]

Thank you Dr. Felton for another wonderful educational video.

[@geemeff]

Another great video bud still, the best computer voice on KZbin.

[@ljosephdumas3113]

Dr. Felton, I notice you kept saying 'largest bomb used on Britain up to that time...' Did anyone else have bombs of this size in 1941, and were they used? Thanx for yet another great piece of forgotten history.

[@kbanghart]

I'll bet several were on the drawing board, their designers itching to get approval and funding for deployment.

[@mikegoatkiller3871]

Thanks for telling this story as it wasn’t one I had heard before. If it had been on target I might not be here now as my family lived in the next street over from the De Havilland works.

[@EdemJansen]

Most excellent, classic Mark Felton.

[@paulpaul246]

Thank you for sharing this and it is a tragic loss of people in Britain very sad

[@Nick_B_Bad]

Wooo WOO Mark Felton Friday video drop!!

[@phaasch]

Fascinating story for many reasons. My mother lived in nearby Burnt Oak at the time, and she told me many stories about the blitz. I believe the West Hendon incident was put around as a gas explosion at time, to deflect curiosity. Later on, in 1944, my mum joined DeHavillands, working at Stag Lane before being moved up to Hatfield. It was at Stag Lane that she and my father met.

[@user-is7xs1mr9y]

We don't have footage of such a horrific event, but I've been seeing the many videos of the Beirut explosion and many are so devastating. Even though I know what's coming, it always makes me gasp whenever the explosion occurs. I can't even imagine how horrible it must be in the midst of that, but I imagine it must have been similar.

[@lm157]

Mr Felton, I love your voice, it's somehow calming. Even with those dreadful stories you present. Thank you for another incredible facts, unknown to us, simple bread eaters. 👍👍👍

[@daemonartursson5952]

My Grandfather was an ARP warden and fire watcher (in reserved occupation) living in Hendon. I know the family (including my Dad who was then a very young baby) were re housed 3 times as a result of the Luftwaffe bombings. Thankfully they survived the war. I assume Grandpa was one of those called to search. Alas I never got to meet him 😢

[@delavalmilker]

76.709 views and 9.1K likes within only 7 hours of being posted. Shows the amazing popularity of Dr. Felton's videos!

[@REDRAWVISIONS]

Superb ... as always!

[@polynesia8733]

Outstanding narration!

[@hoosierpatriot2280]

I had never heard of this type of bomb but I'm not surprised. Thank you Dr. Felton.

[@scp-0962]

Funny, I was just marveling about the SC2500 after using it in Il-2, a WW2 Plane Simulator game. Excellent work Mark!

[@TheCannonface]

Great video mark

[@Crissy_the_wonder]

My goodness, I grew up on the Marriotts Close West Hendon estate, that very area

[@David-ic4by]

We should not wonder too long about why Bomber Harris took the approach he did regarding the strategic bombing initiative over Germany. It’s easy to judge others 80 years later, but most haven’t lived through this sort of thing.

[@warriorgaming1604]

The first civilian raid by Germany was accidental a crew was lost jettisoned bombs were actually court martialed by georing for violating the order that towns were not to be hit industry and bases only

[@David-ic4by]

@@warriorgaming1604 How quickly things changed for Göring and the Luftwaffe, huh?

[@John-pr2gw]

@@David-ic4byYes, after the RAF started bombing German cities in retaliation..

[@Guido_XL]

​@@John-pr2gw "In retaliation"? For what? Are you aware of the fact that Britain started bombing its opponent early during the war, when the Germans were still, under Hitler's strict directive, quite wary about doing exactly that? This 13 February 1941 bomb drop on West Hendon came after the 1940 bombing raids. What we often see and hear is that the Allied bombing raids on Germany were supposed to be a response to German attacks on Warsaw and Rotterdam. But that is ludicrous. Warsaw and Rotterdam were part of the battle-field on the ground then. What Britain started to do since May 1940 was sending out bombers to civilian areas, dropping bombs on civilians, while those areas were not part of any military frontline whatsoever. There was no Allied army out there, waiting for the bombardment to stop and advance afterwards to occupy the area. It was therefore also called "strategic" bombing. But what's in a word, right?

[@johnsaucedo1131]

Your stories...so entertaining and informing.

[@karoltakisobie6638]

I read somewhere that Luftwaffe had one of the earliest working thermobaric bombs, fortunately much smaller than current ones. It used some kind of filling with coal dust as base .

[@flywithmeify]

As usual another great video. Love history!

[@timburr4453]

Brilliant and interesting upload. I did not know this story. I can't imagine being anywhere near this behemoth when it went off. Good lord😖 Did folks back then even without the air raid sirens identify planes just by the sound of engines? I heard they could. 190+ houses. wow

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

What I've heard over the years was that German twin and multi engined engined aircraft had engines that were in some way were sonically "out of phase", and so made a low throbbing sound from a distance where allied aircraft of the same type were reported to make a constant unchanging drone. Its something you tend to hear on the soundtracks of films made during the era.

[@ColinH1973]

Excellent work, thanks.

[@wordsmith52]

The "West Hendon Incident" was well known to most people living locally but there were different stories and versions of them circulating for years. Some said the plane had crashed into the houses. The nearby reservoir was reportedly drained in the 60s or 70s looking for remains of an aircraft but none found. What happened to the plane? - did it just fly back to France unmolested? There still seems to be secrecy surrounding the story.

[@trooperdgb9722]

I imagine it did just that. With no AA radar or really effective (radar equipped nightfighters) in 1941 why wouldn't it just have returned to base? I don't see any "secrecy" at work here.

[@wordsmith52]

Well, there were night fighters available, I think, and the air raid alert was given - albeit very late. But as you say, it probably just flew back to France without any hitch. As for 'secrecy", the video itself tells us there was a cover-up for censorship purposes and the fuller story was not told until more recently. I lived in that area for many years, visited relatives who lived in the actual road where the bomb fell there frequently and got to know the locality and the people quite well. I also did some research (albeit limited) myself and various accounts were given in the; local press, and history books and memoirs from other people. Few of them ever seemed to tally with what actually happened (as reported by Mark Felton). My mother and other people witnessed the noise and effects of the blast from some distance away as did others. So please do not try to make out I am trying to start 'conspiracy theories' etc in such a dismissive tone.

[@trooperdgb9722]

Didn't mean to imply that. The veil of secrecy surrounding the effect OF Luftwaffe attacks was a well founded security measure, nothing more. Thats all I meant. @@wordsmith52

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

@@trooperdgb9722 There WERE radar equipped nightfighters in 1940 !!! British technology being the first to put one into the air.

[@tomhenry897]

The secrecy was why no air alarm and no ack ack

[@petersanderson8307]

Thanks!

[@rich_john]

Always interesting to hear about things like this that you would never know about. And you would simply walk past without knowing

[@daystatesniper01]

Another golden nugget here Mark many thanks

[@someusername1]

This is quite close to my home in Cricklewood. It's a fascinating story that I was not previously aware of. The explosion must have come as a shock, even about 2 miles away in Cricklewood. I wish I could have asked my mother and grandmother, who lived here during WW2, about it.

[@northpointaxe6167]

Not that bad, i don't think "mini-nuke" is an accurate description.

[@connorgoulding2321]

Another great video Mark! Could you do a video about the sheffield blitz. The marples Hotel which took a direct hit from a heavy bomb which flattened the building has now been turned into student flats. some of the victims of the bombing remain entombed underneath the pavement.

[@onenamlit3861]

Calling the SC2500 a "mini-nuke" is inaccurate and does a disservice to the historical record. I thought you were better than that, Mr. Felton.

[@volkerkalhoefer3973]

You really thought so 🙄

[@martinswiney2192]

I heard it here first. Thank you

[@EnlightenedBro105]

I think you also mentioned that the Exeter bomb was covered in a lot of dirt to dampen the explosion. So the 2500 Kg explosion would have been like 5-6x that of Exeter.

[@bishopgreenhill4359]

Fantastic upload mark,could you do a video about quizzlers and spies dropped in to gather info on factories and bases? My grand parents worked in the home guard and ammo factories in Sheffield uk as did many in the industrial north and midlands.Spies were caught looking over British steel works and arrested and interrogated,and coughed up who they were.Most failed because of the slang words and accents they couldn’t understand.

[@31415926535ism]

A friend of mine experienced this event, lucky to survive.

[@johnwhitley2898]

Wow, that was a rather BIG bomb, and that destruction radius was deadly. It's probably a good thing the Luftwaffe/German Intel didn't decide to just start randomly using these along with their larger bombing campaign raids. That could have been even more devastating, and significantly beyond what events bore out. Thanks again Dr Felton.

[@mrains100]

Thank you.

[@he2669]

Another corker absolutely love your videos.

[@fgcasey]

Thanks for this post Mark. My mother talked of that night. They were told it was caused by aerial torpedoes.

[@cheekarp2180]

The shockwave is much more devastating than most people think, like you might think if you were in a trench or something or something you would be fine, but no it's like sound, it can still get in places and wreck a human.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

The pressure wave from a blast will instantaneously rupture or "pop" all the delicate alveoli (or air sacs) in your lungs like overinflated balloons, with the result that instead of them being filled with the inhaled air that we need to live they will rapidly fill with blood and lymph, and cause you to drown in your own bodily fluids, though as many witnesses will testify the pressure wave will leave very little if any evidence of external injury.

[@0Turbox]

Imagine they had made it a Fritz X, you need only one per factory. The bomb is more expensive as the whole plane it carries.

[@trooperdgb9722]

Fritz X was a guided bomb yes... but it required the operator to be able to see the target. Just how was that to be done on a NIGHT raid in 1941? Why do you think the bomber in that story used Y-Gerat???

[@davidahlstrom7533]

Sounds like a few of those Hendon bombs were comparable to a (small) battlefield nuke. Surprising the Germans didn't use more of those bombs, or their larger cousins that came later, instead of spending lavishly on the V1 and V2 programs. That blast site is just a few km away from the RAF museum in north London (Edgwere area), which I think was the 1941 target (it was the DeHavilland factory then).

[@petersmith7126]

First time I've heard of this attack

[@j1st633]

You are great.

[@ednamartin1205]

Great and informative video. I grew up in Hendon but only once I found a small mention of a German "Aerial mine" that caused great destruction in West Hendon. The secrecy because of the war caused it to be a little known episode even up to today. That entire area remained something of a wasteland, even with the council estate built in the seventies. I imagine that if the neighbourhood the bomb destroyed had remained, its population might have made that area of Hendon more buoyant and thriving than it has been.