Aberdeen — the raid of 21 April 1943
21 April 1943 · Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire
View this record on the map →- Date
- 21 April 1943
- Record type
- Historic bombing area
- Bomb type
- mixed
- Casualties
- 120
- Location
- Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed event, area-level point only (exact site not verified)
What happened
The last major Luftwaffe raid on any British city. 127 bombs fell in 44 minutes across residential and industrial Aberdeen, from Hilton in the north to the harbour, damaging or destroying more than 12,000 homes.
Casualty note
More than 120 killed — 98 civilians and 27 soldiers of the Gordon Highlanders at Gordon Barracks — in 127 bombs dropped over 44 minutes. Named individual casualties below (the Cox family) come from a single source and have not been cross-checked against a second.
Also worth knowing
Sites damaged without a published per-site casualty figure: Middlefield School (a direct strike; a young teacher trapped and had a leg amputated), Kittybrewster railway shelter (13 railwaymen sheltering, 4 killed), Cattofield Gardens, Powis Place (the front of Causewayend Church destroyed), George Street and Hutcheon Street.