Croydon Airport & Purley Way factories
15 August 1940 · London, Greater London
View this record on the map →- Date
- 15 August 1940
- Record type
- Historic bombing site
- Bomb type
- HE
- Casualties
- 68
- Location
- London, Greater London
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed event, landmark point
What happened
Twenty-two Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter-bombers of Erprobungsgruppe 210 attacked the aerodrome and the factories along Purley Way, hitting the terminal, the armoury and the Bourjois and British N.S.F. works. Around 200 houses on the Waddon estate were damaged and 180 people made homeless.
Casualty note
62 civilians, five airmen of No. 111 Squadron and one from Station Headquarters. More than 35 of the dead were at the British N.S.F. factory.
Also worth knowing
The first major raid on the Greater London area. The casualties were spread across the adjacent factory sites rather than concentrated at the marker.