Bristol Aeroplane Company works, Filton
25 September 1940 · Bristol, Bristol
View this record on the map →- Date
- 25 September 1940
- Record type
- Reported target area
- Bomb type
- HE
- Casualties
- 132
- Location
- Bristol, Bristol
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed event, landmark point
What happened
Fifty-eight Heinkel He 111 bombers with fighter escort attacked the Bristol Aeroplane Company works and airfield in a daylight raid shortly before noon. Six semi-underground shelters took direct hits. Eight completed aircraft and a Beaufighter prototype were destroyed.
Casualty note
Of the dead, 91 were Bristol Aeroplane Company employees. A further 315 people were injured.
Also worth knowing
Sources differ on the death toll: the University of the West of England's Bristol History Resource gives 132, John Penny's archival study for the Bristol Branch of the Historical Association gives 131, and BBC anniversary coverage says 'more than 140'. The figure shown is the most commonly cited. Note also that Filton lies just outside the modern city boundary, in South Gloucestershire, so this marker sits fractionally beyond the Bristol outline — the works were 'Bristol' by name and by workforce, not by council area.