Newton Abbot railway station
20 August 1940 · Newton Abbot, Devon
View this record on the map →- Date
- 20 August 1940
- Record type
- Historic bombing area
- Bomb type
- HE
- Casualties
- 14
- Location
- Newton Abbot, Devon
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed event, landmark point
What happened
Three German aircraft attacked the station and its yards in the early evening, dropping six bombs — one of which failed to explode — and strafing the site with machine-gun fire. Station Cottages and Forde Road were hit directly, locomotives and rolling stock were wrecked, and the station buildings were badly damaged.
Casualty note
Contemporary and later accounts differ: 14 killed is the most commonly cited figure, with some local sources putting the toll higher and the seriously injured at around 90.
Also worth knowing
Newton Abbot was a major Great Western Railway junction and locomotive works, making it one of the most strategically valuable rail targets in the South West.