Bridge of Waithe (Brig o' Waithe)
16 March 1940 · Orkney, Orkney
View this record on the map →- Date
- 16 March 1940
- Record type
- Historic bombing site
- Bomb type
- HE
- Casualties
- 1
- Location
- Orkney, Orkney
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed site, coordinate stated directly by source
What happened
A Luftwaffe aircraft returning from a raid on the Scapa Flow naval anchorage dropped nineteen bombs near the shore of Loch Stenness, on its way back out. One killed James Isbister; it was the second major Luftwaffe attack on Scapa Flow, after an earlier raid in October 1939 had damaged the battleship Iron Duke.
Casualty note
James Isbister, 27, killed in his own doorway — the first British civilian killed by a German bomb in the Second World War. Seven other civilians were wounded; six military personnel were also killed and seven injured in the wider raid on Scapa Flow that night.
Also worth knowing
Coordinate stated directly by the source used — no geocoding was needed for this record.