The London Blitz WWII World War II Veteran Remembrance Coin Stamp Gift Set 1941

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WWII The London Blitz 1941 Coin/Stamp Display Set From the 'Historic Events' range: visit our ebay store to view the full range (multiple buy to compound carriage) at: http://stores./historiccoinandstampsetgifts THE LONDON BLITZ During World War II, for the last few weeks of 1940 and until the spring of 1941 London was bombed virtually every night by German aircraft. The worst raid, on 10th May 1941, resulted in over 1,400 people killed and many thousands injured. The display c ontains nine coins dated 1941, halfcrown, florin, English and Scottish shilling, sixpence, threepence (all struck in 50% silver) plus brass threepence, halfpenny, farthing (pennies not issued dated 1941) plus an original 1965 GB postage stamp, issued to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, and depicting the London skyline and St. Paul's Cathedral during an air raid. The coins were minted in 1941 and are in Fine (or better) condition and the stamp is in unused Mint condition. The item is housed in a display protection case. The set can be removed from the case for framing if so desired. UK Payment: Paypal (preferred) or Postal Orders Overseas Payment: By Paypal only The Blitz inflicted around 43,000 deaths and destroyed over a million houses, but failed to achieve the Germans' strategic objectives of knocking Britain out of the war or rendering it unable to resist an invasion. Although the word Blitz is a shortening of the German word blitzkrieg , meaning "lightning war", it was not an example of blitzkrieg but was an early example of strategic bombing . The literal translation of the German word "Blitz" is "lightning". From November 1940 to February 1941, the Luftwaffe attacked industrial and port cities. Targets included Coventry , Southampton , Birmingham , Liverpool , Bristol , Swindon , Plymouth , Cardiff , Manchester , Sheffield , Portsmouth , and Avonmouth . During this period, fourteen attacks were mounted on ports, nine on industrial targets inland and eight on London . Probably the most devastating of these raids, in terms of material destruction, occurred on the evening of the 29th December in what has been dubbed The Second Great Fire of London in which an embattled St Paul's Cathedral provided an iconic image of London's resistance. British defences were still fairly weak and German losses were sustainable — only 75 aircraft during these four months. The German High Command became sceptical about the campaign. With the RAF intact, an invasion of Britain was unfeasible. Preparations were underway for Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union , which (in Hitler's eyes) had more priority than reducing Britain . In February 1941, Grand Admiral Erich Raeder persuaded Hitler to attack British ports in support of the Kriegsmarine 's Battle of the Atlantic . Hitler issued a directive on 6 February ordering the Luftwaffe to concentrate its efforts on ports, notably Plymouth , Portsmouth , Bristol and Avonmouth, Swansea , Merseyside , Belfast , Clydebank , Hull , Sunderland , and Newcastle . 46 attacks were mounted against those cities between 19 February and 12 May , with only seven directed against London , Birmingham , Coventry , and Nottingham . By this time, the effort was aimed as much against civilians as against industrial targets and the raids were intended to provoke terror. British defenses were much improved by this time. The Bristol Beaufighter , with airborne radar, proved effective against bombers with ground-based radar guiding night fighters to their targets. An increasing number of anti-aircraft guns and searchlights were radar-controlled, improving accuracy. From the start of 1941 the Luftwaffe's losses mounted (28 in January, 124 in May). With the impending invasion of the Soviet Union requiring the movement of air power to the East, the Blitz ended in May 1941. One last major attack on London happened on 10 May , where many important buildings were d... read more

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