Bomb Damage, Exeter, Devon
A vertical aerial photograph showing the extent of the bomb damage suffered by Exeter during WW2. The cathedral can be seen towards the top right hand corner. The River Exe appears towards the bottom left. It appears that most of the damage was around the Cathedral area although the Cathedral itself was relatively undamaged. The cathedral would have been easy for the bombers to pick out. Exeter was bombed on the 3-4 May 1942. It was one of a number of cities targeted by Hitler in revenge for Air Marshal Harris' bombing campaign against German cities in 1942. These raids targeted major tourist towns chosen from a Baedeker travel guide and are known as the Baedeker raids.