Did Luwaffe manage to extend the bombing beyond London?

Answer 1

The Luftwaffe was able to press it's bombing campaign past London but it faced several very serious challenges that, ultimately, proved to be too severe to overcome.

The Germans never developed a good long range bomber that was heavily armed to protect itself against enemy fighters. The HE 111, JU 88 and Do 17, their main bombers during the war, were medium bombers which were lightly armed and armored. The main German fighter, the ME 109 had only a short range and it wasn't capable of escorting the bombers much beyond London. As a result, past London, the bombers would be on their own. Against Spitfires and Hurricanes in daylight that proved to be little more than suicide.

The German long range fighter, the ME 110, was no match for the British fighters, (meat on the table the Brits used to call the 110's), and much beyond London the attacks had to be made at night. Back then a night attack was effective if your target was a city but totally useless if you were trying to hit a specific target like an airfield or a factory. The German night time terror bombings killed civilians but did little to cripple the British war effort.

The Germans did mount a few raids from their bases in Norway against British targets in the extreme North of England and Scotland but again, the short range of the ME 109 forced the bombers to go without fighter protection and the effectiveness of the raids was minimized.

The Germans did try to bomb North of London during the Battle of Britian and throughout the war but the lack of a heavily armed long ranbge bomber and any effective long range escort fighters crippled their campaign.

ADD
I probably should clarify that I wasn't intending to be dismissive of the losses suffered by the English people or the hardships that they endured. I meant that the German night raids were not nearly as effective as the American and British raids against German factories and population centers made with the large Lancaster, Stirling, B17 and B 24 bombers later in the war. When the Germans struck at the British airfields in the South of England in daylight and had the advantage of fighter escort they did far more damage to the British war effort than they did after they turned to the night time terror raids.

Answer 2

During the early days of WWII, the German Airforce bombed many places in Southern England, not just London, if that is what you are asking.

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The Battle can be roughly divided into four phases:

10 July – 11 August: Kanalkampf, the Channel battles.

12 August – 23 August: Adlerangriff, the early assault against the coastal airfields.

24 August – 6 September: the Luftwaffe targets the airfields. The critical phase of the battle.

7 September onwards: the day attacks switch to British towns and cities.

...For several months prior to 7 September, when the first major London raid was launched, the Luftwaffe had bombed a series of British cities, killing more than 1,250 civilians in July and August. The 7 September raid targeted docks in the East End of the city, and over the coming days massive raids were launched again and again: some targeting the docks but others bombing indiscriminately. The RAF did come up but in greater numbers than the Luftwaffe expected. The 12 Group Big Wing was deployed for the first time, giving the German pilots a fright. Over the coming days the attacks on London continued. The break from bombing the airfields gave the RAF critical breathing space. It was the turning point....

Answer 3

I'm surprised that mjl (etc) is so dismissive of the power of raids beyond London. The phrase 'Coventration' was coined to describe the bombing of civilians from the very heavy bombing of that city, Coventry, by the Luftwaffe - a raid which lasted 10 hours! There were over a 1000 deaths and over 4300 houses were destroyed and 75% of factories damaged. Reports were that over 500 Luftwaffe planes took part in the raids. The Luftwaffe used what were called called Baedeker raids, named after the famous tourist guides of that name, in the summer of 1942 to bomb cities such as Exeter which had little or no strategic importance.

Answer 4

Spectacularly, on March 13 and 14 1941, over 400 bombers attacked Clydebank just west of Glasgow, because it was a shipbuilding and repairing centre. Of the 12,000 homes in the town, only 12 were left undamaged, and nearly 600 people were killed.

Answer 5

yes. The Luftwaffe attacked targets throughout England.

Answer 6

Most certainly!
The bombed Swansea, Coventry, Liverpool, Manchester, and many other places