Air Raid Collection (page 68)

Mrs Ellis and Valerie Ellis sitting in an air raid shelter in Downham, Kent. 1939

Schoolboy sweeping debris after his Gravesend home in Kent had been damaged by a bomb during WWII

Bomb damage in a rural area in WWII

Rescue at a factory in Bexley, Kent after a bomb during the Blitz - 30 September 1940 eTopFoto

Dennis Poultry farm, near Southfleet, Kent July 1940 after one of the first air raids

An air raid shelter and sign in Gravesend, Kent. 1938

Bomb damage at Alexanders Farm, Eynsford, Kent 30th September 1940

British artillery passing on a road and targeted by enemy air raid bombers
WORLD WAR I: BALKAN FRONT. British artillery passing on a road and targeted by enemy air raid bombers, who instead struck houses in a nearby village, on the Balkan front during World War I

It is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb. Join the army at once & help to stop an air
WWI: POSTER, 1915. It is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb. Join the army at once & help to stop an air raid. Lithograph, 1915

Scenes of damage at Southend and Leigh, two resorts on the English Channel
ZEPPELIN BOMBING, 1915. Scenes of damage at Southend and Leigh, two resorts on the English Channel, bombed in Word War I in a raid by German Zeppelins, 10 May 1915

English poster by Frank Brangwyn for the London Underground during the German Zeppelin raids
WORLD WAR I: POSTER. English poster by Frank Brangwyn for the London Underground during the German Zeppelin raids

Total Eclipse?: American anti-war cartoon, 1914, by Luther Daniels Bradley
CARTOON: AIRSHIP RAID 1914. Total Eclipse?: American anti-war cartoon, 1914, by Luther Daniels Bradley, remarking on the potential of the airship to wreak indiscriminate destruction on humanity

Annotated aerial photograph of the Steaua Oil Refinery in Campina, Romania, a target of Allied air strikes, 1943
ROMANIA: OIL REFINERY. Annotated aerial photograph of the Steaua Oil Refinery in Campina, Romania, a target of Allied air strikes, 1943

Photograph with outlines showing the effects of Allied air strikes on the Astra Romano
WORLD WAR II: AIR RAID. Photograph with outlines showing the effects of Allied air strikes on the Astra Romano and Phoenix Orion oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania, 1944

Chart of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, site of the U. S. naval base that was attacked by the Japanese on 7 December 1941
WORLD WAR II: PEARL HARBOR. Chart of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, site of the U.S. naval base that was attacked by the Japanese on 7 December 1941

A flight of twelve Grumman Avenger torpedo-bombers over the South Pacific, 1943, during World War II
AVENGER BOMBERS, 1943. A flight of twelve Grumman Avenger torpedo-bombers over the South Pacific, 1943, during World War II

Waves of Liberator bombers photographed during an American raid on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, May 1944
CONSOLIDATED B-24 BOMBERS. Waves of Liberator bombers photographed during an American raid on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, May 1944, during World War II

WORLD WAR II: D-DAY, 1944. The British destroyer H. M. S. Holmes sailing toward Normandy
WORLD WAR II: D-DAY, 1944. The British destroyer H.M.S. Holmes sailing toward Normandy, France, as Royal Air Force planes speed ahead

American World War II poster for the Philadelphia Council of Defense, c1942
WORLD WAR II POSTER, c1942. American World War II poster for the Philadelphia Council of Defense, c1942, seeking volunteers for air raid wardens (men and women), auxiliary firemen

U. S. Navy Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers, 1942
U.S. NAVY TORPEDO BOMBERS. U.S. Navy Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers, 1942

York station, London and North Eastern Railway, 1946. Classs A4 number 4463 Sparrowhawk at York station in wartime black livery, with a canopy damaged in an air raid in the background

A duck and cover exercise in a kindergarten class in 1954
Chicago, Illinois: 1954. A kindergarten teacher coaches a group of crouched children in a national air raid drill

Japanese Simulated Air Raid
Tokyo, Japan: July, 1937. Japanese children participate in simulated air raid emergencies. Here they are wearing improvised masks, and giving assistance to a comrade felled by gas

Caves in the outskirts of sevastopol served as air raid shelters in crimea, ukraine

Air Raid on Venice 1849
In July 1849, in the first aerial bombardment in history, the Austrians launched an aerial attack on the beseiged Venice, in the Republic of San Marco

Bomb damage, Great Yarmouth, 1915 C014 / 8164
Bomb damage. Wrecked house after the German Zeppelin bombing of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, UK, on 19th January 1915. This was the first bombing raid by a German Zeppelin airship

Heyshott air-raid shelter, July 1940 George Garland Collection West Sussex Record Office Ref No: Garland N19620

The raid by American B-24 bombers on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, May 1944
WORLD WAR II: PLOESTI, 1944. The raid by American B-24 bombers on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, May 1944

American World War II poster for the Pennsylvania State Council of Defense, c1943
WORLD WAR II POSTER, c1943. American World War II poster for the Pennsylvania State Council of Defense, c1943, encouraging civilians to be properly prepared for air raids

GERMAN RUINS, 1945. U. S. infantrymen move down a street in Waldenburg, Germany, after a raid during World War II
GERMAN RUINS, 1945. U.S. infantrymen move down a street in Waldenburg, Germany, after a raid during World War II, April 1945

SIGN: AIR RAID SHELTER. Sign for an American public air raid shelter

WORLD WAR I: AERIAL COMBAT. German and Allied planes clash during World War I

WORLD WAR II: B-29, 1945. Incendiary bombs from two Boeing B-29 Superfortresses drop on a Japanese target. Photograph, 16 July 1945, through the nose of a Superfortress

For sale as Licensed Images

Choose your image, Select your licence and Download the media

In the midst of chaos and destruction, a woman finds solace in a simple cup of tea. As air raids ravage New Cross, she defiantly sits amidst the bomb damage, refusing to let fear consume her spirit. The once bustling St Thomas Hospital stands as a haunting reminder of the devastating power unleashed from above. Meanwhile, in Berlin, March 1944 bears witness to the relentless bombing campaign that leaves the center of this historic city in ruins. A Heinkel 111 bomber aircraft ominously soars over Tower Bridge, symbolizing the constant threat looming overhead. Backyards across Bristol become makeshift sanctuaries as Anderson air raid shelters provide shelter for families during these tumultuous times. Their presence is a testament to resilience and determination against an enemy that strikes indiscriminately. Newton Abbot Station falls victim to bombs raining down from enemy planes in 1940. Locomotives lie damaged and broken, their once powerful engines now silent witnesses to war's destructive force. Reconnaissance photographs taken after heavy RAF attacks on Cologne reveal a city reduced to rubble. Swindon Works employees navigate through debris with unwavering resolve as they maneuver wheel sets by crane amidst the chaos of war. Mogul locomotive No. 8314 bears scars inflicted by bombs in 1941—a poignant reminder that even machines are not spared from destruction's touch. Paddington Station also suffers its share of devastation in 1941—an enduring symbol of London's resilience under fire. Amidst this turmoil emerges stories of heroism and hope: an ARP warden risking his life rescues a young girl trapped beneath wreckage during the London Blitz. These acts exemplify humanity's indomitable spirit when faced with adversity—rising above despair to protect one another. Through it all, we glimpse both tragedy and triumph etched into history's tapestry—the air raid sirens may have sounded terror but failed to extinguish our collective resilience.