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When London was bombed during World War II, St. Paul's Cathedral, in the center of the city, was never hit. Why not?
Question
#26514. Asked by RND. (Jan 15 03 7:06 PM)
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Jac
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'centre' when talking about London please. And St Paul's was bombed. Please be accurate when setting these pointless brainteasers, it's quite offensive in this case since people died.
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RND
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I apologize if you found my question insensitive...but I have information that says the Germans did not bomb it on purpose because on a moonlit night its dome acted like a beacon to guide their planes during the blackout.
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Jac
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On purpose, maybe. But it was bombed - that's why there's no stained glass in the majority of the cathedral (the American Chapel has stained glass that was put in after the war as a memorial to US soldiers killed over here, but the rest has plain glass now). Sorry if that sounded like an over-reaction, but my great-uncle was one of those killed fighting the conflagration the night that St Paul's got the worst of it in October 1940. On other occasions bits of it were damaged (much smaller damage) and an unexploded bomb was removed from the roof. Which would have buggered the Luftwaffe's advantage, wouldn't it.
On a more interesting note, and a similar vein, do you know why Oxford was never intentionally bombed?
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RND
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No jac, pray do tell...(I'm sorry about your Great Uncle.)
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Jac
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Oxford was going to be Hitler's central seat of government once the war was over, so the Luftwaffe were instructed to avoid bombing it. He wanted Christ Church (college/cathedral) for Parliament. Plans exist of the proposed modifications he was going to make (sweeping away great chunks of non-university buildings to make a grand sweep up to CCC). Architecturally it would have been stunning, however abhorrent the idea.
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Jac
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ajdale - I've seen the plans. There are documents in Oxford libraries showing the proposed clearances, and detailing the modifications planned to CCC to make it a Parliament building. (Of course, we already have a Parliamentary Chamber here, but I guess he thought it was too small.) Anyway, the gentleman's agreement referred to on that page doesn't give much detail - sparing the universities doesn't contradict a desire to use Oxford for other purposes as well. It's not like he was a man with no hidden agenda, is it?
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mibmob
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St Paul's was not actually bombed according to footage I saw on the 'World at War' and, according to the series, stood as a symbol of defiance when the rest of the City WAS bombed. The glass would have gone in the blast.
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Jac
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 http://www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/october9.html
My great-uncle Tom died of burns sometime in the early morning of October 10th. My gran (his sister) will attest to the fact that he was at St Paul's, as a 2nd great-uncle was also there (he survived but died about 8 years ago). They were in protected occupations at that point, one being a butcher and the other a farrier, and thus were fire fighters at night, along with all other able-bodied men.
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Tabby Tom
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According to the London Encyclopaedia (Macmillan, 1983), St Paul's was indeed hit in the big raid that destroyed so much of the neighbourhood:
'The high explosive bombs and the landmine which fell in the precincts were defused before they could go off, but a bomb fell in the north transept, much of which crashed through into the crypt, while another destroyed the Victorian high altar and damaged its marble reredos. The present high altar %85 was consecrated in 1958. The former Jesus Chapel behind the high altar, damaged in 1940, has been restored and refurbished as the American Chapel.'
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