Up until 1941, Belfast had remained unscathed during World War Two. On 15 April 1941, 200 German bombers shelled the city with the intention of destroying Belfast's shipyards (seen as contributing to Britain's war efforts).
Bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000 people homeless and 1,000 dead. Poor visibility on the night led to the explosives being dropped on densely populated areas of Belfast.
