Flyingbombsandrockets.com

Total V-1 Flying Bombs: 17Total V-2 Rockets: 1Total Fatalities: 140 Homes Demolished: with hundreds more severely damaged.

Notable Incidents and Clusters

 

While the attacks were distributed across the area, a few streets and specific incidents stood out for their severity or repeat strikes.

The Regina Road V-2 Rocket

 

South Norwood endured only one V-2 rocket attack, but it was devastating. On October 20, 1944, the supersonic ballistic missile scored a direct hit on 9-10 Regina Road (an area known as "Sunnybanks"). Because the V-2 struck without the audible warning of the V-1's pulse-jet engine, residents had no time to take cover. It exploded deep beneath the foundations with such force that the houses entirely disappeared, leaving behind only a water-filled crater 23 feet wide and 14 feet deep. Six people were killed.

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The Ross Road Cluster

 

Residents of Ross Road in Upper Norwood experienced relentless terror, suffering three separate V-1 strikes in less than a month:June 21: A V-1 hit the northwest side, killing 2 and leaving dozens of homes in Ross Road and Falkland Park Avenue either completely demolished or structurally unstable. Interestingly, postwar reconstruction in the exact same style makes the blast radius almost undetectable today.July 1: A second V-1 struck opposite Grange Park, severely damaging 6 houses.July 19: A third bomb hit the southeast side of the street, demolishing another 8 houses.