A full blackout would be imposed if an alert was sounded. Īs German war-making capability declined, a "dim-out" was introduced in September 1944, which allowed lighting to the equivalent of moonlight. Fatalities were also recorded amongst merchant seamen falling into the docks at night and drowning during the blackout.Ĭrime also increased under cover of darkness, from looting, theft, burglary, robbery, fraud, and gang-related activities, to rape and murder, and even serial murder. As a result, some aspects were relaxed and speed limits were lowered. ![]() īlackout restrictions greatly increased the dangers of night driving and fatalities increased as a consequence. Offenders were liable to stringent legal penalties. The blackout was enforced by civilian ARP wardens who would ensure that no buildings allowed the slightest peek or glow of light. īlackouts proved one of the more unpleasant aspects of the war, disrupting many civilian activities and causing widespread grumbling and lower morale. Shops had to install double "airlock" doors to avoid lights showing as customers arrived and departed. Factories with large areas of glass roofing found it impossible to install temporary blackout panels and permanent methods (such as paint) lost natural light during daylight. Shops and factories had particular problems. Essential lights such as traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted covers to deflect their beams downwards to the ground. External lights such as street lights were switched off, or dimmed and shielded to deflect light downward. The Government ensured that the necessary materials were available. ![]() These required that all windows and doors should be covered at night with suitable material such as heavy curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent the escape of any glimmer of light that might aid enemy aircraft. īlackout regulations were imposed on 1 September 1939, before the declaration of war. ![]() As early as July 1939, Public Information Leaflet No 2 (part of the Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) training literature) warned of the need for popular discipline to ensure that the blackout regulations were fully enforced during the blackout periods. It was widely agreed that navigation and targeting would be more difficult if man-made lights on the ground could be extinguished. World War II United Kingdom Ī Londoner pointing a torch at the ground during a blackout to find her way home at night in 1940ĭuring World War II, the Air Ministry had forecast that Britain would suffer night air bombing attacks causing large numbers of civilian casualties and mass destruction. In Germany, a blackout was only enforced in a zone 150 kilometres (93 miles) behind the Western Front. In France, a blackout was implemented for Paris at the start of the Zeppelin campaign in the spring of 1915, but was later relaxed, only to be reintroduced in the spring of 1918 when the Germans began using heavy bombers against the city. Blackout restrictions were extended to the whole of England in February 1916. Following the start of the German strategic bombing campaign early in 1915, ordinary people in towns without blackouts sometimes took the law into their own hands, smashing street lamps which they thought might attract an air raid. Elsewhere, the matter was left to local authorities. On 1 October 1914, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police ordered that bright exterior lights were to be extinguished or dimmed in the London area and street lamps be partially painted out with black paint. Plans to black out British coastal towns in the event of war were drawn up in 1913 by Winston Churchill in his role as First Lord of the Admiralty these plans were implemented on 12 August 1914, eight days after the United Kingdom had entered the war. In coastal regions, a shoreside blackout of city lights also helped protect ships from being seen silhouetted against the artificial light by enemy submarines farther out at sea. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to identify their targets by sight, such as during the London Blitz of 1940. American poster from World War II, reminding citizens of blackouts for civil defense.Ī blackout during war, or in preparation for an expected war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed (or reflected) light.
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