The first deliberate raid on Belfast took place. This is known as the dockside raid. Six Heinkel He 111 bombers, from Kampfgruppe 26, flying at 2,100 m. These bombers dropped three types of ordinance that would feature in the other three raids on Belfast.
- Parachute Mines or Landmines (as they were called by the civil defence personnel). These were originally maritime anti-shipping mines but the Luftwaffe saw that they could make good ‘blast’ bombs given their size. There were two sizes; Luftmine A (abbreviated LMA) of 500kg which was just under 2m long and Luftmine B which was 1000kg and 2.54m. These mines were constructed of aluminium, with a domed parachute housing which jettisoned in the air to deploy a large green or red parachute. The Luftmine B was had a fuse long wire to a nose switch on the front of the bomb which aimed to denotate the mine several metres above the ground to maximise blast.
- Incendiary bombs. There were many types of incendiary bomb but a common type was the one kilo B1E bomb that consisted of a cylinder of magnesium alloy with an incendiary filling of thermite. They were like a large bottle of cola and started fires on impact wherever they fell.
- High Explosive bombs. Again there were many different types ranging from 50kg bombs to 500kg bombs. These would normally explode on impact but could contain delayed proximity or time fuses that would explode a preset time in the future. This would delay the clearance of bomb damage and cause a hazard to civilian and military workers.
This raid killed 13 people, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds in south Belfast, misfired. The most significant damage was to the Short and Harland Factory that was manufacturing the fuselages of Short Stirling bombers.
Other bombs that were often used were included butterfly anti-personnel bombs. These were 1 or 2 kg bombs containers housing sub-munitions that scattered on release. The containers were shaped like butterflies hence the name. They contained anti-personnel mines aimed to injury the civilian population.
