During World War 2 Greenock experienced a dark period in its History. 6th May 1941 marks the beginning of two nights of intensive bombing by the German Air force, known as the Luftwaffe. There attacks were aimed towards the Shipyards though it was the residents of Greenock who suffered the most. The overall damage to the Shipyards being small.

The first wave of bombings began at midnight, around 50 bombers attacking. On this attack the Luftwaffe managed to strike a distillery on the east side of Greenock, this huge fireball acting as a target for the second night of bombings which began at 12.15am (7th May) and ending at 3.30am. From these air strikes 280 People lost their life's and over 1,200 were injured. 10,000 Homes were damaged and 1,000 were completely destroyed. Also receiving Heavy damage were Sugar Refineries, Distillery and Foundries.

Three Firemen, Firemaster Pratten, Sub-Station Officer William Neill and Fireman James Berry all recieved the Geogre Medal for controlling a raging fire and saving materials that were very important for survival against the war. Maybe this giving us an insight into the People of Greenock attitude and spirit at that time. Below are some images of the devastation left after the attack. Click on thumbnail to make image larger.