1939 Coventry bombing
The 1939 Coventry bombing was an act of terrorism committed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 25 August 1939 in which a 5.1 lb (2.3 kg) bomb upon a bicycle was placed in Coventry city centre in the West Midlands of England as part of the organisation's 1939–40 S-Plan campaign. The explosion resulted in the deaths of five civilians, with over seventy others injured.
| 1939 Coventry Bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of S-Plan | |
The aftermath of the 1939 Coventry City Centre Bombing | |
| Location | Broadgate, Coventry, England |
| Coordinates | 52°24′30.68″N 1°30′35.95″W |
| Date | 25 August 1939 14:32 (GMT) |
| Target | Public proprietors and patrons |
Attack type | Bicycle bomb |
| Deaths | 5 |
| Injured | 70 (12 seriously) |
| Perpetrator | Irish Republican Army (IRA) |
Two IRA members were convicted of the bombing and subsequently hanged in 1940, while a third individual, who acknowledged planting the bomb, escaped. Three other individuals accused of conspiracy in the bombing were acquitted and later deported to the Irish Republic under government security measures.
The 1939 Coventry bombing was one of few instances within the S-Plan campaign in which civilians were killed, although republican sources later insisted that civilians were not the intended target(s) of the bombing, which had originally been intended to occur at a police station. The atrocity itself was soon overshadowed by Britain's entry into World War II, which occurred less than two weeks later.