The Sheffield Blitz

About this app

As night fell on Thursday 12th December 1940, the air raid sirens sounded and the first wave of Luftwaffe bombers crossed the city. This would be Sheffield city centre’s only large-scale bombing raid of the Second World War. This app will take you on a walking tour of Sheffield on the night of Thursday 12th December 1940 with the people who were there, including Blitz firefighter Doug Lightning. Remarkable new AI footage brings the horrors of the Sheffield Blitz to life, transforming historic photos into moving, vintage-style newsreels of the city’s darkest nights. Guided by Blitz expert Neil Anderson, viewers can explore the devastation and resilience of wartime Sheffield through cinematic clips and an interactive 360° drone map. There are also new immersive 360° panoramas showing a "then and now" view of the Sheffield Blitz. The app is GPS-enabled. This feature is used to show you relevant content based on your location. (Note that you do not need to be on the trail to access the app content.) The app also optionally uses Location Services to determine your location when the app is running in the background. It will trigger notifications when you are close to a location of interest. However, as with all apps that use location, please note that continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

In this version, as well as various compatibility and UI improvements, we have added the 360 "then and now" immersive 360 feature, combining views of wartime Sheffield with the present day view. We have also added remarkable new AI footage showing the horrors of the Sheffield Blitz.

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1. First observed Aug 21, 2026 · 10:53 PM Free