Southern Railway - Units Damaged by Enemy Action 1940-45 The following tables are lists of incidents resulting from enemy action which are believed to have involved damage to electric stock and a second more detailed list of electric unit vehicles damaged by enemy action during World War II, compiled mostly from records kept by Dick Coombes and documents from the Public Record Office at Kew. Some of the units listed suffered only minor damage such as broken windows and damaged panelling caused by shrapnel, but others were more seriously damaged by close proximity or direct hits from bombs, including some by V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets, or by derailment damage caused by encountering damaged tracks or debris on the lines. There were several distinct phases of damage, though through most of the war from 1940 until 1944 the South Coast was subject to ‘hit and run’ raids which sometimes affected SR property, the first damage occurring in the Southampton area in June 1940. The ‘Battle of Britain’ during 1940 mostly affected military targets, this however also included Naval installations, and Portsmouth, Southampton and Dover were all hit. The concentrated ‘blitz’ on London lasted from early September 1940 until mid‑May 1941 when many of the London terminals and their approach tracks were damaged. The V1 flying bombs started to arrive from 13th June 1944, these lasted until the end of October and were then followed by the V2 rockets from 8th September 1944 until March 1945. There were many other minor instances of damage for which details are not fully known. This list shows incidents in date order, the location affected, a brief description of the incident and the numbers of units known to have been affected, there may well have been others slightly damaged which have not been recorded. Unit numbers in italics are possibly those involved.
