Germany really had it in for the Brits. If the war had ended in 1943, the Germans would have had the trophy for the largest bombs dropped on anybody. One of those bombs was nicknamed the Satan bomb, possibly by the residents of Bristol, in England, one of the main recipients of the weapon.
Bristol was home to the Port of Bristol, and of course, the Bristol Airplane Company. Huge numbers of other targets also made it a focus for the Luftwaffe, army training centers, gas works, fuel depots and others. The place was easy for the bombers to find by moonlight, just follow the river and fat juicy Bristol was a plum waiting to be plucked. The worst raid was in early January, 1941, when the Luftwaffe pounded Bristol for 12 hours. Heinkel 111's dropped, among others, Satan bombs. These were serious bombs, carrying 1,800 kg's of explosives (thats 4000 lbs for metric insensitive Americans). The Bristol city center was devastated and some neighborhoods haven't recovered yet. One of the Satan bombs didn't go off, and the brave bomb disposal crews actually dug one out of the ground, which was 29 feet down, disarming it, and it was used in the VE day parade in London.
Malta was pounded into dust by these bombs also, usually delivered by JU-88's. That wasn't enough to bring the population to surrender, but almost. A Satan bomb was dismantled in Valletta Malta also. These aircraft and the Heinkels could only carry one of these big boys at a time. It was good for us that Hitler couldn't see the value of a 4 engine bomber, and idea that the Brit's and the US didn't let pass.
