British bombs over Molotov's Berlin talks

The Berlin air raid interrupted discussions over what Germany and the Soviet Union might do after Britain's supposed defeat. Bellamy distinguishes a desire to impress the Soviet visitors from the practical limits of British bombing. Bomber Command records list orders for 69 aircraft to attack targets including power stations and railway marshalling yards; contemporary techniques did not permit precision attacks on the visiting ministers. Churchill nevertheless acknowledged the diplomatic purpose of demonstrating that Britain could still intervene. In the shelter, Molotov challenged the claim that Britain was defeated by asking whose bombs were falling above them. The subsequent Coventry raid is described as having been planned earlier.