What+happened?

High explosives (HEs) blew up buildings. Incendiaries caused fires and were dropped in clusters called ‘breadbaskets’ or ‘Molotovs’. Later in the war, the Nazis dropped parachute bombs – which exploded when they touched the earth. Unable to see where the factories were, the bombers resorted to ‘carpet- bombing’. 90% of houses in London were damaged. On the night of 14-15 November 1940 Coventry was so badly bombed that the Nazis coined a new word: ‘coventrate’ – meaning to destroy a whole city. Winston Churchill visited Coventry. ‘They have sown the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind’, he said. Later in the war he sent 1,000-bomber raids to attack German cities. Many German civilians were killed; some people nowadays say Churchill was wrong, but during the war many British people thought it served them right.
 * Down came the bombs.**