When the air raid sirens sounded at approximately 7pm, there was no panic as the sirens had been heard plenty of times before, but just a few minutes later the first German planes were heard and seen moving across the clear sky, lit up by the moon.
What followed was devastation in the city centre and across Sheffield with many buildings destroyed.
The biggest tragedy of the night occurred just before midnight when the Marples Hotel received a direct hit.
Only seven people were brought out alive; a number of victims were never recovered.
These photos from our archive take a look back at the night of the blitz and the wartime spirit that prevailed in the immediate aftermath.
1. Rescue work
Rescue work at Sheffield's Marples Hotel after the blitz on December 12, 1940 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers
2. Walsh's
Walsh's Department store and other buildings on High Street, Sheffield, damaged by the blitz in Sheffield in December 1940 Photo: ©Sheffield Newspapers Ltd
3. High Street
This is High Street, Sheffield, on the morning of December 13 after the blitz Photo: Copied By Sheffield Newspapers
4. Laver's
It was business as usual at Arnold Laver's Bramall Lane offices the morning after the December 1940 blitz Photo: submitted