THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN IN BIRMINGHAM COMMENCED IN AUGUST OF 1973. POLICE ACTIVITY WITH RELATION TO THE SERIES OF BOMBINGS IS DESCRIBED. THE BOMBERS WERE SUPPOSEDLY MEMBERS OF THE PROVISIONAL IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY (IRA). IN THE FIRST WAVE OF BOMBINGS, ONLY A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND INJURED, ALTHOUGH PROPERTY DAMAGE WAS SIGNIFICANT. THE TENSION WAS FURTHER HEIGHTENED FROM 1973-1974 BY A SERIES OF FALSE BOMB THREATS. AN ANATOMY OF A TYPICAL BOMB FACTORY IS PRESENTED, AND THE FORMATION OF AN IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY CELL WITHIN THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM IS DESCRIBED. IN THE FALL OF 1974, A PROMINENT MEMBER OF THE IRA CELL IN BIRMINGHAM DIED WHEN ONE OF HIS BOMBS EXPLODED IN HIS HANDS. HIS DEATH SET OFF MUCH ACTIVITY AMONG SYMPATHIZERS, AND SHORTLY AFTERWARD, ON NOVEMBER 21, 1974, TWO BOMBS WERE PLANTED INSIDE PUBLIC TAVERNS IN BIRMINGHAMS' CENTRAL BUSINESS AREA. THEY EXPLODED LEAVING 21 PERSONS DEAD AND OVER 100 INJURED. CITIZENS' AND POLICE REACTIONS TO THE BOMBINGS ARE DESCRIBED, AND THE APPREHENSION, INTERROGATION, AND TRIAL OF THE SUSPECTED BOMBERS IS DISCUSSED. (DAG)