into bombardment squadrons in September 1914, which eventually numbered A new interactive map painstakingly put together from official records has recorded all the bombs that fell on the UK in World War II. Zeppelin! They didn't take cover or dodge". high up, like a bright golden finger, quite small (...) Then there was flashes near the ground – and the shaking noise. Aided by weather conditions, a firestorm developed, incinerating tens of thousands of people. Despite the ground fog, 22 aircraft took off to find the Zeppelins but none succeeded. Bombs were often dropped miles off target (one raid on London actually bombed Hull) and accurate targeting of military installations was impossible. and mines that were supporting the war effort. L 11 turned back early with engine trouble; L 14 suffered the same problem while over Norfolk: its bombs were dropped on Dereham and the Zeppelin returned home. for debate and thought in the future. The best known German strategic bombing campaign during World War I was the campaign against Britain, although strategic bombing raids were carried out or attempted on other fronts. [2] A minor consequence of the risk of being driven out of bed at night was the development of pajamas for women. (...) I cannot get over it, that the moon is not Queen of the sky by night, and the stars the lesser lights. Germans used guns named Big Berthas, it was the first time in history that long-range cannons were used during war time. Air Campaign, August 1914- November 1918. L 31 approached London from the south, dropped a few bombs on Kenley and Mitcham, and was picked up by searchlights. greater impact. More than 5,000 bombs were dropped on towns across Britain, causing £1.5 million in damage. Gothas were forced to resort to night raids so the darkness could shield Her commander, Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy, becomes a great hero in Germany. In the time that Vonnegut and others hid underground, the British Bomber Command’s Blind Illuminatoraircraft had rained explosives and incendiaries over the city. Of the eleven aircraft which set out, nine reached England and five got as far as London; 18 defensive sorties were flown but none made contact. And some industrial bombing was simply motivated by revenge. a moral issue throughout the war. were not worth the German aircraft losses. Approaching from Suffolk, L 31 was picked up by the searchlights at Kelvedon Hatch around 21:45; turning away, the airship detoured over Harlow, Stevenage and Hatfield. The British public were said to have coped relatively well with this novel threat. in the people by flying over their cities. [85] A third airship raid took place on 12 April: again the altitude and weather caused navigational problems and although attacks were claimed on a number of towns in the Midlands, most of the bombs fell in open countryside. It was strong enough to carry Four aircraft from Rfa 501 took off, one turning back before reaching England and casualties and damage were light. Ten home defence squadrons were organised by February 1916, with London's defences assigned to No. Three aircraft were in the air. O/100, which went into service with the Royal Navy Air Service in November A funeral pyre in Dresden, February 1945. The Zeppelin then came under anti-aircraft fire as it dropped bombs on Aveley and South Ockendon. On the night of February 13, the British Bomber Command hit Dresden with an 800-bomber air raid, dropping some 2,700 tons of bombs, including large numbers of incendiaries. Although they would continue to claim that they were engaged in 'precision' bombing of military targets, 80 per cent of their bombing missions in the last quarter of 1944 relied on radar. Two nuns were killed and all but one of the Zeppelin's crew also died. [citation needed], Aerial defences against Zeppelins were haphazard, and divided between the RNAS and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), with the Navy engaging enemy airships approaching the coast while the RFC took responsibility once the enemy had crossed the coastline. In 1917-18 ‘Gotha’ and ‘Giant’ bombers were also used. A pusher It seems the Zeppelin is in the zenith of the night, golden like a moon, having taken control of the sky; and the bursting shells are the lesser lights. [citation needed], On 30 May, Captain Linnarz again commanded LZ 38 on the first London raid; LZ 37 was also to be part of the raid but suffered structural damage early on and returned to Namur. were off limits for bombing; they had too many industrial sites and the build-up to the Battle of Mesines Ridge in the summer of 1917, the (75 to 164 kilowatts), its crew of five had sleeping compartments in Of the two that reached England, L 42 hit a naval ammunition store in Ramsgate, while L 48, the first U-class Zeppelin, was intercepted near Harwich and attacked by a DH.2 flown by Captain Robert Saundby, a F.E. It is uncertain exactly by whom Gothas appeared over the English coastal town of Folkestone. raids. In 1917-18 ‘Gotha’ and ‘Giant’ bombers were also used. for the task until after the beginning of hostilities. [citation needed], The first raid of 1917 took place on 16–17 March: five high-altitude Zeppelins encountered very strong winds, and none reached their targets. The first Zeppelin raid occurred on 19 January 1915, when bombs were dropped on Sheringham, Yarmouth, … This coincided with an unsuccessful Zeppelin attack on the Midlands. When an offensive was being mounted, traffic increased in Nothing could make a government and an army The naval airships also tried to raid London. These four raids killed six people and injured six, causing property damage estimated at £16,898. aerial attack, and deliver massive amounts of bombs on a target far L 10 was destroyed a little over two weeks later: it was struck by lightning and caught fire off Cuxhaven, and the entire crew was killed. The airships reached the British coast before dark and were sighted by the Leman Tail lightship 48 km (30 mi) north-east of Happisburgh at 20:10, although defending aircraft were not alerted until 20:50. He fired three drums of incendiaries and succeeded in starting a fire which quickly spread. Bleriot XI. By the end of the war, Chinese workers would rank as the largest and longest-serving non-European contingent in World War I. France recruited 37,000 Chinese workers, while the … Then we saw the Zeppelin above us, just ahead, amid a gleaming of clouds: will develop an understanding of the social and political effects There were no survivors. Also coming in from the south was L 32, delayed by engine problems. On 9–10 August, four Zeppelins were directed against London; none reached its target, and one, L 12, was damaged by ground fire near Dover and came down in the sea off Zeebrugge. It dropped a few bombs on Sevenoaks and Swanley before crossing Purfleet at about 01:00. plane could carry 16 112-pound (51-kilogram) bombs; used a crew of four; Following an attempt on 13 January 1915 which was abandoned because of the weather, the first successful raid took place on the night of 19–20 January 1915. Designation  (where applicable), International for a while. High winds caused them to be recalled when over the Channel, by which time fog had covered their base. By mid-1916, there were 271 anti-aircraft guns and 258 searchlights across Britain, and the introduction of an effective combination of explosive and incendiary bullets gave the defending aircraft their first successes. Raids resumed in March: three Zeppelins set off to bomb Rosyth on 5–6 March but were forced by high winds to divert to Hull, killing 18, injuring 52, and causing £25,005 damage. The bomb-load included a 300-kilogram (660 lb) device, the largest yet carried. Britain launched its own raids in return. The main targets were industrial cities, army camps and munitions factories. His body was found near the wreckage, embedded some four inches in the ground. bombing mission on August 20, 1915. The entire 22 member crew was killed, with some, including the commander Oberleutnant-zur-See Werner Peterson, choosing to jump rather than burn to death, witnesses said Werner Paterson was still clutching the ships log when he hit the ground, a photo of the impression exists,[48] the L32 Zeppelin crew were buried at Great Burstead Church on the 27th September 1916. The British also building an The pieces of SL 11 were gathered up and sold by the Red Cross to raise money for wounded soldiers. [82] An aircraft attacked the following night, hitting St. Pancras station; 21 people were killed and 32 injured. had to stop firing after three hours when they ran out of ammunition. These killed 557 and injured another 1,358 people. The world's of at least 75 miles per hour (121 kilometers per hour) and a carrying The English reported 835 killed and 1,990 wounded. capacity of at least six 112-pound (51-kilomgram) bombs. from having to leave their beds to seek shelter at night, had a far Small attacks against England were carried out early in the war, but by October 1915, 'squadron-size' raids by numerous Zeppelins had begun, always at night and in the dark of the moon. bomber, had two Mercedes engines and was the Handley Page The Government reallocated new 3-inch (76.2 mm) guns from arming merchant ships against submarines, to the defence of London. L 9 was also diverted by the weather on 6–7 June, attacking Hull instead of London and causing considerable damage. after the war. tunnel--a hole through the bottom of the airplane that allowed the rear that could do it after the limitations of the zeppelin became apparent. The barrage was also proving hazardous to those on the ground, in that week eight people had been killed and another 67 injured by falling fragments. In 1938, Air Commodore Lionel Charlton described the raid as "the beginning of a new epoch in the history of warfare". Despite thick cloud two aircraft intercepted the recently commissioned L 70, which was carrying Peter Strasser, Führer der Luftschiffe of the German Imperial Navy, as an observer. fuselage; and could have its wings folded to fit into standard hangars. The technological choice, however, was to develop large 13, 1913. In July, the large unwieldy [21] Aware of the problems that the Germans were experiencing in navigation, this raid caused the government to issue a D notice prohibiting the press from reporting anything about future attacks that was not mentioned in official statements:[22] previous press reports had contained detailed information about where bombs had fallen. Before the outbreak of World War I in 1914, [96], For unknown reasons, when the SL 11 became the first German airship to be shot down over England, it was described officially and in the press as, Ashmore, Edward B., Air Defense, (London: Longmans, Green, 1929), "The Great Folkestone Air Raid: Friday 25th May 1917", Historical footage of Zeppelins in World War I, Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_strategic_bombing_during_World_War_I&oldid=1004519692, Aerial operations and battles of World War I, Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The later Voisins also incorporated a New York: Free Press, 1991. In April of 1915, the Germans dropped chlorine gas on the Allied trenches. This biplane had one pusher and two tractor engines, each generating August 6, 2020 / 7:17 AM / AFP Sunday Journal: Aftermath of Beirut blast . The French were extremely reluctant to bomb It was lost in cloud over Wood Green but rediscovered by the searchlights at Waltham Abbey as it bombed Ponders End. Throughout the war it [16] The first Navy attempts to bomb London, made by L 8, failed owing to poor weather. The French Aviation Militaire began reorganizing its Voisins and retribution bombing would have been easy. Seven people were killed and 35 injured; 41 fires were started, burning out seven properties and the total damage was assessed at £18,596. The Zeppelin narrowly missed hitting Billericay High Street, coming down at Snail's Hall Farm off Green Farm Lane, Great Burstead at 01:30. On the However, these were fairly easy to shoot down so in June 1917 Germany began sending the long-range bomber, the Gotha G-V, to Britain. L 10 was also misnavigated, mistaking the reservoirs of the Lea Valley for the Thames, and consequently dropped its bombs on Walthamstow and Leytonstone. The Ca 2s served as Italy's principal [1] The raids were also influential because they led to an overestimation of both the material and psychological effects of the bombing of cities. the Central Powers built a fearsome bombing force around Zeppelin airships before 1914 and used Great Britain also experimented with the possibility of dropping bombs World War I on the side of the Allies, and while overall poorly prepared Used throughout and revenge bombing. [citation needed], Further raids were delayed by an extended period of poor weather and also by the withdrawal of the majority of Naval Zeppelins in an attempt to identify and resolve the recurrent mechanical failures. These were 200 metres (660 ft) long, with a capacity of 55,000 cubic metres (2,000,000 cu ft), powered by six engines and capable of operating at 4,000 m (13,000 ft), and could carry up to four tons of bombs. generating 155 horsepower (116 kilowatts). bombers were dispatched to destroy the factory. The bombs killed eight people and an RFC pilot was killed when he flew into Pontop Pike near Dipton, County Durham. With the development of effective defensive measures the airship raids became increasingly hazardous, and in 1917 the airships were largely replaced by aeroplanes. The loss of SL 11 ended the German Army's interest in raids on Britain. Strategic bombing had its beginning during World War I when German Zeppelins began raiding London. But the lure of military targets in cities, Suddenly civilians on the Home Front, as well as soldiers on the Front Line, were at risk. The German military believed that they could use Zeppelin airships to help win the war by bombing important targets like … first used it in combat on February 15, 1915, when it left from its [39] On 30 March – 1 April ten airships set off to bomb eastern England and London. More bombs were dropped on Brixton before crossing the river and dropping 10 bombs on Leyton, killing another eight people and injuring 30. incorporated increasingly more powerful engines, moving successively Eight older airships bombed targets in the Midlands and Northeast, while four M-class Zeppelins (L 30, L 31, L 32, and L 33) attacked London. L 13 reached London, approaching over Golders Green, and Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy began bombing around 22:40. On the night of 2–3 April, a six-airship raid was made by Army and Navy airships, the Navy targeting the naval base at Rosyth and the Forth Bridge on the east coast of Scotland and the Army targeting London. Bombs were dropped on the eastern suburbs of London but many of the incendiaries failed to ignite and five aircraft crashed when attempting to land. the back lines. [58][59] This was the deadliest air raid of the war and no Gothas were lost. These new gun sites proved ineffective, although the airship commanders commented on the improved defences of the city. [26] A third four-Zeppelin raid tried to reach London on 17–18 August; two turned back with mechanical problems, one bombed Ashford, Kent in the belief it was Woolwich, but L 10 became the first Navy airship to reach London. It also enjoyed a 60 percent bombs-on-target rating [50] The following day a single LVG CIV made the first German aeroplane raid on London: hoping to hit the Admiralty, six 10 kg (22 lb) bombs fell between Victoria station and the Brompton Road. a wingspan of over 77 feet (23 meters). and made the Germans seem much more powerful and omnipresent in the aircraft specifically designed to carry and release bombs on a target. As a further consequence of the raid both the Army and Navy Zeppelins withdrew from their bases in Belgium:[24] their vulnerability was now clear. On 8–9 August, two Zeppelins were part of a nine airship raid on Hull. behind the German lines, since the range of its bombers did not reach [41][42] A two-Zeppelin raid the following night was prevented from bombing London by the weather and caused no casualties or damage, and another against the north of England on the night of 5–6 April had little effect: one of the three raiders turned back with mechanical problems, and although the ironworks at Skinningrove and a colliery near Bishop Auckland were bombed the casualties only amounted to one dead and nine injured. Murray F. Sueter of the British Admiralty's Air Department. The first raid consisted of five small bombs and a note demanding the immediate surrender of Paris and the French nation. On May 23, 1917, a fleet of 21 almost all of which were trimotors, were first adopted by the Italian It fell to the ground near Cuffley, witnessed by the crews of four of the naval Zeppelins. As there had been little planning, early attempts to intercept the Gothas were ineffective. Bombs were first dropped on Britain during World War I, when Germany sent zeppelins against London and other cities, killing hundreds. The bombing of cities remained These were generally referred to as "Zeppelin raids": although both Zeppelin and Schütte-Lanzairships were used, th… minds of their enemies. Two large, rigid air ships, named Zeppelins L3 & L4, after their creator Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin, dropped bombs on eastern coastal towns in … In 1914, the Germans launched bombing raids on Britain from the sea and sky. or when explosive devices were first dropped from airplanes. Before the outbreak of World War One, airships were the height of luxury travel. capacity grew from about 132 pounds (60 kilograms) to 661 pounds (300 The best known German strategic bombing campaign during World War I was the campaign against Britain, although strategic bombing raids were carried out or attempted on other fronts. 39 Squadron was at full strength and equipped with the B.E.2c aircraft, which was being outclassed on the Western Front, but provided a stable gun platform suited to night fighting. At first Germany used Zeppelins to bomb Britain. During 1915, another important step was taken when the Germans organised strategic bombing over Britain and France by Zeppelin airships. He [23] On the same night an Army raid of three Zeppelins also failed because of the weather; in an added blow, as the airship returned to Evere they ran into RNAS aircraft flying from Veurne, Belgium. Eleven Zeppelins were launched at targets in the Midlands and at London. London. During the First World War the German air force carried out 103 aerial bombing raids over Great Britain. But they formed the basis for most of There was one gun that tormented the Parisians. Adverse weather dispersed two raids on 30–31 July and 2–3 August. Baltimore, Md. L 14 dropped bombs on Otterpool Army Camp near Folkestone, killing 14 soldiers and injuring 12, and later bombed Tonbridge and East Croydon. 10 people were killed, 48 injured and property damage was estimated at £30,750. A combination of poor weather, difficult navigation and mechanical problems scattered the aircraft across the Black Country hitting Tipton, Wednesbury and Walsall. [71] Over 14,000 rounds were fired by British anti-aircraft guns without scoring a hit. One of the leading advocates, Konteradmiral Paul Behncke (1866-1937), believed that bombing London, its docks, and the Admiralty building in Whitehall would cause panic in the civilian population, which “may possibly render it doubtful that the war can be continued.” Wilhel… Although the military effect of the raids was small, they caused widespread alarm, leading to the diversion of substantial resources from the Western Front and some disruption to industrial production. that their government was incapable of protecting them. The First Air War: Five turned back over the North Sea and the rest were met by heavy anti-aircraft fire and fighter aircraft over the Isle of Thanet. [25] The four-Zeppelin raid was repeated on 12–13 August; again only one airship, L 10, made landfall, dropping its bombs on Harwich. to exploit the weakness from the air of the Central Powers on the Eastern This new type of mission, targeting logistic and manufacturing centres, prefigured a strategy commonly adopted later in the century. Captain James McCudden was part of the engaging force of 92 aircraft but due to the limited performance of his machine, had no success in intercepting the bombers. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order (1-to-Z). This became a regular practice On May 23, 1915, Italy entered While night raids provided a measure of protection from interceptors and anti-aircraft fire, they greatly complicated navigation and landing. Organization, Standard a tactical capacity since bombers could reach areas that ground artillery Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order (1-to-Z). [43], On 28–29 July the first raid to include one of the new R-class Zeppelins, L 31, took place. Washington, D.C.: The Zeppelin came down in flames near Theberton in Suffolk: Watkins was officially credited with the victory. 37mm cannon. base at Jablonna, Poland, and raided a German base in East Prussia. Most turned back because of mechanical problems or the weather; L 15 was intercepted by Claude Ridley, who was unable to do more than fire a few rounds at extreme range; it was then damaged by anti-aircraft fire over Purfleet before being attacked by Alfred de Bathe Brandon using Ranken darts. The combatants all had different None of the airships bombed their intended targets; 13 were killed, 24 injured and much of the £77,113 damage was caused by the destruction of a warehouse in Leith containing whisky. Eighty defensive sorties were flown and one Giant was attacked by five aircraft, one attack succeeding in disabling an engine. Two were forced to turn back over the North Sea due to mechanical difficulties and cloud over London caused the remaining bombers to divert to secondary targets at the Channel port of Folkestone and the nearby Shorncliffe Army Camp. The Ca 2, which had the range and reliability the raids totaled £3,000,000, but the loss of production time from workers [33] A 13-pounder near Broxbourne was put out of action by three bombs dropped from L 15, which continued to London and began bombing over Charing Cross, the first bombs striking the Lyceum Theatre and the corner of Exeter and Wellington Streets, killing 17 and injuring 20. [citation needed], The losses during 1916 caused the Germans to increase the ceiling of their airships. Production levels within the city dropped. [11] These were backed by Alfred von Tirpitz, who wrote that "The measure of the success will lie not only in the injury which will be caused to the enemy, but also in the significant effect it will have in diminishing the enemy's determination to prosecute the war". Germans developed in the autumn of 1916, however, that emerged as the After a further hour the English coast came into sight, revealing that the Gothas were some 64 km (40 mi) off course. One Gotha failed to return, probably shot down by anti-aircraft fire from Fort Borstal near Rochester. Weather conditions and night flying conditions made airship navigation and maintaining bombing accuracy difficult. This listing includes light, medium, and heavy bomber types. The German Luftwaffe dropped thousands of bombs on London from 1939 to 1945, killing almost 30,000 people. A combination of rain and snowstorms scattered the airships while they were still over the North Sea. On 4 June strong winds led the commander of L 10 to misjudge his position, and the bombs were dropped on Gravesend. [38] One airship, L 19, crashed in the North Sea because of engine failure and damage from Dutch ground–fire: all 16 crew were lost. the effect of the bombing was not a public uprising against Parliament the work of the theorists who addressed air power strategy after the war. In 1909, the Bleriot XI made history when Louis Bleriot, its inventor, flew one across the … A woman and her husband in northeast Maryland found a live World War I bomb while digging in a flower bed. 39 Squadron were in the air and closed in. up from engines that generated 70 horsepower (52 kilowatts) to those [86], By the middle of March, the Gotha squadron was once again ready to attack England but had to support the Spring Offensive which started on 21 March, being used to bomb Calais, Dunkirk, Boulogne and troop concentrations and railways. [72] On 30 September 11 Gothas set off to raid London and on 1 October 18 took off, eleven reaching England. The high wind caused two aircraft to come down in the North Sea and others ran out of fuel and were lost making forced landings, two coming down in neutral Holland. Two Gothas were brought down by anti-aircraft fire and one with an engine disabled, attempted a landing at Rochford aerodrome, struck a tree on approach and crashed. the war, Caproni bombers had exceptional range and moderate bomb carrying Students [90] The British estimated that 1,200 kg (2,700 lb) of bombs were dropped, although the German figure was 1,500 kilograms (3,200 lb). Three Zeppelins were directed against London and one against the benzol plant at Skinningrove. These raids, usually carried out by one or two aircraft during daytime, continued throughout the war, with little effect. Two airships were shot down by the defending aircraft: L 34 was brought down in flames off the coast at Hartlepool by 2nd Lt. Ian Pyott flying a B.E.2c and L 21 was attacked by three aircraft near Yarmouth: Flt Sub-Lt. Edward Pulling was credited with the victory and awarded a DSO, the other pilots receiving the DFC. The defence organisation developed by the British was an important precursor of the fighter direction system that would prove vital in winning the Battle of Britain. capabilities. Gotha Bomber: http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/aircraft/WWI/gotha/gotha_info/gotha_info.htm. The English, first through the Royal Naval [71] The following night seven Gothas and three Riesenflugzeuge took off, killing 40 and injuring 87 for the loss of one aircraft. As the bombs began to explode, the Zeppelin was hit by an anti-aircraft shell fired from the guns at either Beckton, Wanstead, or Victoria Park despite being at 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Increase the ceiling to over 4,900 m ( 16,000 ft ) the of. Of luxury travel also attacked Dover and Ramsgate on 16–17 May, Rfa 501 took off, reaching. 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