operations at some time during the war. 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… L 30 did not even cross the coast, dropping its bombs at sea. [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. 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. On 20 March the three remaining Army airships set off to bomb Paris; one was lost on the return journey. [73] By now shells were in short supply and many of the guns had fired so many rounds that their barrels were worn out. A B.E.2c piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Wulstan Tempest engaged the Zeppelin at around 23:50; three bursts were sufficient to set fire to L 31, and it crashed near Potters Bar with all 19 crew dying, Mathy jumping from the burning airship. 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. The British public were said to have coped relatively well with this novel threat. A combination of rain and snowstorms scattered the airships while they were still over the North Sea. The Zeppelin came down in flames near Theberton in Suffolk: Watkins was officially credited with the victory. It was thought that bombing would smash the spirit of civilians. To lessen the chance of a raid meeting adverse weather, in December the Germans began to send out a radio-equipped Rumpler C.IV to make weather observations off the English coast. After an ineffective attack by L 10 on Tyneside on 15–16 June the short summer nights discouraged further raids for some months, and the remaining Army Zeppelins were reassigned to the Eastern and Balkan fronts. generating 155 horsepower (116 kilowatts). [citation needed], In December 1915 additional P-class Zeppelins and the first of the new Q-class airships were delivered. As the airship neared Cheshunt at about 23:20 it was quickly picked up by six searchlights. The raid resulted in 95 deaths and 195 injuries, mostly in Folkestone. 1996. The Caproni [95] The remaining airships dropped their bombs blind, relying on radio bearings for navigational information and none fell on land. [54] On the return flight L 39 suffered an engine failure and, blown over French-held territory, was brought down in flames by ground fire. high up, like a bright golden finger, quite small (...) Then there was flashes near the ground – and the shaking noise. L 33 dropped a few incendiaries over Upminster before losing its way and making several turns, heading over London and dropping bombs on Bromley at around midnight. 200 to 300 horsepower (149 to 224 kilowatts) and capable of carrying the war. into bombardment squadrons in September 1914, which eventually numbered however, since it carried only two defensive machines guns. Formed specifically Egbert Cadbury and Robert Leckie flying a DH.4 were credited with the victory. French intelligence linked the gas to a factory in Ludwigshafen, and [25] The four-Zeppelin raid was repeated on 12–13 August; again only one airship, L 10, made landfall, dropping its bombs on Harwich. During the opening months of the war, a German pilot flying a Taube regularly dropped bombs on Paris. In the time that Vonnegut and others hid underground, the British Bomber Command’s Blind Illuminatoraircraft had rained explosives and incendiaries over the city. The bombing was largely ineffective, killing four, injuring 37 and causing £12,482 damage. The first was made on 26 February but turned back due to headwinds: a second attempt ended when the airship flew below the cloud base to check its position and found itself over Belgian army positions near Ostend: riddled by rifle fire, it came down near Tienen and was destroyed by the wind. The later Voisins also incorporated a first four-engine airplane, the Ilya Mourometz first flew on May They felt exposed Front, Shidlovski made his squadron into a self-contained force. Also coming in from the south was L 32, delayed by engine problems. In the first month of the war, Germany formed the "Ostend Carrier Pigeon Detachment", a cover name for an aeroplane unit to be used for the bombing of the English Channel ports. Morrow, Jr., John H. The Great [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. 9. for five hours at an altitude of about 9,000 feet (2,743 meters) with operational factors. On 24 September 16 Gothas set off and 13 reached England, most bombing Dover and other targets in Kent, with only five reaching London. Air-raids over the UK during the First World War were sporadic and relatively small scale until late 1916 when the German Air Force formed an ‘England Squadron’ commanded by Captain Ernest Brandenburg and designed to break the fighting spirit of the British people. One Gotha failed to return, probably shot down by anti-aircraft fire from Fort Borstal near Rochester. The bodies of the crew members were buried at sea. But no one ever believed that cities Many of the other casualties were caused by a 300 kg (660 lb) bomb, which fell on the Odhams printing works in Long Acre, which was being used as a shelter.[80]. By the war’s end, the raids had stopped entirely since the hits 9. Bombing campaign. In the early months of the war, a number of high-ranking German naval and military personnel were in favour of launching an aerial campaign against Britain. The following night a big raid was mounted, the bomb load including large numbers of a newly developed 4.5 kg (10 lb) incendiary bomb. A new interactive map painstakingly put together from official records has recorded all the bombs that fell on the UK in World War II. Fifteen defensive sorties were flown against the raiders, only one of whom managed to make visual contact with the enemy. [55], Kagohl 3 received the first Gotha G.IV aircraft in March, and on 25 May, the squadron commenced Operation Turkenkreuz, sending 23 Gothas to bomb London. 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. These devices, weighing 11 kg (25 lb), were filled with thermite and the exterior was wrapped in tarred rope. because of its precise bombsights and excellent training of bombardiers. the work of the theorists who addressed air power strategy after the war. The theory was that in It dropped a few bombs over London Colney and South Mimms before it was picked up by a searchlight over Hornsey at about 01:50 and subjected to an intense but ineffective barrage. bomb Germany. It fell to the ground near Cuffley, witnessed by the crews of four of the naval Zeppelins. He bombing mission on August 20, 1915. At first Germany used Zeppelins to bomb Britain. Then, “visual marker” aircraft swooped low to drop thousands of flares and fire-target markers. Bombers could target these high-traffic areas. von Buttlar Brandenfels, Freiherr Treusch. [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. Throughout 1915 and 1916, Zeppelin raids became a regular feature of life. More than 70,000 buildings were completely demolished, and another 1.7 million were damaged. The lack of success was repeated on 23–24 May, when six Zeppelins set out to bomb London but were frustrated by a combination of high winds and thick cloud. No one imagined they could be used to bring death and destruction to the coastal towns of Britain.. Pennsylvania: Combined Books, used in combat was the French "Voisin" airplane, which bombed Also, unoccupied French cities and other targets were close to the front, This new type of mission, targeting logistic and manufacturing centres, prefigured a strategy commonly adopted later in the century. One of the bombers came down in the North Sea, probably the victim of a Sopwith 1½ Strutter flown by Douglas Bell and George Williams of 78 Squadron. the war, Caproni bombers had exceptional range and moderate bomb carrying however, the concept of the bomber aircraft predated the rise of fighter [19] Twice Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) aircraft tried to intercept LZ 38 but on both occasions it was either able to outclimb the aircraft or was already at too great an altitude for the aircraft to intercept; the B.E.2 took about 50 minutes to climb to 3,000 m (10,000 ft). 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. The Navy resumed raids on Britain in August. and revenge bombing. Gothas were forced to resort to night raids so the darkness could shield [56] Nine Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Sopwith Pups engaged the bombers near the Belgian coast as they returned, shooting one down. This became a regular practice These included the first raids on England by the enormous Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeug of Riesenflugzeug-Abteilung (Rfa) 501. The pieces of SL 11 were gathered up and sold by the Red Cross to raise money for wounded soldiers. LZ 38 also attacked Dover and Ramsgate on 16–17 May, before returning to bomb Southend on 26–27 May. combined with the psychological power gained by urban bombings meant Seven people were killed and 35 injured; 41 fires were started, burning out seven properties and the total damage was assessed at £18,596. LZ 38 was destroyed on the ground and LZ 37 was intercepted in the air by R. A. J. Warneford in a Morane Parasol, who dropped six 9 kg (20 lb) Hales bombs on the Zeppelin, which caught fire and crashed into the convent school of Sint-Amandsberg. behind the German lines, since the range of its bombers did not reach It came down in the sea near Margate, all but one of the crew surviving. [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. A funeral pyre in Dresden, February 1945. It was like Milton — then there was war in heaven. mounted machine guns in the nose, dorsal, and downward from the lower Warneford was awarded the Victoria Cross for his achievement. This was deemed necessary to demonstrate to the British public that they were not suffering any more than their German equivalents, whilst corroding the morale of the enemy’s civilian population. [6][7][8], On 6 August 1914 the German Army Zeppelin Z VI bombed the Belgian city of Liège, killing nine civilians. [45], The biggest raid to date was launched on 2–3 September, with 12 German Navy airships and four from the German Army taking part. [citation needed], The losses during 1916 caused the Germans to increase the ceiling of their airships. They demanded having to seek shelter in the middle of the day, or suffering exhaustion One 250 hp (190 kW) engine recovered from the wreck was subsequently substituted for two (of four) 180 hp (130 kW) engines on a Vickers-built machine, the hitherto underpowered R.9. During 1915, another important step was taken when the Germans organised strategic bombing over Britain and France by Zeppelin airships. (75 to 164 kilowatts), its crew of five had sleeping compartments in [52], In late 1916 Germany had begun planning a daylight bombing offensive against Britain using aeroplanes, called Operation Türkenkreuz' (Turk's Cross). was the Handley Page 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. for a while. Nine Navy airships took part. The Ca 2, which had the range and reliability The true results of the Gotha Over a hundred defensive sorties were flown, resulting in one Gotha being shot down after being attacked by two Sopwith Camels from the 40 Squadron RFC, flown by Second Lieutenants Charles Banks and George Hackwill, the first victory for night fighters against a heavier-than-air bomber over Britain; both pilots were awarded the DFC. [67] Encouraged by the lack of night defences, a raid on London was carried out the following night. Six aircraft were damaged beyond repair and two pilots were killed when attempting to land. views on bombing strategy. 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 Zeppelin was repeatedly caught by searchlights and all 26 anti-aircraft guns in London were active, but every shell exploded too low and the falling shrapnel caused both damage and alarm on the ground. The Zeppelin was shot down in flames with no survivors. 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. There was one gun that tormented the Parisians. In addition, Strategic bombing had its beginning during World War I when German Zeppelins began raiding London. A family of Caproni bombers, [17] A four-airship raid by the Army on 17 March ran into fog and was abandoned, one airship bombing Calais and being damaged on landing. The main attack formation followed: over 500 heavy “Lancaster” bombers loaded with explosives and incendiaries. [N 1]. Inspection of the wreckage provided the British with much information about the construction of Zeppelins, which was used in the design of the British R33-class airships. Large numbers of British aircraft were put into the air but were unable to climb high enough to engage the bombers. Bombs were first dropped on Britain during World War I, when Germany sent zeppelins against London and other cities, killing hundreds. [71] The following night seven Gothas and three Riesenflugzeuge took off, killing 40 and injuring 87 for the loss of one aircraft. Bombing. By this time the population of London was thoroughly alarmed, with up to 300,000 people seeking shelter in Underground stations and others leaving London to sleep in whatever accommodation was available, some in fields. The airship was set alight and the crew headed south before being arrested at Peldon by the police. Before the 20th Century, civilians in Britain were largely unaffected by war, but this was to change on 19 January 1915 with the first air attacks of World War One by the German Zeppelin. The British also building an France used its Voison force after May 1915 The reason for the relatively large numbers of casualties seems to have been ignorance as to the threat posed by aerial bombardment of a city in daylight. [32], After three more raids were scattered by the weather a five-Zeppelin raid which became known as the "Theatreland Raid" was launched by the Navy on 13 October. New York: Free Press, 1991. Air Campaign, August 1914- November 1918. would be hit by mistake. After a further hour the English coast came into sight, revealing that the Gothas were some 64 km (40 mi) off course. Squadron: Night Bombing in World War I. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian [2] A minor consequence of the risk of being driven out of bed at night was the development of pajamas for women. The main campaign against Britain started in January 1915 using airships. The first Zeppelin raid occurred on 19 January 1915, when bombs were dropped on Sheringham, Yarmouth, … 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). [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 Parisians during WWI suffered from the war deeply: because rationing was implemented, young men were forced to fight and the city was regularly bombed by long-range German guns and Zeppelins. A woman and her husband in northeast Maryland found a live World War I bomb while digging in a flower bed. Baltimore, Md. He asked for a two-seat, twin-engine aircraft with a speed [64] On 18 August, the largest raid of the war was attempted, despite a warning of unfavourable weather. from having to leave their beds to seek shelter at night, had a far _________. Its bomb-carrying On May 23, 1917, a fleet of 21 Bleriot XI. [72] On 30 September 11 Gothas set off to raid London and on 1 October 18 took off, eleven reaching England. This page was last edited on 3 February 2021, at 00:40. [34] This was the last raid of 1915, as bad weather coincided with the new moon in both November and December 1915 and continued into January 1916. Center for History in the Schools, world's The First Air War: a tactical capacity since bombers could reach areas that ground artillery [69] The following night 15 Gothas set out, with similar results, only three aircraft reaching London. Forty-one bombs were then dropped in rapid succession over Streatham, killing seven and wounding 27. First Battle of Marne (September of 1914) In September of 1914, the First Battle of Marne marked the end of German incursion into France and the beginning of the trench warfare so widely associated with World War One. The bombing of cities remained Before the stabilisation of the Western Front, German aircraft made a number of raids on Paris, slightly damaging Notre Dame Cathedral. The loss of SL 11 ended the German Army's interest in raids on Britain. [62], A further Gotha raid of 22 aircraft was made on 7 July, resulting in 57 deaths and 193 injuries on the ground. [68], Six raids followed at the end of September. [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. [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. Twenty-eight aircraft took off and soon encountered the predicted high winds, after nearly two hours in the air they had made so little progress that Zeebrugge was still in sight. Felixstowe and Harwich were bombed on 22 July and Southend and Shoeburyness on 12 August, with the loss of one Gotha, four others crashing on landing. [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 worst raid in terms of casualties took place on 13 June 1917 when 20 Gotha GI.V bombers attacked London; 162 were killed and 432 injured. but a strengthening of the Royal Air Force. This exploded on Bartholomew Close near Smithfield Market, destroying several houses and killing two men. Combatants used virtually all [75] The next raid against England was carried out on 29 October, when three aircraft set out, two diverting to Calais because of the weather and the third dropping its bombs on the Essex coast. Throughout the war it Many were converted to cargo and passenger operations buildings or castles. plane could carry 16 112-pound (51-kilogram) bombs; used a crew of four; [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. Further bombs fell on the textile warehouses north of St Paul's Cathedral, causing a fire which despite the attendance of 22 fire engines caused over half a million pounds damage: Mathy then turned east, dropping his remaining bombs on Liverpool Street station. 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. In 1917-18 ‘Gotha’ and ‘Giant’ bombers were also used. A pusher deadliest day of bombing yet, 95 people were killed, and England began Weather conditions and night flying conditions made airship navigation and maintaining bombing accuracy difficult. could not. These were generally referred to as "Zeppelin raids": although both Zeppelin and Schütte-Lanz airships were used, the Zeppelin company was much better known and was responsible for producing the majority of the airships used. and mines that were supporting the war effort. Many damaged aircraft limped back to their airfields only to be lost in landing accidents. Used throughout Substance that reportedly sparked Beirut explosions was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The upcoming anniversary of the bombing of Dresden (February 13 to 15, 1945) has highlighted the deliberately-obscured fact that the British, and not the Germans, started the mass bombing of civilians in World War II, and that this remains one of the great unpunished war crimes of the Twentieth Century. More than any Great Britain also experimented with the possibility of dropping bombs World War I Bomber Page: http://www.wwiaviation.com/bombers.shtml, Educational 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. Fog and mist prevented any aircraft taking off, but anti-aircraft guns fired at LZ 74 with no effect. In June 1915, Hull experienced its first and deadliest Zeppelin raid. almost all of which were trimotors, were first adopted by the Italian L 10 was also misnavigated, mistaking the reservoirs of the Lea Valley for the Thames, and consequently dropped its bombs on Walthamstow and Leytonstone. [16] The first Navy attempts to bomb London, made by L 8, failed owing to poor weather. [12] The campaign was approved by the Kaiser on 7 January 1915, who at first forbade attacks on London, fearing that his relatives in the British royal family might be injured. military just before the war. Institution Press, 1990. [citation needed], There were a total 20 raids in 1915, in which 37 tons of bombs were dropped, killing 181 people and injuring 455. Both the other Zeppelins, L 16 and L 11, were even further off course. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator. With barely enough fuel left to return to Belgium, the flight commander called off the attack. 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