In 1900, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin launched the first of his lighter-than-air airships. In the years that followed he continued to improve the design of his airships, and by 1909 the German military had ordered several for its arsenals. With the outbreak of World War I, these “zeppelins” were the most feared weapon in the realm of air warfare. Although all the major powers possessed airplanes, these were small, short-range planes mainly used for reconissance purposes. The zeppelin on the other hand was easily capable of flights from Germany to London and could do so carrying a large payload of bombs.
When Britain declared war in 1914 it was with full knowledge that they were inviting zeppelin attacks, and everyone knew that London would likely be the prime target. Defences were hastily arranged. Spotlights and guns were set up around the city, and defensive planes were stationed at nearby airfields. However, these early defences were nearly pointless. The guns could not fire a shell high enough to reach the zeppelins, and the planes took a long time to reach zeppelin altitudes and had little offensive capability even when they did.
But flying a zeppelin from Germany (or Belgium, where Germany has bases) to London was no easy feat. The complicated systems of the zeppelins were prone to breakdown, meaning many missions had to be aborted. Also, zeppelins were very much at the mercy of the weather. They could not be flown during heavy storms, and heavy wind could push them very badly off course. Even when all systems worked and the weather was clear, finding London was still a challenge. With no real navigational instruments, zeppelins were forced to navigate by using maps and recognizing ground-based landmarks. Considering that zeppelin attacks were always conducted at night, it is a wonder that any zeppelins every reached London.
Still, on May 31, 1915 the British nightmare became a reality. On that night Hptmn Erich Linnarz in command of zeppelin LZ.38 lifted off from a base just north of Brussels. At around eleven o’clock that night he began his attack. In the space of twenty minutes, the LZ.38 dropped nearly 120 bombs (about 3000lbs). Seven people were killed in the attack, including two children, 41 fires broke out, and at least seven houses were completely destroyed. No spotlight ever saw the zeppelin. No gun was able to target her. Of the planes that were scrambled in the defence of the city, only one even saw the zeppelin.
Other raids would follow, some much more destructive, but technology was quickly catching up with the zeppelins. By 1916, improved planes and the introduction of incendiary bullets would spell doom for the airships. Of course, by then, Germany had developed a new type of bomber airplane.
Primary Information for this article obtained from London 1914-17: The Zeppelin Menace by Ian Castle, Osprey Publishing, 2008.
