Defence of the Realm

The Zeppelin Threat

The arrival of the aeroplane as a military weapon of war heralded a change that not everyone could understand, or indeed accept. A notable few however - Hugh Trenchard among them - immediately recognised the implications for the battlefield.

But when discussing the 'battlefield' in August 1914, as the newly established Royal Flying Corps prepared to join the war in France, this was understood to be something very distinct from the home front. For Britain, as during the previous hundred years or more, war would mean sending men to fight far from home while their families remained distinct and isolated from the conflict.

The German High Command had other ideas. For the first time, they would use air power to bring the conflict to the very heart of their enemy - and it would not be by use of the aeroplane. The shocking result for Britain would be that, for the first time, the English Channel was no longer a certain insurance against attack.

The new weapon which would itself inaugurate a new role of air power - strategic bombing - was the 'Zeppelin' airship; so named for Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin who patented his airship design in 1895. Zeppelin had witnessed the use of balloons for observation purposes during the relatively recent American Civil War, and had immediately recognised the utility of a powered airship as a military capability.

On the 2nd July 1900, the 'Luftschiff Zeppelin' (LZ) 1 undertook its maiden flight over Lake Constance - three years before the Wright brothers would make their flight at Kittyhawk. Damaged after landing, and with funds lacking for the continuation of his project, Zeppelin expended enormous personal and financial capital in scraping together the support to continue developing his airship ideas. LZ 3 was finally his first successful design, but after LZ 4 was destroyed it looked as if the 'great experiment' might be over - until an outpouring of national pride in Zeppelin's achievements brought an onrush of public funding.

In 1912 and 1913 respectively, the German Army and Navy were ready to order airships under an ambitious expansion programme authorised by the Kaiser. When war came, the first vessels were ready to be employed in the conflict. Results were uncertain at first, to say the least - bombing raids were so small as to be almost ineffectual, certainly in terms of military damage done which was virtually nothing - and the new airships were found to be highly vulnerable at low level to surface to air fire.

By January 1915, with the Western Front having stabilised after the 'Miracle on the Marne', the Kaiser approved a new objective for the Zeppelin fleet - attacks against the British homeland. Thus was authorised the first strategic bombing campaign in the history of warfare; but with an important caveat - for the time being, attacks on London were prohibited.

The night of the 19th January 1915 saw the first successful Zeppelin raid on UK soil. Two airships were to attack targets on the east coast of England, around the Humber Estuary, but prevailing wind drove them off course and in fact their bombs struck much further south, around Great Yarmouth and other towns. This sort of inaccuracy was to become a theme for the campaign, although it did not detract from the propaganda impact on the British public.

This first attempt also saw the first response - a mission to intercept and drive off or destroy the marauders. However, as was probably to be expected in the dark, with no wireless communication and no means to locate the airships, the two aircraft that were despatched were completely ineffective.

After several aborted efforts, and equipped with a new class of Zeppelin, the first raid against London (now authorised by the Kaiser) was made on the night of 30th May. LZ38 dropped small incendiaries, starting 41 separate fires, killing seven and injuring 35. Over half a million pounds of damage was caused by the attack - significantly more than previous efforts. The Royal Flying Corps' home defence response was again ineffectual - the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 could manage a rate of climb of only 500 feet per minute, meaning it could take the best part of an hour to climb to the Zeppelins' altitude, let alone locate them.

Over the next sixteen months the campaign would continue, with the defending aircraft unable to bring down any of the attacking behemoths. That was not to say the Germans did not experience losses - there were plenty, due primarily to poor weather and navigational issues. Finally, on the night of 2nd September 1916, the Royal Flying Corps would experience success in the form of Lt William Leefe Robinson.

Flying (somewhat ironically) the much maligned B.E.2c, an aircraft condemned by parliament and some pilots as a 'death trap', Robinson was able to intercept and engage the SL11. The new incendiary rounds he carried were critical to the action, and the burning wreck as it fell was such a spectacle it provoked wild celebration across London and southern England. Robinson was to receive the Victoria Cross and be instantly elevated to celebrity status.

The loss of SL11 was as much a blow to the Germans as it was a boon to the British. The Army did not wish thereafter to pursue further attacks against Britain, although the Navy determined they would continue. There were some successes of course, but the introduction of incendiary and explosive ammunition for the defenders and the gradual improvement of their tactics meant that many airships now met the same fate as SL11. Others simply did not return home after becoming hopelessly lost and expending their fuel, leaving them at the mercy of the elements.

By 1917 the Zeppelin raids had largely shot their bolt, although they would continue. But now London would face a new threat - the Gothas.