Air Raids

AIR RAIDS. Directly Great Britain came into the World War, the German High Command began to encourage their public with prophecies of the havoc the Zeppelins were about to work in England, but it soon became evident that for airships to fly in daylight over enemy territory was to invite disaster. Hence, al though reconnaissances over the North Sea towards England were begun by airships, the first actual attacks were made by aeroplanes.

Raids in 1914-15.

InDec. 1914 a couple of bombs were dropped in the sea off Dover; and three days later, on Dec. 24, the first German projectile hit English soil. A few half-hearted attacks by aeroplanes and seaplanes, made during 1915, were ineffective, and it was left to the lighter-than-air machines to cause the first serious damage. In the evening of Jan. 19, 1915, two naval air ships approached the coast between Yarmouth and Cromer. They separated and dropped bombs on both towns. Four people were killed.

On April 14, Mathy, boldest of all German air commanders, commanding L9, made a considerable tour over the northern counties. On this occasion he was not particularly successful, most of the bombs falling harmlessly in open country, but the following night L9 caused some damage in Suffolk. The next four raids were similar. Capt. Linnarz, very active about this time in command of one of the military airships, succeeded in bringing his ship over London on the night of May 31, 1915. There was on this night only one raider, armed with an inefficient type of bomb, but there were 41 fires while five people were killed and 14 injured.

Further raids in Yorkshire and Kent on June 4 had little result, but two nights later Mathy again attacked the north. He found Hull, and killed 24 people, besides wrecking some 4o houses. Another airship, LZ37, that attempted to raid on the same night, was destroyed by Lt. R. A. J. Warneford, R.N., while returning home near Ghent. The first serious military damage in England was done by a single ship that raided the north on June 15.

A series of nine raids took place in the latter part of 1915. It opened inauspiciously for the Germans, a zeppelin engaged in bombing Dover being hit by a 3-in. gun that had just been mount ed there. She struggled across the Channel and was finished off by bombing aeroplanes.

London was reached on four nights during this period. On Sept. 8 Mathy bombed the city deliberately; the damage done amounted to more than Lsoo,000. Mathy also took part in the raid of Oct. 13, when his ship bombed Woolwich. On this occa sion the casualties were 33 killed and 77 wounded. Two buildings were destroyed, 20 seriously damaged, and there were 13 fires, the total damage being estimated at f5o,25o.

Raids of 1916.

Thedefences could do no better in the early raids of 1916. Nine zeppelins manoeuvred over the midland counties on the last night of January, one getting nearly to Shrewsbury, and 59 people were killed. Out of 16 British aero planes that went up in pursuit, 8 crashed on landing. A month later two airships were able to sit over Hull and bomb it from a low height, without any interference from the defence. From this time, however, the defences improved. L15, one of the five ships that attacked on March 31, 1916, was hit by the gun at Purfleet ; it was then attacked in the air by Lt. A. de B. Brandon, of the Royal Flying Corps, eventually falling into the sea off the coast of Essex. Fifteen airship flights were made over England and Scotland during this April. The British losses were 84 killed.

Further raids at the end of April were organized in conjunction with the naval bombardment of Lowestoft and Yarmouth. A large number of airships took part but the result was small. Lon don was saved from bombing by its defences on April 25. One zeppelin was eventually destroyed on the coast of Norway.

An abortive raid on Harwich was followed on Aug. 24 by an attack on London by Mathy. A determined attempt on London was carried out by 14 ships on Sept. 2. The Metropolis was un doubtedly saved by Lt. W. L. Robinson of the R.F.C., who attacked the military airship SLI 1. She fell, a burning mass, near Cuffley, Middlesex.

On Sept. 23, 1916, airships left Germany and the main at tack was directed on London by three of the newest super zeppelins. Having crossed the Essex coast shortly before P.M., L33 was over east London ten minutes after midnight, and dropped 20 bombs. London, however, was no longer helpless. The searchlights continually lit up the hull of the airship; she was badly holed by the guns, one of her engines was damaged and she began to lose gas and fly clumsily. To add to her miseries, Brandon now brought his machine close up to her. For 20 min utes he stuck to her, pumping bullets into the fabric. As she laboured back towards the North Sea, the crew threw out every thing on which they could lay their hands. Her commander crossed the coast at Mersea Island, going out due east. But the certainty that his ship would fall into the sea was too much for him; he turned her about and came to earth near Colchester.

Mathy meanwhile brought his ship L31, in company with L32, up the English Channel and, turning in over the Kent coast, passed straight over the centre of London. South London and the ex treme north of the Metropolis suffered severely ; but, for some reason, Mathy threw no bombs in the central districts. The handling of the companion ship, L32, was not of nearly so bold a character. Her commander spent an hour circling about Romney marshes. As he crossed the Thames near Dartford he was picked up by lights and attacked by guns. Lt. Frederick Sowrey suc ceeded in setting the ship on fire in several places; she fell at Billericay. The British casualties on this night were 4o killed.

On the night of Sept. 25, seven ships raided the north. Mathy, on this occasion, took his ship on an entirely new line ; he- flew up the Channel as far as the Isle of Wight, where he turned north and went over Portsmouth. He dropped no bombs on the fortress or dockyard.

Yet another serious attempt to bomb London was made on the night of Oct. 1. Eleven ships started from Germany. Mathy, in L31, came in over Lowestoft about 8 P.M. and as usual steered an excellent course on London. Soon after passing Chelmsford, how ever, he found that the outer defences on that side of the capital were ready for him. He therefore turned and steered north-east. Turning again, he flew south-west, in order to get into position for his favourite dash down wind over the city. After drifting a few moments toward Ware, he set his engines going and started for north London at full speed. Suddenly a heavy gunfire was opened on him and he decided to abandon his attempt. Sec.-Lt. W. J. Tempest came up to the ship at 12,7ooft. and brought her down in flames at Potter's Bar. During the whole of this great raid the only British loss was one man killed. The defence of London had now definitely got the better of the lighter-than-air attack; after this period no German airship ever flew intentionally over the Metropolis.

Deterred by the victory of the London defences, the Germans turned their attention to the north for the final effort of 1916. They met with no better success. Of the ten ships that left Ger many in the course of Nov. 27, eight came over land. One was destroyed on the coast near Hartlepool before midnight by Capt. J. V. Pyott of the R.F.C. Another raider, L2I, after a remarkable journey right across England to Cheshire, was caught in the early morning, when she was leaving the coast at Yarmouth. She fell into the sea from 8,000ft. and sank at once. During 1916, 18 raids were made on England by aeroplanes and seaplanes.

The first aeroplane attack on London itself was made on Nov. 28, 1916, by a single machine; the only intimation was the fall of six small bombs between Brompton road and Victoria station.

Raids of 1917.

Beforethe end of 1916 it had become evident to the German command that, if effective bombing was to be kept up on targets that were worth attacking, it would be necessary to try new methods. Early in 1917, therefore, they began equipping a squadron with machines for bombing England systematically.

The first attempt came on May 25, 1917. The 3rd bombing squadron, 16 machines strong, left Belgium early in the after noon and made the coast about 5 P.M. There were thick banks of cloud -over Essex. The task of navigating to London was found too difficult and the leader had to give up the attempt. He there fore turned south. Bombs were dropped on the Canadian camp at Shorncliffe, where there were ioo casualties. The worst effect was produced in Folkestone itself. One bomb fell in a crowded street and killed 33 people, mostly women. The second unsuccess ful attempt was made on June 5; 18 machines bombed Sheerness with some effect. The guns at Sheerness succeeded in hitting one of the raiders, which fell into the river off Banton's Point.

London Seriously Damaged.—The third attempt on Lon don was more successful. The whole of the 3rd squadron started in the morning of June 13; London was reached a little before noon. A few bombs were dropped in the East End and near the Royal Albert docks; then, at a signal from the leader, the forma tion loosed 72 bombs over a small area having Liverpool street. station as its centre. The station itself was hit by three bombs. The casualties were severe, o4 killed and 423 injured.

The next raid on London on July 7 was also successful. Twenty four machines started. The main body of 22 machines came to London. The city received 76 bombs, one of them starting a fire in the General Post Office; 46 persons were killed and 123 injured; 22 buildings were destroyed, and 87 seriously damaged, the total damage being estimated at over 1200,000. The anti aircraft guns produced no effect.

The failure of the defensive arrangements caused considerable agitation, and the British Government ordered a complete re organization. The London air defences were formed as a separate command to include all the means of defence, both from the ground and in the air. Gen. E. B. Ashmore was brought from France to take charge of the new arrangements.

The new arrangements were soon tested; on Aug. 12 a party of nine gothas made the land near Harwich. After following the coast to the Blackwater, they turned inland for London. The communication system of the defence control worked well, and the squadrons immediately defending London were at the re quired height in time to meet the enemy formation. The German commander turned his formation about before reaching the outer line of guns. A number of bombs were unloaded on Southend as the enemy made off, and 32 people were killed. An attempt on Aug. 18 was frustrated by bad weather.

An abortive attack on the midlands by eight airships on the night of Aug. 21 was followed by the last day attack on England on Aug. 22, when Capt. Kleine, commander of the 3rd squadron, started out with 13 gothas to bomb Sheerness and Dover. A number of naval machines turned the Sheerness bombers from their objective, and the German formation, harassed by the Brit ish Pilots, wheeled south by Ramsgate. Here the anti-aircraft guns, working with great accuracy, shot down two of the raiders. A third was shot down off Dover.

Attacks Begin.

Thefirst group of night attacks came, in the beginning of Sept. 1917 and one of these reached London itself. On the night of Sept. 3-4, about ro.3o, hostile aeroplanes were reported near the North Foreland, and warnings were sent out by the central control a few minutes later when it was clear that they were coming up the Thames. Unfortunately there was serious telephone delay in getting the warning out at Chatham, and before cover could be taken a bomb had fallen on a drill hall in which a large number of naval ratings were asleep. No fewer than 107 were killed and 86 wounded.

Although on this night the defence was ineffective certain points gave hope for the future. Three pilots went up in fast scout machines, and found that it was by no means impossible to handle them at night. The idea also was evolved of barrage fire, a curtain of bursting shell put up in the path of the raiders.

The last raid of this moon period, on Sept. 4, reached London. The barrage fire, organized since the previous night, turned back some of the pilots, but ten raiders reached the metropolitan area. Considering the magnitude of the raid, the damage caused was small, and the total casualties for the night included only 14 killed and 48 injured.

Favourable weather produced a sustained series of raids, open ing on the night of Sept. 24, with an attack on London by aero planes, in conjunction with an airship raid on Hull and the north. Nine at least of the pilots attempted to attack London itself, but considerable improvement had by this time been effected in putting up barrage fire, which was successful in turning back all but three of the attackers. Although 27 English machines went up they failed to find any of the enemy ; the gunfire brought down one of the gothas, which fell in the river near Sheerness.

The attack on the north was carried out by ten airships under Capt. Peter Strasser. Although Hull was found, the raid had very little success. On the following night, Sept. 25, ten aeroplanes attacked, and nine people were killed. The attacks were con tinued on the 28th, when some 20 machines came over; the night was cloudy and a few only approached London; they were all kept off by the barrage fire.

The barrage was again effective on the following night, Sept. 29. Out of the 18 or 19 machines that came over only four penetrated far enough to bomb London. The Dover guns did well, bringing one of the enemy down in flames. On the next night, Sept. 30, five German pilots got over London and bombed places as far apart as Highgate, Edmonton and Woolwich; 14 people were injured and two killed. The last raid of the series, on Oct. 1, was made by about 18 machines.

During these raids a large proportion of the attackers had been turned before reaching their target, but the defences were still far from complete. The barrage fire was expensive in ammuni tion and there was a doubt if the supply could be kept up. The defending squadrons had not reached the necessary efficiency in machines or pilots.

The "aprons," a new defence devised after the raid of Sept. 5, were only beginning to be installed. The central control as organized in Sept. 1917 could give no information to pilots when once they had been sent on their patrols, but schemes to rectify this had already been initiated.

The airship raid of the night Oct. 19-20, 1917, which became known in London as the "silent raid," has points of special in terest. Eleven airships met on the evening of the i9th off the Yorkshire coast for an attack on the industrial centres of the midlands. While over England, the ships flew well over i6,000ft. At this altitude the efficiency of the crews was much impaired by height sickness and the intense cold. Another and fatal con dition was produced by the weather. Near the ground the air was misty and there was very little wind, but at the height of the airships a strong gale was blowing from the north, and in this the zeppelins drifted blindly south. One airship passed over London without recognizing it and dropped a few explosive bombs ; one of 5okgm. fell in Piccadilly near the circus and caused some casualties.

Realizing that, on account of the ground mists, searchlights would have no chance of lighting up a high zeppelin, the defence ordered them to remain covered unless an airship could be heard. London was saved from a combined attack and the raid ended in disaster to the attackers. One airship only returned to Ger many in the usual way; six got back after flying over Holland or across the Allied lines. The remaining four were destroyed during the following day on French territory.

Aeroplane raiding was resumed during the moon period at the end of October. An attempt on the 31st was carried out by 24 machines. Considering that a good many of them got over London, the effect of the bombs was small, eight persons being killed and 21 injured.

The weather in Dec. 1917 was unfavourable and only three attempts were made on London. The defences showed steady improvement. Two gothas were brought down by anti-aircraft gunfire during a raid in the early morning of Dec. 6. • On the night of the i8th one gotha was so damaged that it fell into the sea off Folkestone and was destroyed. On this night the new giant aeroplane dropped one 3ookgm. bomb near Eaton square, making a large crater but doing little serious damage. The whole raid, however, cost London more than £225,000, 42 buildings being seriously damaged and nine destroyed, while there were 13 fires. On Dec. 22 the last raid of the year was frustrated by unfavourable weather; one gotha was forced by engine trouble to descend near Margate, where it was destroyed by the crew.

Raids of 1918.

Inthe five aeroplane raids of the first quarter of 1918 there was a tendency to replace the smaller gotha ma chines by the new giants. A gotha was destroyed by a defending aeroplane on Jan. 28. During this raid a bomb dropped by a giant fell on a building in Long Acre that was being used as an air-raid shelter, and 41 people were killed. Three giants attacked on Feb. 16 ; the only one that penetrated to London demolished a house in Chelsea hospital with a 3ookgm. bomb. The raid of March 7, 1918, was remarkable as being the only occasion on which aeroplanes attacked London in the absence of any moon light. Warrington crescent was terribly wrecked.

To turn to the airships, raiding was not resumed until the nights of March 12 and 13, 1918. Both these raids were made at an immense height, and the damage did not amount to much. Five airships of the newest and largest type attacked the mid lands on the night of April 12. The end of the airship raiding came on Aug. 5-6, 1918. Five ships came up to the coast of Nor folk, no bombs were dropped on land, but L7o, the latest word in airship construction, was destroyed.

In the great aeroplane raid of May 19, 1918, the Germans made their maximum effort in this form of attack; between 30 and 4o gothas of the 3rd bombing squadron took part, with at least two giant machines. Thirteen of the raiders managed to get over London. The casualties included 34 killed and 98 in jured and f 130,00o worth of damage was done in the London area alone. But the defence had by now made very real progress. The Germans lost seven machines, three shot down in air combat, three destroyed by gunfire, and one from engine failure. This success of the defence was final, and the London area was saved from further bombing.

In addition to casualties (1,413 killed, 3,407 injured) and damage, the German raids on England produced actual results by no means negligible. A night raid stopped munition work over a large area. In order to establish a defence, men and ma terial were kept back from France. Two hundred aeroplanes of the best performance and 200 highly trained pilots were available about London at a time when they would have been of the utmost value on the western front.

European Air Raids.

Apartfrom raids that formed part of the ordinary operations on the various battle fronts, there were raids on towns of France, Germany and elsewhere, similar in intention to those on Great Britain. On Sept. 27, 1914, the first bombs were dropped on Paris by a German aeroplane. On March 18, 1915, bombs were dropped on Calais, killing 7 French refu gees and injuring twelve. On Sept. 22, 1915, French aeroplanes dropped bombs on Stuttgart as a reprisal for the bombardment of open towns by the Germans. In December there were air raids on Calais, and Salonika was bombed by the Germans.

In 1916, on Jan. 29, a zeppelin flew over Paris, dropping bombs which killed and wounded over 5o persons. In Feb. and March 1917 the Germans raided Salonika, and in April 1917 a large squadron of British and French aeroplanes bombarded Freiburg as a reprisal for attacks on British hospital ships. During the autumn of 1917 the British and French repeatedly carried out raids on the towns of western Germany, and in particular on Saarbriicken and Kaiserslautern. On Dec. 24, 1917, a British squadron dropped a ton of bombs on Mannheim-on-the-Rhine.

Early in 1918 the British and French flying corps carried out raids against the towns of western Germany. One of the most successful of these was on Jan. 14 by the British upon Karlsruhe, when the main railway station was heavily bombarded and many buildings set on fire. On March II, 1918, hostile aeroplanes raided Paris. On March 29, 1918 (Good Friday), a shell from "Big Bertha" hit the church of St. Gervais, killing and injuring many of the worshippers. In May of the same year British airmen dropped 33 bombs on Cologne in daylight and also bombed the port of Durazzo in Albania and sank an Austrian torpedo boat. On July 19, 1918, British seaplanes bombed the Zeppelin sheds at Tondern (Schleswig) and did much damage. (E. B. A.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Air ministry, Synopsis of British Air Effort during Bibliography.--Air ministry, Synopsis of British Air Effort during the War (1919) ; E. C. Middleton, The Great War in the Air (192o) ; The Council and the War (London County Council, 1920.)