Zeppelin Blitz

by Neil Storey

  The fires were quickly brought under control, but sadly one man, nine women and six children were killed. Two women were seriously injured, and two men, two women and five children received minor injuries. All of them were civilians living in poor circumstances.

  L-9 headed off westward, throwing sixteen incendiary bombs as she went, which fell between the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway goods sidings and the north-eastern loop line between the docks and the Dutch River Bridge. No damage was done. The Zeppelin passed Snaith at 11.25 p.m. and then went north to Selby, where she passed over the Olympia Company’s oil tanks and turned eastward at 11.30 p.m.

  At 11.45 p.m. she dropped three incendiary bombs, one of which failed to ignite, in an open field at Hotham, 7 miles south of Market Weighton. No damage was done. Passing north of Beverley again, about midnight, she went south and then east, was seen at Sigglesthorne just before 12.10 p.m. and finally proceeded out to sea at Hornsea at 12.12 a.m.

  There was a heavy ground mist the whole time the Zeppelin was over the East Riding, which was probably the chief cause of her inability to find Hull, after she had been confused as to her exact landfall by the action of the aeroplanes at Atwick.

  L-11, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See von Buttlar, was first reported by HMS Cynthia 6 miles east of the Shipwash lightship at 9.50 p.m. She appears to have been in company with L-10. She made landfall at Dunwich at 10 p.m., swung north, passed over Wrentham at 10.10 p.m. then over Pakefield, where an HE bomb was dropped on a farm, doing slight damage to fences and windows. She then made for Lowestoft from the south-west.

  At 10.18 p.m. L-11 began bombing the town. A HE bomb first demolished a wall and two greenhouses between the Avenue and the London Road. The airship then went out to sea near the Claremont Pier, and circled to the south, dropping four water flares, which fell in the sea and ignited. Having thus obtained the exact position of the town she came in again near the Grand Hotel and, circling northward, dropped six more HE bombs. The first wrecked two small houses and a shop in Lovewell Road, killing a woman and burying another woman and two children, who were rescued from the debris unhurt. The second landed in a back garden in Lorne Park Road, damaging walls and outbuildings. The third also fell in a back garden in Wellington Esplanade, doing similar damage, as did the fourth which wrecked another house. The fifth destroyed the roof and two of three rooms of a house, injuring a woman and three men of 2/4th Battalion, The Norfolk Regiment TF, who had been billeted in the house. The sixth fell on a pavement in Wellington Road, causing only slight harm. The total damage was estimated at £4,971.

  Naval 6-pdr AA guns came into action against the Zeppelin, firing twelve rounds without visible effect. L-11 went out to sea in a north-east direction about 10.25 p.m. and an aeroplane of the RNAS rose in pursuit from Yarmouth at 10.31 p.m., but the pilot, who cruised at 5,000ft for about an hour, could see absolutely nothing. There were patches of dense fog and his aeroplane, which had to rise and land in fog was damaged on landing.

  L-10, under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Wenke, approached the coast in company with L-14 and was off Aldeburgh at 9.40 p.m., making landfall about ten minutes later. She passed over Leiston at 10 p.m. and reached Dennington at 10.10 p.m. Turning south-west, she passed Framlingham at 10.15 p.m., and Otley at 10.20 p.m. before turning westward at Tuddenham, just missing Ipswich, where the Zeppelin was heard on the north side of the town at 10.30 p.m. At 10.35 p.m. she turned south-west at Bramford and was next heard of at Coggeshall, where she suddenly appeared at 11.15 p.m., heading south.

  She passed near Kelvedon, and over Witham and Wickham Bishops to Maldon, at about 11.30 p.m. Around 11.45 p.m. she dropped a flare at Little Stambridge, north of Rochford, and five minutes later was heard between the latter place and Leigh. At 11.57 p.m. L-10 passed over Shoeburyness, out into the Thames estuary and dropped her first bombs, evidently aimed at vessels in the river about the Nore. Five or six were heard to explode.

  L-10 next appeared off Sheppey and passed over Eastchurch village at 12.09 a.m. Three minutes later she bombed the aviation ground, dropping six HE and six incendiary bombs but causing only slight damage to glass and no casualties. One of the HE bombs was of large size, apparently 100kg, and this appears to be the first instance of the use of such a large bomb in the aerial bombing campaign. The HE bombs fell close to the sheds and were extinguished by an infantry detachment.

  At 12.08 a.m. two aeroplanes had risen from the aerodrome to engage the Zeppelin, but although they were in the air whilst she was dropping bombs, they could not see her on account of the darkness and fog, so they landed just an hour later. The raider passed on southwards, dropping two more HE bombs at Pumphill, ½ mile south of Eastchurch at 12.15 a.m. These did no damage. At 12.25 a.m. she passed Teynham and turned eastward along the Swale, passing between Leysdown and Faversham. She went out to sea near Whitstable about 12.30 a.m., passed near the Edinburgh lightship at 12.50 a.m. and the Kentish Knock at 1.05 a.m., being last reported passing the Galloper at 1.25 a.m.

  L-12, under Oberleutnant zur See Werner Peterson, was first reported, in company with L-13, as approaching the Edinburgh lightship from the east at 10.15 p.m. Both Zeppelins, which were flying on parallel courses, were off the coast between Reculver and Birchington between 10.30 and 10.40 p.m. L-13 then apparently parted company, going on up the estuary while L-12 turned eastward, appearing over Westgate at 10.48 p.m. A naval aeroplane went up from Westgate on the approach of L-12, but failed to find her in the fog, and on returning to the aerodrome it crashed, killing the pilot, Flight Sub Lieutenant Reginald Lord (23). He was buried with full military honours in Margate cemetery.

  The Zeppelin went on along the coast, being off North Foreland at 10.53 p.m., when she turned west and apparently went over the land to Ramsgate. She now hovered over the downs for over an hour and, at 12.05 a.m. was spotted over Kingsdown, drifting seawards. At 12.28 a.m. she approached Dover from the south and passed over the harbour at a height of about 5,000ft, dropping bombs while under fire from the anti-aircraft guns of the defences. The accuracy of this fire was evidently unexpected; as soon as it opened the Zeppelin endeavoured to get out of it and swung round to the eastward. The second or third round from the 3in gun (the only one at that time mounted) hit her fairly, and she was seen to reel on being struck and her bows lifted slightly. She then dropped all her water ballast, rose swiftly and, at 12.35 a.m., disappeared in a south-easterly direction. She was pursued by both a RNAS and a RFC aeroplane but, owing to her banking to a great height, they were unable to engage her and soon lost sight of the Zeppelin in fog.

  L-12 had dropped about a dozen bombs, all falling in the harbour, apart from three incendiaries which fell on Admiralty Pier. Two of these fell on the parapet and burnt themselves out, one fell through a corrugated iron roof near the transport office, setting fire to the platform, but was soon put out. A HE bomb burst under the bows of the trawler Equinox, wounding one man severely and two slightly. No other casualties or damage were caused.

  The injury to the Zeppelin had proved serious. Making for Belgium, L-12 was losing gas and was compelled to descend gradually to the surface of the water when only a few miles out of Ostend. She was taken in tow by German torpedo boats which she had summoned to her assistance. She was located at about 9 a.m. by a British naval aircraft from Dunkirk, 3 miles west of the port, who bombed L-12 from as low as 500ft and then returned. Two other aeroplanes arrived and continued to bomb the airship, which was by then low in the water, still being towed. By midday she made it into Ostend harbour alongside the quay, where she was bombed again. At about 2 p.m., while workmen were attempting to haul her up onto the quay, she was found to have been so severely damaged by bombs that her back broke and her rear half slipped back into the water. Her hull was salvaged but the rest of the airship was scrapped on the spot.

  L-13, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy who had taken the Zeppelin over with his old crew from L-9, was seen first in company with L-12
off the Edinburgh lightship at 10.15 p.m., and appeared off Reculver with her half an hour later. There they separated and she went up the river, being reported from Wakering Haven and off Shoeburyness at 11.10 p.m. She returned to the mouth of the Thames and, at 11.55 p.m., was off Foreness. There, her forward engine broke down and she drifted for an hour.

  By 12.48 a.m. she was off the North Foreland, going south and, at 12.59 a.m. began dropping bombs in Sandwich Bay. She then went off eastward, going home over Belgium, where it is known she had a further mishap to her engines and her radiator burst. The official report issued at Berlin with regard to the raid stated:

  On the night of 9–10 August, our naval airships raided several fortified places and ports on England’s east coast. In spite of violent efforts to offer resistance, bombs were dropped on British warships in the Thames, on the London Docks, the torpedo-boat base at Harwich and important establishments on the Humber. Good results could be observed. The airships returned from their successful enterprise.

  From this statement it may be deduced that the commander of L-9 eventually realised that he had not found Hull; that the commander of L-11 mistook Lowestoft for Harwich; and that the commander of L-10 either mistook Sheppey for London or, as is more probable, was deliberately lying in his claim to have bombed the London Docks. Neither the attack on Dover nor the destruction of L-12 was mentioned.

  12/13 August 1915

  On the night of 12 August, three Imperial German Navy Zeppelins, L-9, L-10 and L-11, were reported approaching the British coast. Only L-10 made landfall and attacked Woodbridge and Harwich.

  L-10, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Wenke, came over the coast at Pakefield at 9.25 p.m. and flew south-west, passing between Kessingland and Carlton Colville at 9.30 p.m. and was fired on at Benacre by Maxims of the Shropshire Yeomanry, without result. She passed near Covehithe at 9.35 p.m., over Brampton at 9.45 p.m., Halesworth at 9.50 p.m., Walpole at 9.55 p.m., Peasenhall at 10 p.m., and on to Bassingham where, about 10.05 p.m., she dropped a couple of petrol tanks. Turning south she passed between Great Glemham and Framlingham, then hovered over Wickham Market at 10.15 p.m., where she dropped two flares.

  Going southward to the railway, at Pettistree she dropped an incendiary bomb, which did no damage, followed by another, which fell on the main road at Melton, also to no effect. The airship now turned along the line of the railway to Woodbridge and, just outside the town, she was attacked by machine guns and rifle fire by troops of 2/3rd Battalion, London Infantry Brigade. This drew the return fire of the airship which, at about 10.25 p.m., dropped four HE and twenty incendiary bombs on the town. Five cottages were destroyed and one partly wrecked; sixty-four other buildings and a church were damaged.

  The wreckage caused on St John’s Hill, where the first bomb fell.

  The house on St John’s Hill where Mrs Bunn was killed.

  The ‘x’ shows the house where Mr and Mrs Tyler were killed.

  The funeral of the air raid victims. A total of six people were killed and seven injured during the raid.

  The total amount of damage was estimated at about £2,250. Six people were killed and seven injured. In the German communiqué it was stated that ‘blast furnaces’ at Woodbridge were bombed. Woodbridge was at the time a purely agricultural market town, without factories of any kind.

  Leaving Woodbridge at about 10.30 p.m. the airship went on towards Ipswich, dropping three HE and three incendiary bombs at Kesgrave, which did no damage, until at 10.40 p.m. she was attacked over Rushmere Heath by AA motor machine guns of the RNAS. She dropped two HE bombs in reply, which exploded near the guns but did them no injury, and then turned away from Ipswich towards the River Orwell, which she crossed at 10.55 p.m. near Pin Mill. The Zeppelin passed westward for a short space and was over Woolverstone at 11 p.m.

  L-10 then turned south, passing Holbrook at 11.05 p.m. and slowly veering round towards Harwich. Around 11.10 p.m. she dropped one HE bomb on Shotley Marshes, which naturally did no damage, and then crossed the River Stour. Shortly before 11.15 p.m. eight HE and four incendiary bombs fell on Parkstone. Two of the HE and two of the incendiary bombs fell in the river and one HE in the mud. Two houses were wrecked and a number of windows broken by the others. Seventeen people were injured, and damage was done to the telephone wires and communication with the Ray Hill gun cut off. This gun, and that at Beacon Hill, fired without result. An aeroplane was ready to go up, but did not do so as it was considered that the searchlights would have dazzled the pilot.

  L-10 was claimed to have been attracted to Harwich by lights shown in the harbour by the naval authorities in order to allow a squadron of destroyers to enter and take up their moorings. After bombing Parkstone, L-10 went over Fagbury Point and Trimley, behind Felixstowe and out to sea near Bawdsey at about 11.25 p.m. after being fired at by Maxim gun cars of the RNAS at Shingle Street. She went along the coast, came in over Orford at 11.35 p.m. and finally went out to sea north of Orfordness shortly afterwards.

  L-11, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See von Buttlar, was first heard off Harwich at 9 p.m., then over the Thames estuary and Thanet at about 10.10 p.m. She appears to have gone east into the Straits of Dover and was seen off Deal heading towards land at 10.45 p.m. She was off Westgate at 11.22 p.m., then seems to have wandered around over the estuary for a time, before being heard from Wakering Haven in Essex at 11.45 p.m., from Warden Point in Sheppey at 11.50 p.m., and from the Nore at 11.55 p.m. She finally turned eastward, was heard between Broadstairs and Ramsgate at 12.30 a.m. and seems to have gone out to sea south-east of Deal at 12.48 a.m.

  L-9, commanded by Hauptmann Stelling, seems to have followed L-10 to the neighbourhood of Lowestoft and was vaguely reported in the neighbourhood of Corton, but a propeller shaft became loose and she was forced to return without coming overland at all.

  The Intelligence report remarked of Stelling that he was:

  An officer who had been a well-known pre-war pilot of the Parseval Airship Company. Shortly before the war he had piloted a Parseval airship to England for the British Government, which had acquired it, and flew it over London.

  During the war, however, Stelling would never reach the capital. The report also commented:

  The inactivity of L-11 was very characteristic of her commander. All three airships were probably intended to come to London. L-10 certainly gave up the attempt owing to the mist. Her commander found a very good substitute in Woodbridge.

  17/18 August 1915

  Zeppelins L-10, L-11 and L-14 crossed the North Sea on this evening in August. Only two actually raided England: L-10 came over the coast of Suffolk, attacked London and dropped eleven bombs in Kent; while L-11 headed straight for Kent. L-14, on her maiden voyage, merely approached the Norfolk coast and then went away after dropping her bombs in the sea.

  L-14, commanded by Kapitänleutnant der Reserve Alois Böcker, was first reported from the Would lightship at 8.20 p.m. At 9.45 p.m. she passed the Haisborough lightship, going north and then seems to have turned, passing the lightship again at 10 p.m. and going down the coast. At 10.40 p.m. she passed the Cross Sand lightship heading north-north-west, and at 10.50 p.m. returned at a height of only 200ft and dropped an incendiary bomb over the lightship, and missed. She was near Yarmouth at 11.10 p.m., and at 11.25 p.m. was off Caister, going seaward. She was next reported from the Cross Sand lightship again, south of which she dropped a number of bombs, estimated at fifteen or twenty, into the sea and fired machine guns at a steamer. At 11.40 p.m. she was reported from the Corton lightship, and thereafter no further reports of her were received; she no doubt made off directly homewards.

  L-10, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Klaus Hirsch, made the English coast at 8.25 p.m. at Sizewell Gap, and then rounded Orfordness into Hollesley Bay, by 8.50 p.m. At 8.56 p.m. she came over land at Shingle Street, where she was fired at by two Maxim gun cars of the RNAS. She was feeling her way cautiously, no doubt in order to be certain of her landfall and to avoid the Harwich defences, wh
ich her commander did not intend to attack. At 9.05 p.m. she passed Shottisham, crossed the River Deben and the Orwell, behind Harwich, and at 9.15 p.m. was at the back of Shotley. She passed Holbrook and, at 9.35 p.m. reached Manningtree, there striking the railway, which she followed for the greater part of the journey to London.

  At 9.32 p.m. she turned south of Stratford St Mary and at 9.40 p.m. passed Colchester. Ten minutes later she was at Kelvedon and, after that at Witham. At 10.08 p.m. she went over Writtle and at 10.17 p.m. was at Ongar, where she dropped a petrol tank. She then sighted and followed the railway to Epping and went on towards Waltham Abbey, where she was fired at by a 1-pdr AA gun.

  L-10 turned south-west to Chingford, where she arrived at 10.30 p.m., and at about 10.34 p.m. dropped her first bombs at Walthamstow. The first, an incendiary, fell in Lloyd’s Park, doing no damage. A third, that fell close by, on the Stratford Co-operative Store buildings in Hoe Street, penetrated the roof and floor of a shop but the fire was quickly extinguished by a watchman and did not set fire to the premises.

  The Zeppelin had now picked up the Midland Railway line from Tottenham to Forest Gate, and followed this more or less throughout her course over London. The first HE bomb now fell on Baker’s Avenue, Leyton, demolishing four flats and shattering all the windows in the street. Four men, two women and two children were injured. Three more HE bombs then landed close by in the grounds of the Baker’s Almshouses, Lea Bridge Road, shaking the buildings, breaking the windows and seriously injuring one woman. Another HE bomb landed in the roadway of the Lea Bridge Road, destroying the tramlines and pavements. One HE and three incendiary bombs fell in Lea Bridge Road, badly damaging the buildings of the tramway depot, causing a slight fire and breaking the windows of seven shops. One man was slightly injured.