The Defeat of the Zeppelins: Zeppelin Raids and Anti-Airship Operations 1916-18

by Mick Powis

Overview

Mick Powis describes the novel threat posed to the British war effort by the raids of German airships, or Zeppelins, and the struggle to develop effective defenses against them. Despite their size and relatively slow speed, the Zeppelins were hard to locate and destroy at first. They could fly higher than existing fighters and the early raids benefited from a lack of coordination between British services. The development of radio, better aircraft, incendiary ammunition, and, above all, a more coordinated defensive policy, gradually allowed the British to inflict heavy losses on the Zeppelins. The innovative use of seaplanes and planes launched from aircraft carriers allowed the Zeppelins to be intercepted before they reached Britain and to strike back with raids on the Zeppelin sheds. July 1918 saw the RAF and Royal Navy cooperate to destroy two Zeppelins in their base at Tondern (the first attack by aircraft launched from a carrier deck). The last Zeppelin raid on England came in August 1918 and resulted in the destruction of Zeppelin L70 and the death of Peter Strasser, Commander of the Imperial German Navys Zeppelin force.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526701497
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Mick Powis was born in Wolverhampton. He was educated at Coleg Harlech, The University of Wales: Aberystwyth, and Warwick University. He has had a varied career, including a number of years as a part time Open University lecturer and many as a manager in local government. He has written a number of magazine and newspaper articles on aspects of the First and Second World Wars. He has always had a personal interest in the Zeppelin raids as his grandmother and mother were almost killed by one in 1916. Mick lives in the Midlands with his wife and two spaniels.

Table of Contents

A List of Maps vi

A Note on time viii

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Weapons of Darkness 1

Chapter 2 Operations in 1914 22

Chapter 3 Terror bomber: the raids of 1915 27

Chapter 4 The raids of January and February 1916 59

Chapter 5 Blinker's Boys: Radio location and the tracking of airships 85

Chapter 6 Fokker Fodder: the development of night fighter aircraft 102

Chapter 7 The Belgian Rattlesnake: the Lewis Gun 114

Chapter 8 March to August 1916 121

Chapter 9 A dangerous Autumn: September to December 1916 148

Chapter 10 The air raids of early 1917 176

Chapter 11 The 'Large America' flying boat 183

Chapter 12 The Silent Raid: 19/20 October 1917 204

Chapter 13 The end game: November 1917 and 1918 222

Chapter 14 The Scuttling 242

Appendix 1 Airships destroyed in the Great War 256

Appendix 2 Name changes of towns and cities 263

Bibliography 266

Index 271