Editing Zeppelin (section)

=====1915=====
The first on Britain took place on the night of 19–20 January 1915. Two Zeppelins, L&nbsp;3 and L&nbsp;4, intended to attack targets near the River [[Humber]] but, diverted by strong winds, eventually dropped their bombs on [[Great Yarmouth]], [[Sheringham]], [[King's Lynn]] and the surrounding villages, killing four and injuring 16. Material damage was estimated at £7,740.<ref>Cole and Cheesman, 1984, p. 24</ref>

The Kaiser authorised the bombing of the London docks on 12 February 1915,<ref>Robinson 1971, p. 67</ref> but no raids on London took place until May. Two Navy raids failed due to bad weather on 14 and 15 April, and it was decided to delay further attempts until the more capable [[Zeppelin P Class|P class Zeppelins]] were in service. The Army received the first of these, LZ&nbsp;38, and Erich Linnarz commanded it on a raid over [[Ipswich]] on 29–30 April and another, attacking [[Southend]] on 9–10 May. LZ&nbsp;38 also attacked [[Dover]] and [[Ramsgate]] on 16–17 May, before returning to bomb Southend on 26–27 May. These four raids killed six people and injured six, causing property damage estimated at £16,898.<ref name="cole p51-55">Cole and Cheesman 1984, pp. 51–55.</ref> Twice Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) aircraft tried to intercept LZ&nbsp;38 but on both occasions it was either able to outclimb the aircraft or was already at too great an altitude for the aircraft to intercept.

On 31 May Linnarz commanded LZ&nbsp;38 on the first raid against London. In total some 120 bombs were dropped on a line stretching from [[Stoke Newington]] south to [[Stepney]] and then north toward [[Leytonstone]]. Seven people were killed and 35 injured. 41 fires were started, burning out seven buildings and the total damage was assessed at £18,596. Aware of the problems that the Germans were experiencing in navigation, this raid caused the government to issue a [[D notice]] prohibiting the press from reporting anything about raids that was not mentioned in official statements. Only one of the 15 defensive sorties managed to make visual contact with the enemy, and one of the pilots, Flt Lieut D. M. Barnes, was killed on attempting to land.<ref>Cole and Cheesman, 1984, pp. 56-8</ref>

The first naval attempt on London took place on 4 June: strong winds caused the commander of L&nbsp;9 to misjudge his position, and the bombs were dropped on [[Gravesend, Kent|Gravesend]]. L&nbsp;9 was also diverted by the weather on 6–7 June, attacking [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] instead of London and causing considerable damage.<ref>Cole and Cheesman 1984, p.60</ref> On the same night an Army raid of three Zeppelins also failed because of the weather, and as the airships returned to Evere (Brussels) they ran into a counter-raid by RNAS aircraft flying from [[Veurne|Furnes]], [[Belgium]]. LZ&nbsp;38 was destroyed on the ground and LZ&nbsp;37 was intercepted in the air by [[Reginald Alexander John Warneford|R. A. J. Warneford]], who dropped six bombs on the airship, setting it on fire. All but one of the crew died. Warneford was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]] for his achievement. As a consequence of the RNAS raid both the Army and Navy withdrew from their bases in Belgium.<ref>Robinson 1971, p. 77</ref>

After an ineffective attack by L&nbsp;10 on [[Tyneside]] on 15–16 June the short summer nights discouraged further raids for some months, and the remaining Army Zeppelins were reassigned to the Eastern and Balkan fronts. The Navy resumed raids on Britain in August, when three largely ineffective raids were carried out. On 10 August the antiaircraft guns had their first success, causing L&nbsp;12 to come down into the sea off [[Zeebrugge]],<ref>Cole and Cheesman pp. 64-7</ref> and on 17–18 August L&nbsp;10 became the first Navy airship to reach London. Mistaking the reservoirs of the [[Lea Valley]] for the Thames, it dropped its bombs on [[Walthamstow]] and Leytonstone.<ref>Cole and Cheesman 1984, p. 68</ref> L&nbsp;10 was destroyed a little over two weeks later: it was struck by lightning and caught fire off [[Cuxhaven]], and the entire crew was killed.<ref>Robinson 1971, p. 384.</ref> Three Army airships set off to bomb London on 7–8 September, of which two succeeded: SL&nbsp;2 dropped bombs between [[Southwark]] and [[Woolwich]]: LZ&nbsp;74 scattered 39 bombs over [[Cheshunt]] before heading on to London and dropping a single bomb on [[Fenchurch Street station]].

[[File:Zeppelin Raid plaque, 61 Farringdon Road, London, England, IMG 5217 edit.jpg|thumb|left|A commemorative plaque at 61 [[Farringdon Road]], London]]

The Navy attempted to follow up the Army's success the following night. One Zeppelin targeted the [[benzole]] plant at [[Skinningrove]] and three set off to bomb London: two were forced to turn back but L&nbsp;13, commanded by ''Kapitänleutnant'' Heinrich Mathy reached London. The bomb-load included a {{convert|300|kg|lb|adj=on}} bomb, the largest yet carried. This exploded near [[Smithfield, London|Smithfield Market]], destroying several houses and killing two men. More bombs fell on the textile warehouses north of [[St Paul's Cathedral]], causing a fire which despite the attendance of 22 fire engines caused over half a million pounds of damage: Mathy then turned east, dropping his remaining bombs on [[Liverpool Street station]]. The Zeppelin was the target of concentrated anti-aircraft fire, but no hits were scored and the falling shrapnel caused both damage and alarm on the ground. The raid killed 22 people and injured 87.<ref>Cross 1991, p. 35.</ref> The monetary cost of the damage was over one sixth of the total damage costs inflicted by bombing raids during the war.<ref>Robinson 1971 p. 109</ref>

After three more raids were scattered by the weather, a five-Zeppelin raid was launched by the Navy on 13 October, the "Theatreland Raid." Arriving over the Norfolk coast at around 18:30, the Zeppelins encountered new ground defences installed since the September raid; these had no success, although the airship commanders commented on the improved defences of the city.<ref>Robinson 1971, p. 117</ref> L&nbsp;15 began bombing over [[Charing Cross]], the first bombs striking the [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]] and the corner of Exeter and Wellington Streets, killing 17 and injuring 20. None of the other Zeppelins reached central London: bombs fell on Woolwich, [[Guildford]], [[Tonbridge]], [[Croydon]], [[Hertford]] and an army camp near Folkestone. A total of 71 people were killed and 128 injured.<ref>Cole and Cheesman 1984, p. 73</ref> This was the last raid of 1915, as bad weather coincided with the new moon in both November and December 1915 and continued into January 1916.

Although these raids had no significant military impact, the psychological effect was considerable. The writer [[D. H. Lawrence]] described one raid in a letter to [[Lady Ottoline Morrell]]:<ref>Boulton, 2000, p. 106.</ref>
{{blockquote|Then we saw the Zeppelin above us, just ahead, amid a gleaming of clouds: high up, like a bright golden finger, quite small (...) Then there was flashes near the ground—and the shaking noise. It was [[Paradise Lost|like Milton]]—then there was war in heaven. (...) I cannot get over it, that the moon is not Queen of the sky by night, and the stars the lesser lights. It seems the Zeppelin is in the zenith of the night, golden like a moon, having taken control of the sky; and the bursting shells are the lesser lights.}}