The Air War That Came To Britain In 1914.
When we think about WW1, we nearly always think about the images of the trenches, the mud, barbed wire and the desolation.
It’s easy to forget the fact that German bombs also fell on the UK, attacking civilians.
It is now estimated that more than 8,500 bombs were dropped killing over 1400 people and wounding thousands more.
The first bomb was dropped in Dover on Christmas Eve 1914 when the war was a mere 5 months old. This was intended for the castle as it was being used by the military but it missed its target and landed in a garden in Taswell street.
The Germans used zeppelins and aircraft to deliver their payloads.
A zeppelin was a type of airship constructed with a metal frame that was covered with fabric and then filled with hydrogen gas. It was powered by engines mounted to a fuselage that swung underneath.
These were difficult for the British to shoot down with anti-aircraft guns as they would fly higher than the guns could reach.
Probably the most famous incident during WW1 involving a zeppelin occurred over Hertfordshire on the night of 2/3 September 1916. This is when Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson shot down Shutte-Lanz SLII zeppelin from his BE”c night fighter aircraft. For this, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
