Zeppelin Raids

[willycoppens]

Hello,
On what dates did the zeppelin raids on London begin and end? Total amount of damage caused by them? Was dangerous hydrogen gas used in them because the Germans were not able to manufacture safer helium gas?
Thanks, willy

[jempie]

Hello!
First Raid on London 31st May 1915 LZ38 over Harwich,Southend,Ramsgate and London City.
Last raid 5th August 1918 L 70 (LZ112)
Kpt. Strasser en crew KIA than.
Shot down by Maj. Cadbury & Capt. Leckie using incendiary ammunition.
Helium gas: was so good as unexistent those years! Only the USA had some natural gassources and when after the explosion of the airship ROMA
(1921 should have to chel it!???) it was decided to use only helium anumore for USA airships...
But the gas was very scarce! 1922 new sources were exploited..but to fill the Akron f.e. they needed to pulmp over the Helium from the Shenandoah...beside the shed at Lakehurst stood also a purification plant...after a while air came mixted with Helium gas and the heliumhad to be purified again by extracting the air from it!
So scarce Helium was , even after 1922!

VBR

Jempie

!!! will be here only occasionally as result of my wifes operation!!!

[Rick]

I could perhaps elaborate on Jempie's explanation of the gasses. *Hydrogen can be manufactured, Helium cannot. *Helium is a natural resource, found mainly in the USA and Russia. *It is totally inert and as such does not combine readily with other elements (like hydrogen does, e.g. H2O, etc.). *Thus Helium was not available *to the German's in WWI and they were forced to use Hydrogen. *As a matter of fact, following the war we (the USA) refused to provide Helium to Germany for their airships (fearing their use in another war). *This led directly to the Hindenburg disaster. * R.

[Graeme]

Six airships raids had been carried out upon the UK before Hauptmann Erich Linnarz's attack upon London on the night of 31 May 1915. The first of these took place on the night of 19/20 January 1915 by L3, L4 and L6 (L6 was forced to return because of engine trouble).

Kapitanleutnant Hans Fritz, in L3, dropped bombs upon Yarmouth, wrecking a number of small houses. Two people were killed and three injured.

Kapitanleutnant Magnus von Platen-Hallermund, in L4, dropped bombs on Kings Lynn and small villages in the area, killing two people and injuring a further 13.

By the time of the London raid, airships had already killed 10 people and injured 25 more.

Graeme

[Graeme]

Actually, the last airships to overfly London were L45 and L55 during the night of 19/20 October 1917.

11 Zeppelins had set out, bombing targets between London and Birmingham; L44 was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over St Clement, France; L45 forced landed at Sisterton, France; L49 forced landed at Bourbonne-les-Baines, France; L50 was lost at sea (presumed to have been blown out into the Mediterranean); L55 crashed at Tienfort, Germany.

After this, only four more airship raids were carried out upon the UK - 12 and 13 March 1918, 12/13 April 1918 and 5/6 August 1918. The first three raids were upon targets in the Midlands, no airship crossed the coast in the August raid.

Graeme