Friday, July 05, 2013

German bombing raids on England in World War I



Searching for a memorial to the Zeppelin raid on Loughborough a couple of years ago, I suggested their severity had been forgotten because the bombing in World War II was so much worse.

What I didn't realise then was that in World War I the Germans had launched bombing raids by conventional aircraft - Gotha and Giant bombers - that took a far higher toll than did the Zeppelins. firstworldwar.com has an article about them:
A group of four squadrons was established in Belgium, and they carried out their first bombing raid towards the end of May, 1917. This 22 plane sortie, against the town of Folkestone, caused 95 deaths. In mid June a force of 18 Gothas attacked London in broad daylight. They were met by over 90 British fighters, but not one Gotha was brought down. This bombing raid caused 162 deaths.
Something else to investigate. Anyway, this video tells the story of the Zeppelin raids on East Anglia. It was made when there were still plenty of eyewitnesses around to interview.

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