First Zeppelin Raids of England

House damaged by Zeppelin raid

The Germans began Zeppelin raids on England in 1915. Their value was largely psychological. They caused only limited physical damage.

 


The Germans carried out a strategic bombing campaign against England using airships. The airships were lighter than air dirigibles filled with hydrogen. Germany had two companies producing airships for the military the Zeppelin copay and the Schutt-Lanz company. However, Zeppelin became the generic name for the airships. The first raid on England took place on January 19th 1915 when Great Yarmouth was bombed. On May 30, 1915 the first successful raid was carried out. A total of 120 bombs were dropped, killing seven people and wounding 35. 41 fires were started by the bombs. The German continued to bomb England on and off throughout the war. The weather was initially the greatest challenge that the Zeppelins faced, most never made it to their targets. Initially the British were able to do much to stop them, but as the war progressed British fighters became better and were often able to climb high enough to shoot at the slow moving Zeppelins. Over all the military impact of the Zeppelins raids were very limited. The damage they called was negligible. They did force the British to redirect effort at stopping them. In the end the major impact of the Zeppelin raids was physiological, it created a sense of vulnerability that did not exist otherwise among the British civilians