ISSUE 91 : Nov/Dec - 1991 - Australian Defence Force Journal

THE FIRST BATTLE OF BRITAIN 4!
Zeppelin L43 which was shot down by an RNAS seaplane over England in June 1917 and captured intact. It
was one of the very latest airships with a ceiling of 6,500 metres. It was 196 metres in length and had a diameter
of 24 metres. Note the black camouflage on the undersides to make it more difficult to see at night. (Aust War
Memorial Neg No. A3891)
and moved to the Russian front. The continuing and
persistent attacks by the RFC, as well as the RNAS,
were now so successful and disruptive that all the
Belgian sheds were abandoned as permanent bases,
and thereafter only used in emergencies.
Further Raids
The loss of two of their latest airships put a stop to
any further raids on London for another two
months. In between these widely spaced raids,
however, sorties by the older type of Zeppelin
continued against East Anglia and the Midlands.
The total casualties from these raids were 76 killed
and 164 injured. It was in one of these raids (on 9th
August) that one Zeppelin was so damaged by
gunfire that it was forced to land in the sea near
Ostend. There it was taken in tow by a German
patrol boat, but was destroyed by bombing by the
RNAS force from Dunkirk. Then on the night of
17th 18th August the raiders struck again at
London.
This second raid was followed by a further series
of attacks on that city on 17th August, and the 2nd
and 7th September, and again on 13th October.
Total casualties for the August and September raids
were 50 killed and 173 injured. In the October raid
alone, however, there were 47 people killed and 102
injured. There was now to be another respite for
London, and no further attacks were made against
that city until April of the following year.
As usual, however, raids continued to be mounted
at fairly frequent intervals on provincial targets, and
casualties continued to rise, but were very much
lower than expected.
During the whole of the eight months between the
last and the very next raid on London, from June
1915 to April 1916, it is recorded that only one
/eppelin was brought down by gunfire and none by
defending fighters.
Early Warning
The initial failure to destroy the Zeppelins was
mainly due to a complete lack of an early warning or
communications system. Added to this was the real
need for more equipment and better all round
performance. Furthermore, there was a total lack of
night flying experience. At the time it was not even
known if it was possible to fly in the dark.
A basic system of observer posts and communication
net had been set up once the first raids began.
This was enlarged and refined as time went on, and
one of the improvements was to interpose area
control centres between individual posts and the
operational centre in Whitehall. These were able to
provide immediate warning to aircraft and guns in
their own area, and thus speeded up the reaction
time, as well as acting as filters for the main centre.
Also as early as October 1914. the War Office had