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

THE FIRST BATTLE OF BRITAIN 5-
I
SMKJW**
This is the Gotha GIV which was used extensively in World War One for the bombing of London. It first came
into squadron service in March 1917.
over Dover and London. In total, the attacking
force consisted of 43 aircraft, made up of 38 Gothas.
three Giants and two smaller aircraft. Between them
they carried a total of 14 tonnes of high explosive
bombs. Seventy-two bombs fell on London, killing
48 people and injuring 170, as well as damaging over
I(XX) houses. A further 85 bombs were dropped in
the Dover area, but with only superficial damage to
property, whilst no one was killed and only four
were injured.
This attack ended the German bombing raids by
aircraft. On three further occasions in June and
July enemy aircraft did in fact cross the coast. On
each occasion it was by a single aircraft, and no
bombs were dropped. It was thus left to the
Zeppelins to have the final say with their raid on 5th
August, already described. At long last the defenders
had cleared the skies over Great Britain.
Final Tally
In retrospect, the German air raids on Great
Britain do not appear to have been either sustained
enough or powerful enough to have been worth the
effort. The total military effort was, however, quite
significant. In all, there was a total of 51 airship raids
and 52 aircraft raids in which bombs were dropped.
The Zeppelins dropped 5806 bombs, weighing 196
tons; and the aircraft delivered 2772 bombs weighing
74 tons. The total casualties from both sources
were 1414 killed and 3416 injured. The London
casualties, included in these figures, were 835 killed
and 1972 injured, or a total of 2807. Total damage
from all causes was estimated at just under three
million pounds. The cost to the Germans was 23
Zeppelins and 23 aircraft lost to the defenders, while
another 8 Zeppelins and 35 aircraft were lost from
other causes while on operations.
The above figures in themselves may not appear
to have had a very great effect on Great Britain, or its
ability to carry on the war. However, for the loss of a
comparatively few aircraft and airships, there was a
very real effect in diversion of men and material
from the active battlefronts to the home front. By
June 1918 there were held back in Britain, a total of
469 guns, 622 searchlights, 258 height finders and
ten sound locators. These were manned by a force of
6136 officers and men. In addition, the RAF were
holding 376 front line aircraft in Britain solely for
home defence, which absorbed a strength of 2665 all
ranks.