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Zeppelins were lightened, principally by removing an engine, which increased their ceiling to over 16,000 ft (4,900 m) and new types with a lightened hull framework were developed. [69] In late 1916, Germany had begun to plan Operation Turk's Cross (Unternehmen Türkenkreuz) a daylight bombing offensive against Britain using aeroplanes.
Six Zeppelins were to take part, but two were kept in their shed by high winds and another two were forced to return by engine failure. L 42 bombed Ramsgate, hitting a munitions store. The month-old L 48, the first U class Zeppelin, was forced to drop to 13,000 feet (4,000 m) where it was caught by four aircraft and destroyed, crashing near ...
The targets of these raids were industrial and port facilities and government buildings, but few of the bombs hit military targets, most falling on private property and killing civilians. Although the German strategic bombing campaign against Britain was the most extensive of the war, it was largely ineffective, in terms of actual damage done.
The Zeppelin raids were complemented by the Gotha G bombers from 1917, which were the first heavier than air bombers to be used for strategic bombing, and by a small force of five Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI "giant" four engined bombers from late September 1917 through to mid-May 1918. Twenty-four Gotha twin-engined bombers were shot down on the ...
Zeppelin "L 30" seen from the front Right gondola of Zeppelin "L 30". Zeppelin "L 30" (factory number "LZ 62") was the first R-class "Super Zeppelin" of the German Empire.It was the most successful airship of the First World War with 31 reconnaissance flights and 10 bombing runs carrying a total of 23,305 kg of bombs, [1] with the first ones targeting England, and the four final raids ...
Zeppelin LZ 104 (construction number, designated L 59 by the German Imperial Navy) and nicknamed Das Afrika-Schiff ("The Africa Ship"), was a World War I German dirigible. It is famous for having attempted a long-distance resupply mission to the beleaguered garrison of Germany's East Africa colony .
Wreckage of Zeppelin LZ 49 (LZ 79) after being forced down. P and Q class Zeppelins were operated by both the German Army and the Navy. Although the bombing raids are their best known activity, the majority of the flights made by the naval craft were patrols over the North Sea and the Baltic.
Airships made about 51 bombing raids on Britain during the war. These killed 557 and injured another 1,358 people. More than 5,000 bombs were dropped (largely on towns and cities) across Britain, causing £1.5 million (equivalent to £128,500,000 in 2023) in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30 were shot down or lost in accidents. [6]