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| Workers run from the bombs. Bennerley Viaduct in the background. Artwork by Tim Bennett. |
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| Tracking the 9 Zeppelins on the night of the Bennerley raid |
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| Before the war Zeppelins were used for commercial and pleasure flights |
Zeppelin heads up...
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| Bennerley raider - Zeppelin L20 |
This first airship raid of 1916 was the largest to date and had as its principal target, Liverpool. In all, nine naval Zeppelins took part, but bad weather over the North Sea and much fog and mist over Britain meant that all found it extremely difficult to plot their positions. Zeppelin commanders reported striking against Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Goole, Immingham and Great Yarmouth; in reality none of these places were bombed.
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| Zeppelin bomb - 2 tons of bombs could be carried |
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| Explosive bullets finally downed the hydrogen-filled Zeppelins |
The fourth Zeppelin, L 16 (Werner Peterson), came inland near Hunstanton, Norfolk, at about 6.10pm. She suffered engine problems during her crossing and did no attempt to follow orders. Instead she headed south towards Swaffham, dropping two HE bombs at 6.20pm: one failed to explode and the other caused no damage. It appears she continued southwards and dropped three HE and 15 incendiary bombs near Mildenhall, which fell on West Row Fen. All but three of the incendiaries failed to ignite. L 16 then circled around, passing Soham, before dropping 22 HE bombs at 7.35pm, which landed on Isleham Fen. Seven of the bombs failed to explode, the others destroyed a chicken house killing 16 chickens. L 16 then headed east, passed Pulham at 8.30pm and headed out to sea just north of Lowestoft at 9.05pm.
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| Zeppelin bomb damage in Wednesbury |
Zeppelin L 14 (Alois Böcker) appeared over the coast at 6.15pm, five minutes after L 16. She passed near Sandringham at about 6.35pm and Wisbech at about 7.00pm where she dropped a single incendiary bomb. She then followed a north-west course in the direction of Grantham, dropping an HE bomb on Knipton at about 8.00pm, without damage. Following a westward course now, L 14 got as far as Shrewsbury at 10.05pm, the furthest west of any of the raiders that night, where Böcker encountered thick cloud. Unable to locate a target he turned back to the east where, attracted by light from a furnace at Ashby Woulds, he ordered the release of an HE bomb and an incendiary at 11.50pm; they landed on a cinder heap without causing damage. L 14 then dropped four HE bombs on Overseal, Derbyshire at about midnight – three fell in a field and one in the canal. A few minutes later three HE bombs fell on Swadlincote where the blast broke some windows. Then, about ten minutes later, L 14 appeared over Derby, dropping 21 HE bombs and four incendiaries. Nine of the HE bombs fell on the Midland Railway works damaging engine sheds and killed William Bancroft, James Hardy and Harry Hithersay, while injuring two others, one of who – Sidney Baines – died four days later. Three HE bombs hit the Metalite Lamp Works in Gresham Street causing considerable damage but no personal injury. Another two HE bombs fell on the Rolls-Royce Works but only smashed glass. Two more dropped harmlessly on vacant land next to the Works. Of the remaining five HE bombs, two fell on the Litchurch Gas Works and three in the yard of Fletcher’s Lace factory in Osmaston Road, all without causing damage. The four incendiary bombs landed in Horton Street, setting fire to one house. In addition to the fatalities at the Railway Works, a retired headmistress, Sarah Constantine, died of heart failure caused by the raid. With all bombs released L 14 headed east eventually going out to sea south-east of Alford, Lincolnshire, at about 2.10am.
Kapitänleutnant Odo Loewe brought Zeppelin L 19 inland at about 6.20pm near Sheringham, Norfolk prior to a troubled eleven hours over Britain during which time he experienced serious engine problems on three occasions. She passed south of Stamford at 8.10pm but then circled back before flying on erratically towards Loughborough; possibly the first instance of engine problems. From Loughborough it seems L 19 may have been attracted to Burton by the fires already burning there and headed in that direction, dropping one or two incendiary bombs at about 9.45pm. Loewe then passed to the west of Birmingham which was in darkness, before wandering for some time around the countryside between Stourbridge, Kidderminster and Bromsgrove, perhaps a second instance of engine trouble. Now attracted by the fires caused earlier by L 21, Loewe took a northerly course and dropped a single HE bomb over Wednesbury, which damaged the roof and machinery at the Monway Works of the Patent Shaft & Axletree Company. From there L 19 flew south east, towards Dudley, dropping five HE bombs on the way, which all fell on the Ocker Hill Colliery near Tipton, but these merely broke windows in the engine house and also those of an adjacent house. Over Dudley at about 12.15am, L 19 dropped 17 incendiary bombs. One fell in the grain shed at the railway station causing damage estimated at £5 while the rest all fell in fields or the grounds of Dudley Castle. Five minutes later L 19 was back over Tipton where she dropped another 11 HE bombs; these caused considerable damage over the western part of the town, wrecking the Bush Inn amongst other buildings but caused no causalities. Loewe dropped his last three bombs, all HE, on Walsall. One, landing in the Birchills district, damaged St. Andrews church and the vicarage, while another in the Pleck district landed on a stable, killing a horse, four pigs and about a hundred chickens.
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| Jagged shrapnel from a Zeppelin bomb dropped on Goole in 1915 |
L 19 then turned for home but took about five hours to reach the coast of Norfolk, during which time it seems likely she experienced her third incidence of engine problems. Sadly for the crew of L 19, her problems didn’t end there. On the afternoon of 1 February, as she struggled back, L 19 neared the coast of neutral Holland from where soldiers opened fire. The resultant loss of hydrogen caused L 19 to get heavier and three of the four troubled engines broke down completely. Then a southerly wind blew her back over the North Sea until she could finally remain airborne no longer. At about 7.30am the following morning a British trawler, the King Stephen, spotted the wreckage and crew but, afraid to take the marooned men on board fearing they would overwhelm him and his outnumbered men, the skipper sailed back to port about 95 miles away. By the time he reported what he had seen it was too late, Zeppelin L 19 had sunk with the loss of all her crew.
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| Zeppelin damage in Bolton, Sept 1916 |
L 17, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Herbert Ehrlich, came inland about ten minutes after L 19, just west of Sherringham, but encountered thick cloud. Moments later a searchlight at RNAS Holt, at Bayfield, a couple of miles from the coast, broke through the cloud and illuminated L 17. In response, Ehrlich dropped twenty high explosive bombs hoping to extinguish the light. Ten of these fell in a field 200 yards from RNAS Holt, five more to the south-east of the naval air station while five landed in a field 400 yards south of it without causing any damage. Heading on a southerly course, L 17 then released another five HE bombs and one incendiary over Bayfield Lodge, about 800 yards from RNAS Holt. These bombs wrecked a barn and greenhouse and also blew out all the windows and damaged roof tiles but there were no casualties. From there L 17 steered to the west, dropping 14 incendiary bombs on Bayfield Hall, but these all landed in fields and a wood. The final HE bomb landed at Letheringsett, south of Bayfield Hall, where the blast broke a few windows. In his report Ehrlich believed he had bombed an industrial complex at Immingham on the River Humber. L 17 dropped no more bombs and eventually took a course to the coast via Reepham, passing north of Norwich at 8.10pm and out to sea south of Great Yarmouth 20 minutes later.
The last two Zeppelins to come inland, L 11 and L 20, arrived over the Wash together, parting company near Sutton Bridge at about 7.10pm. It appears that L 11, commanded by Kapitänleutnant von Buttlar with Peter Strasser, commander of the Naval Airship Division, on board, headed north west, passing Lincoln and south of Sheffield before reaching a point over the Peak District between Sheffield and Macclesfield. Von Buttlar thought he had reached the west coast, but now in thick fog it was impossible to be sure. Von Buttlar consulted with Strasser who ordered L 11 to return to base. Without any obvious target in sight L 11 dropped no bombs in the four hours she was over England. She passed out to sea south of Ingoldmells at about 11.15pm.
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| Zeppelin over England |
The final raider, Zeppelin L 20 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Franz Stabbert, headed west and as she approached Stamford released a single HE bomb, damaging windows in Uffington. As L 20 continued on a westward course lights drew her to Loughborough where Stabbert released four HE bombs over the town. The first fell in the backyard of the Crown and Cushion Inn in Ashby Square, blasting a large crater, smashing outbuildings and windows over a wide area. The second bomb exploded in the street, in The Rushes, gouging a great hole and sending great chunks of paving cartwheeling through the air. Four people died in the blast. A third bomb exploded in an orchard in Thomas Street without causing serious damage or injury, then the fourth bomb claimed more victims. It exploded in the street opposite the Empress Crane Works killing five. In Loughborough final casualties were 10 killed and 12 injured.
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| Kapitänleutnant Franz Stabbert |
Railway Damage Reports
The local railway companies reported on the Zeppelin bomb damage...
“31st Jan 1916 Midland Railway - Bennerley Junction near Ilkeston – bomb fell, smashing two crossings, a set of points, several rails and timbers etc Considerable damage done to signal box. Telegraph and telephone wire brought down. Permanent way repairs were completed in 6.5 hours, other damage and communications restored such that ordinary working resumed 18 hours after the bomb was dropped.”.
“31st Jan 1916 – Midland Railway - South of Trowell – bomb fell, breaking three rails and two sleepers. Telegraph and telephone wire brought down. Permanent way repairs were completed in 5 hours, other damage and communications restored such that ordinary working resumed 18 hours after the bomb was dropped.”.
“31st Jan 1916 – Great Northern Railway – Permanent way leading from Stanton Junction to the Ironworks damaged. Telegraph and telephone wires brought down west of Kimberley”.
The fate of Zeppelin L20 and her crew
Just 3 months after bombing Bennerley Viaduct, L20 came to a watery end. On 2nd May 1916, L20 began its second bombing raid on Britain with the intention of attacking factories and railways in Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Hartlepool, and targeting enemy warships near Edinburgh. However, engine problems and strong winds led the airship to veer off course. High winds blew her out into the North Sea and to neutral Norway where she crash landed into Hafrsfjord near Stavanger, Norway. The museum at Stavanger has the full story and displays this colourised picture of the crash.
The crew survived and were taken into captivity by the neutral Norwegians but a number, including Kapitan Franz Stabert and his second in command Ernst Shirlitz, escaped back to Germany. Stabbert was killed about a year later aboard the L44 when it was shot down over eastern France while Shirlitz was captured in September 1916 when the L33 crashed near Little Wigborough, Essex.
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| 2nd May 1916 - L20's final flight ends in a fjord near Stavanger, Norway |
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| Zeppelin L17 - bomber of Nottingham |
The Only Raid on the City of Nottingham
On 24th September 1916, Zeppelins returned to Nottinghamshire, this time to the city of Nottingham. There are several accounts of the raid...
One eyewitness account quoted in the Notts Evening News starts... "It was after midnight when I first heard anything unusual... I heard a soft droning, seemingly a good distance away... When the first bomb fell the droning of the engine ceased suddenly, and a blue light flashed across the sky, much the same as one sees summer lightning on a hot night. Immediately there came a bang and crash! A minute later two more crashes followed rapidly. Then came another and more again." The full account can be found in the notes below. Other accounts state...
"The glow from Nottingham’s blast furnace chimneys made the city an easy target for Kaptinleutnant Herman Kraushaar, commanding L17, when he raided between 12.00 and 1.00 am on 24 September 1916. Eight high explosive and eleven incendiaries were dropped on what Kraushaar thought was Sheffield, killing three and injuring seventeen. The Midland Railway freight station was wrecked and damaged caused to the Great Central Railway Station and railway track. Bombs also affected Lister Gate, Greyfriar Gate and Broad Marsh. Little resistance was offered to the attack: a blanket of mist rising from the Trent obscured the German airship from below, whilst one of its bombs by fluke severed the telephone wires connecting the AA battery and searchlights at Sneinton, preventing their cooperation."
"Kapitanleutnant Kraushaar came over the city over Colwick, he had followed the Trent Valley, his first bomb hit Netherfield, he then flew over Sneinton and his second bomb took out the AA guns telephone line. Kapitanleutnant Kraushaar thought he was over Sheffield and was bombing factories, and I think that after his second bomb, he lined up on the three train stations, which were all lit up as the blackout did not apply to the railways, and which he misidentified as factories. What he thought were blast furnaces were actually train engine fire boxes and smoke stacks. He started his bombing run at the low level station on London Road, heading towards the Midland Station then turning right he bombed through Broad Marsh and Greyfriars Gate, then up through the city centre bombing Lister Gate, Castle Gate and ending up at Victoria Station. It should be noted that all three stations were hit. Kapitanleutnant Kraushaar made only one pass over the city, and I think he then passed over Mapperley as he headed out of the county dropping his last bomb at Mapperley (possibly on the brickworks). Within about fifteen minutes of his raid he was north of Lincoln "
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| Bomb damage in Newthorpe Street, The Meadows, Nottingham |
L 14 and L 17 came in together over the Lincolnshire coast at about 10.00pm. L 17, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Hermann Kraushaar, advanced towards Lincoln with L 14, and an HE bomb dropped at the hamlet of Waddingworth has been attributed to her. The two separated near Lincoln at about 10.45pm, with L 17 heading the furthest inland that night. About an hour later L 17 reached Newark where an incendiary fell in the River Trent at North Muskham, but lights visible 16 miles away now attracted the commander who set course towards what was Nottingham. At 12.34am L 17 reached Colwick on the outskirts of the city and released two HE and four incendiaries on a large railway marshalling yard. A low mist hampered the searchlights as L 17 dropped six more HE bombs between Colwick and Sneinton. Lights still burning at a large railway depot and at the Midland Station provided L 17 with a perfect guide. Now over the city, Kraushaar released eight HE and 11 incendiary bombs; the first two causing minor damage but the third had a devastating impact. It landed on 32 Newthorpe Street destroying it and the neighbouring houses, killing Alfred Rogers and his wife Rosanna, burying eight people in the rubble and knocking down a man in the street. The latter all survived their injuries.
Other bombs injured two men at the Midland Railway goods yard and caused damage around the station. The next two bombs caused serious damage to the Canaan Street Primitive Methodist Chapel, then an incendiary that struck No. 3 Chancery Place claimed the life of 21-year-old Harold Renshaw who suffered horrendous burns in the resultant fire. Further bombs fell in at the junction of Greyfriars Gate and Lister Gate, and at Castle Gate but no more lives were lost. L 17 continued on to Victoria Station on the Great Central Railway, dropping bombs as she went, with the last bomb on the city falling on the station’s Platform 7. At 12.49am L 17 steered away, having claimed the lives of three and injured 16 in the city, dropping a single bomb at Mapperley, which damaged a house and smashed many window panes, before following a course back over Lincolnshire and flying out to sea near Spurn Head, where the 3-pdr AA gun opened fire at her at about 2.00am.
L17 took part in 11 raids. On 28 December 1916 it was burned out in Tondern's Toska shed due to a cross wind accident involving L24.
Better Blackout Ordered
This Nottingham raid also stirred up considerable local feeling against the railway companies, who were accused of having needlessly exhibited lights at the goods yard and railway sidings near both cities, giving navigational help to the Germans; according to the secret Intelligence Bulletins issued by GHQ Home Forces. Further restrictions were then introduced to enforce a better blackout wherever possible. Later raids were generally targeting south of England targets, and the East Midlands did not suffer, although rudimentary fighter defences included a small unit based near the present East Midlands Airport towards the end of the war.
Air Raid Indicator
There is an interesting item in the Nottinghamshire Archives Office which is a Zeppelin Raids Indicator made by Messrs Colmans (of mustard fame). By setting a number of concentric cardboard rings, which included Strength of Wind, Height of Barometer, Direction of Wind, and State of Moon the indicator was supposed to show whether a raid was likely.
Excellent and informative article. Thank You
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