Okla-homey
1/19/2007, 08:10 AM
Jan 19, 1915: First air raid on Britain
Ninety-two years ago, on this day during World War I, Britain suffers its first casualties from an air attack when two German airships, commonly known as "zeppelins," drop bombs on the port complex at Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn on the eastern coast of England.
http://aycu04.webshots.com/image/9203/2003526416683207898_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003526416683207898)
The zeppelin, a motor-driven rigid airship, was developed by German inventor Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin in 1900. Although a French inventor had built a power-driven airship several decades before, the zeppelin's rigid dirigible, with its steel framework, was by far the largest airship ever constructed.
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/9456/2003599559567489766_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003599559567489766)
Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin
As an aside, a "blimp" is an airship which lacks an inner framework of ribs and spars. Thus, when the helium is let out of a blimp envelope, the thing lies flat like an uninflated balloon. Thus, as a memory device, when you hear "blimp," think "limp." Zepp's, a/k/a "dirigibles", OTOH are perma-stiff.
http://aycu39.webshots.com/image/8198/2003560905886228290_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003560905886228290)
Zepp under construction in Germany during the inter-war years
In the case of the zeppelin, great size was exchanged for safety, as the heavy steel-framed airships were vulnerable to explosion because they had to be lifted by highly flammable hydrogen gas instead of non-flammable helium gas.
http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/10293/2004075753929000372_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004075753929000372)
German postage stamp issued in 2000, commemorating the centennial of German zeppelin development
Unfortunately for the Imperial German Navy airship crews, that flammability characteristic of hydrogen would mean a fiery death when British miltary tacticians eventually realized that even relatively small caliber incendiary rounds fired from the ground or pursuit aircraft would catastrophically "torch" the ginormous flying bombing platforms.
http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/9124/2003545501076983019_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003545501076983019)
Framework of a Zeppelin shot down over England during WWI, 23rd September 1916. They generally attacked at night to help avoid detection, but once they were framed in searchlights, they were usually toast...literally.
In January 1915, Germany employed three zeppelins, the L.3, the L.4, and the L.6, in a two-day bombing mission against Britain. The L.6 turned back after encountering mechanical problems, but the other two zeppelins succeeded in dropping their bombs on English coastal towns.
http://aycu02.webshots.com/image/10881/2003498958323800748_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003498958323800748)
The image shown here is probably Zeppelin's third design, the LZ-3, one of the few early rigid airships which did not meet with a disastrous accident.
http://aycu04.webshots.com/image/9763/2003546215282372127_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003546215282372127)
Zepp raid legacy, London
As most of us now know, the demise of the zeppelin (or dirigible,) as a practical and accepted means of air transport was heralded by the infamous loss of the Nazi dirigible "Hindenburg" during a botched landing in New Jersey just after it had completed an Atlantic crossing.
http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/8909/2003535175997340720_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003535175997340720)
After news of this disaster hit, it was tough to find paying passengers for the German airship airline industry
Helium-filled blimps, because they are not prone to burn like flippin' gasoline soaked rags tossed into a fireplace, remained useful for maritime observation purposes. In fact, during WWII, the US Navy employed several blimps as "look-outs" for massive trans-Atlantic conveys, useful in spotting Nazi U-boats shadowing the formations.
http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/8808/2003539468213489059_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003539468213489059)
US Navy blimp on patrol for "unterseeboots."
These blimps could remain aloft for long periods, and were reasonably safe from Luftwaffe attack because Germany never built aircraft carriers and was late in developing fighters with the range to fly several hundred miles out to sea and safely return.
As surface warship anti-submarine warfare strategy, tactics and weapons technology improved, the role of the blimp as an airborne observation platform was obviated.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2498/insane7zouj9.jpg
Ninety-two years ago, on this day during World War I, Britain suffers its first casualties from an air attack when two German airships, commonly known as "zeppelins," drop bombs on the port complex at Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn on the eastern coast of England.
http://aycu04.webshots.com/image/9203/2003526416683207898_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003526416683207898)
The zeppelin, a motor-driven rigid airship, was developed by German inventor Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin in 1900. Although a French inventor had built a power-driven airship several decades before, the zeppelin's rigid dirigible, with its steel framework, was by far the largest airship ever constructed.
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/9456/2003599559567489766_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003599559567489766)
Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin
As an aside, a "blimp" is an airship which lacks an inner framework of ribs and spars. Thus, when the helium is let out of a blimp envelope, the thing lies flat like an uninflated balloon. Thus, as a memory device, when you hear "blimp," think "limp." Zepp's, a/k/a "dirigibles", OTOH are perma-stiff.
http://aycu39.webshots.com/image/8198/2003560905886228290_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003560905886228290)
Zepp under construction in Germany during the inter-war years
In the case of the zeppelin, great size was exchanged for safety, as the heavy steel-framed airships were vulnerable to explosion because they had to be lifted by highly flammable hydrogen gas instead of non-flammable helium gas.
http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/10293/2004075753929000372_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004075753929000372)
German postage stamp issued in 2000, commemorating the centennial of German zeppelin development
Unfortunately for the Imperial German Navy airship crews, that flammability characteristic of hydrogen would mean a fiery death when British miltary tacticians eventually realized that even relatively small caliber incendiary rounds fired from the ground or pursuit aircraft would catastrophically "torch" the ginormous flying bombing platforms.
http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/9124/2003545501076983019_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003545501076983019)
Framework of a Zeppelin shot down over England during WWI, 23rd September 1916. They generally attacked at night to help avoid detection, but once they were framed in searchlights, they were usually toast...literally.
In January 1915, Germany employed three zeppelins, the L.3, the L.4, and the L.6, in a two-day bombing mission against Britain. The L.6 turned back after encountering mechanical problems, but the other two zeppelins succeeded in dropping their bombs on English coastal towns.
http://aycu02.webshots.com/image/10881/2003498958323800748_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003498958323800748)
The image shown here is probably Zeppelin's third design, the LZ-3, one of the few early rigid airships which did not meet with a disastrous accident.
http://aycu04.webshots.com/image/9763/2003546215282372127_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003546215282372127)
Zepp raid legacy, London
As most of us now know, the demise of the zeppelin (or dirigible,) as a practical and accepted means of air transport was heralded by the infamous loss of the Nazi dirigible "Hindenburg" during a botched landing in New Jersey just after it had completed an Atlantic crossing.
http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/8909/2003535175997340720_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003535175997340720)
After news of this disaster hit, it was tough to find paying passengers for the German airship airline industry
Helium-filled blimps, because they are not prone to burn like flippin' gasoline soaked rags tossed into a fireplace, remained useful for maritime observation purposes. In fact, during WWII, the US Navy employed several blimps as "look-outs" for massive trans-Atlantic conveys, useful in spotting Nazi U-boats shadowing the formations.
http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/8808/2003539468213489059_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003539468213489059)
US Navy blimp on patrol for "unterseeboots."
These blimps could remain aloft for long periods, and were reasonably safe from Luftwaffe attack because Germany never built aircraft carriers and was late in developing fighters with the range to fly several hundred miles out to sea and safely return.
As surface warship anti-submarine warfare strategy, tactics and weapons technology improved, the role of the blimp as an airborne observation platform was obviated.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2498/insane7zouj9.jpg