The Defeat of the Zeppelins
Author: Mick Powis
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military Books
Throughout the First World War, while fixed wing air power was developing, Germany continued to use rigid framed airships as a part of it air forces. Colloquially known as “Zeppelins” after the main manufacturer, the Zeppelin company, these airships undertook a variety of reconnaissance and combat roles in all the main theatres of the war.
Able to fly over the relatively static front lines that formed on many of the war's fronts, these machines were seen as a way in which to break the deadlock. Mick Powis, who has previously written 'Zeppelins over the Midlands' about the military and civilian impacts of a major raid staged in January 1916, has switched his focus in this book to cover the use of airships throughout the entire war. The resulting book, 'The Defeat of the Zeppelins', combines an account of each Zeppelin mission undertaken by the German Army and Navy airship divisions with chapters exploring the evolution of the airships, their operations and the counter measures deployed against this new threat.
Weighing in at 284 pages and including a number of glossy black and white photographs, this is a well-produced and well-structured book that takes the reader on a journey through the entire war, from initial raids through to the fleet's eventual scuttling at the end of the war. The narrative chapters, exploring the airships, the tactics and the aircraft deployed to defend against them are well-written and full of interesting details.
The evolution of the weapons and tactics is presented chronologically, from opening salvoes to the eventual scuttling of the airship fleet. Alongside these chapters, Powis catalogues individual Zeppelin missions, detailing the participants, objectives and outcomes of each raid. There was an editorial decision to be made here about whether these two disparate elements should be interwoven or kept separate. Having read the book and appreciating the necessarily repetitive nature of the mission narratives, I felt that the author made the right decision to present both the mission catalogue and analytical chapters together.
One aspect of the Zeppelin offensive that comes through strongly is the sheer technical difficulty in the whole process of operational flying; this is warfare at the leading edge of what was technologically possible at the time.
Airships were enormous, measuring two football pitches long and requiring hundreds of men to manoeuvre them on the ground and in and out of their hangars. Filled with Hydrogen gas, the risk of explosions was a very real danger to the twenty or so men on board, whether caused by enemy action or lightning strikes. Zeppelins were difficult to fly, relying on multiple engines, each controlled by individual engineers and directed from the command gondola by the Captain using speaking tubes. Being lighter than air, the Zeppelins were at the mercy of the weather, with ice and rain weighing them down and high-altitude winds making navigation difficult. Then, to top it all, add in the danger of a determined enemy doing their level-best to destroy the fragile ships; this was no easy posting!
Each mission narrative tends to follow the same format, with a short summary of the raid and then detailed accounts of each airship involved. Some raids are covered in great detail, while others, particularly the raids carried out over the Eastern Front, consist of simply the airship involved and basic target information. The mission’s narratives can get repetitive, but do give a real impression of the dangers of the raids and the difficulties faced by the crews with a seemingly never-ending catalogue of losses and catastrophic mishaps.
The true story of this book is the technological race as the Germans tried to develop better airships that were capable of delivering heavier bomb loads from greater altitude and the British developed counter measures against this early example of strategic bombing. The technical chapters are engaging and scattered with detail and surprising facts, charting the development of incendiary ammunition, better aircraft, electronic eavesdropping and other novelties. For example, who knew that duty in the “cloud car”, an observation capsule dangled below cloud level on a cable from the Zeppelin floating above, was a sought-after job because it was the only place in the Hydrogen-filled airship where smoking was permitted?
The technical history chapters are strong on the British air-defence response, but omit to mention any counter measures from other nations even though many raids were staged against French and Russian targets, this and occasional proof-reading omissions are my only real gripe with this book.
Whilst it is unlikely that the Germans would ever achieve the strategic bombing objectives that certain commanders hoped for, the campaign did have a powerful propaganda effect. Here Powis identifies the key legacy of the Zeppelin campaign; the establishment through trial and error of a workable British air-defence capability. The opportunity to develop this capability in what, with hindsight, was a low-stakes environment was to create the foundation of the successful defence during the Battle of Britain in 1940.
Here Mick Powis has put his finger on the most important outcome of the defeat of the Zeppelins; the lessons learnt in the First World War against an enemy that often didn't know which towns it was bombing and was struggling stay aloft long enough to return home were invaluable when pitched against the Luftwaffe's more capable forces in 1940. If the chaos of 31st January 1916 raid were replayed in 1940, perhaps events in the Second World War would have played out differently.
Able to fly over the relatively static front lines that formed on many of the war's fronts, these machines were seen as a way in which to break the deadlock. Mick Powis, who has previously written 'Zeppelins over the Midlands' about the military and civilian impacts of a major raid staged in January 1916, has switched his focus in this book to cover the use of airships throughout the entire war. The resulting book, 'The Defeat of the Zeppelins', combines an account of each Zeppelin mission undertaken by the German Army and Navy airship divisions with chapters exploring the evolution of the airships, their operations and the counter measures deployed against this new threat.
Weighing in at 284 pages and including a number of glossy black and white photographs, this is a well-produced and well-structured book that takes the reader on a journey through the entire war, from initial raids through to the fleet's eventual scuttling at the end of the war. The narrative chapters, exploring the airships, the tactics and the aircraft deployed to defend against them are well-written and full of interesting details.
The evolution of the weapons and tactics is presented chronologically, from opening salvoes to the eventual scuttling of the airship fleet. Alongside these chapters, Powis catalogues individual Zeppelin missions, detailing the participants, objectives and outcomes of each raid. There was an editorial decision to be made here about whether these two disparate elements should be interwoven or kept separate. Having read the book and appreciating the necessarily repetitive nature of the mission narratives, I felt that the author made the right decision to present both the mission catalogue and analytical chapters together.
One aspect of the Zeppelin offensive that comes through strongly is the sheer technical difficulty in the whole process of operational flying; this is warfare at the leading edge of what was technologically possible at the time.
Airships were enormous, measuring two football pitches long and requiring hundreds of men to manoeuvre them on the ground and in and out of their hangars. Filled with Hydrogen gas, the risk of explosions was a very real danger to the twenty or so men on board, whether caused by enemy action or lightning strikes. Zeppelins were difficult to fly, relying on multiple engines, each controlled by individual engineers and directed from the command gondola by the Captain using speaking tubes. Being lighter than air, the Zeppelins were at the mercy of the weather, with ice and rain weighing them down and high-altitude winds making navigation difficult. Then, to top it all, add in the danger of a determined enemy doing their level-best to destroy the fragile ships; this was no easy posting!
Each mission narrative tends to follow the same format, with a short summary of the raid and then detailed accounts of each airship involved. Some raids are covered in great detail, while others, particularly the raids carried out over the Eastern Front, consist of simply the airship involved and basic target information. The mission’s narratives can get repetitive, but do give a real impression of the dangers of the raids and the difficulties faced by the crews with a seemingly never-ending catalogue of losses and catastrophic mishaps.
The true story of this book is the technological race as the Germans tried to develop better airships that were capable of delivering heavier bomb loads from greater altitude and the British developed counter measures against this early example of strategic bombing. The technical chapters are engaging and scattered with detail and surprising facts, charting the development of incendiary ammunition, better aircraft, electronic eavesdropping and other novelties. For example, who knew that duty in the “cloud car”, an observation capsule dangled below cloud level on a cable from the Zeppelin floating above, was a sought-after job because it was the only place in the Hydrogen-filled airship where smoking was permitted?
The technical history chapters are strong on the British air-defence response, but omit to mention any counter measures from other nations even though many raids were staged against French and Russian targets, this and occasional proof-reading omissions are my only real gripe with this book.
Whilst it is unlikely that the Germans would ever achieve the strategic bombing objectives that certain commanders hoped for, the campaign did have a powerful propaganda effect. Here Powis identifies the key legacy of the Zeppelin campaign; the establishment through trial and error of a workable British air-defence capability. The opportunity to develop this capability in what, with hindsight, was a low-stakes environment was to create the foundation of the successful defence during the Battle of Britain in 1940.
Here Mick Powis has put his finger on the most important outcome of the defeat of the Zeppelins; the lessons learnt in the First World War against an enemy that often didn't know which towns it was bombing and was struggling stay aloft long enough to return home were invaluable when pitched against the Luftwaffe's more capable forces in 1940. If the chaos of 31st January 1916 raid were replayed in 1940, perhaps events in the Second World War would have played out differently.
Reviewed by Chris Stevenson
Follow Chris on Twitter @WW1TheGreatWar
Follow Chris on Twitter @WW1TheGreatWar