Silent Raid

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The Silent Raid was the largest air assault with airships in history. It took place in World War I and killed 32 Londoners .

history

On October 19, 1917, a squadron of eleven Zeppelin military airships , headed by Lieutenant Horst Treusch von Buttlar-Brandenfels and Lieutenant Hans von Schiller, headed for London. The attack became known in England as the "Silent Raid", as the engine noise was hardly audible due to the attack height of the new ships of over 5000 m on the ground. The 74 ascended British interceptors could not reach the attackers, who dropped a total of 274 bombs. LZ 101 (L 55) under Kapitänleutnant Flemming reached the record height of 7600 meters on the way back. However, this attack turned out to be a debacle for naval aviation. After the attack, five ships were lost on the way home on October 20, 1917.

  • LZ 85 (L 45) was destroyed during an emergency landing near Sisteron (France) due to a lack of fuel. The crew was taken prisoner.
  • LZ 89 (L 50) had to make an emergency landing near Dammartin (southern France) due to a shortage of fuel and was then driven into the Mediterranean Sea unmanned . The crew was taken prisoner.
  • LZ 93 (L 44) was driven into France by a storm and shot down while burning over Lunéville . No survivors.
  • LZ 96 was forced to make an emergency landing on the return journey near Bourbonne les Bains. It fell into French hands almost undamaged. The crew was taken prisoner.
  • LZ 101 drifted behind the western front, badly damaged, after it had previously reached 7600 m after dropping all equipment and was scrapped after an emergency landing near Tiefenort / Thuringia.

literature

  • Douglas H. Robinson: German naval airships 1912-1918. Mittler ES + Sohn GmbH, 2005, ISBN 3-8132-0786-2