Vehicle    From 1900 

Zeppelin airships

Categories: Armed Forces, Aviation

Invented by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1900. London was first targeted with airships in May 1915 and initially found defence very difficult. Searchlights and incendiary ammunition helped to defeat the Zeppelins and the last raid was in August 1918. Londonist has a great post about the Zeppelin raids over London, with a map! And Flickering Lamps has a good post on airships over London in war and peace.

But to get a really good idea of how they were used (the bombs, the water ballast, the observer basket) you have to see the 1930 film Hell's Angels. Forget the plot and the acting, just watch the stunning aerial scenes. Howard Hughes produced it so money was no object.

2018: Londonist have a post about the first Zeppelin raid on London, 31 May 1915, with maps showing the damage sites.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Zeppelin airships

Commemorated ati

Camberwell WW1 victims - Chumleigh Gardens

This memorial commemorates all 22 Camberwell citizens killed in WW1. We don't...

Read More

First Zeppelin bomb of WW1, correct - 1

First bomb of World War One, dropped on London by Zeppelin LZ 38 fell on this...

Read More

First Zeppelin bomb of WW1, correct - 2

First bomb of World War One, to be dropped on London by Zeppelin LZ38, fell o...

Read More

First Zeppelin bomb of WW1 - incorrect

This plaque was, according to the Council, a mistake and was removed by Hackney.

Read More

Zeppelin

We are familiar with the "pensioner crosses road" syndrome in local newspaper...

Read More

Show all 7

Other Subjects

Joe Bennett

Joe Bennett

Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Lee Bennett was born on 19 January 1917 in Boise, Ada County, Idaho, USA, the eldest of the four children of Earl Phillips Bennett (1893-1977) and Ethel Lee Bennett née Ba...

Person, Armed Forces, USA

War served, WW2
1 memorial
Sir John Pringle

Sir John Pringle

Military physician. Born Roxburghshire, Scotland. Studied in Flanders/Netherlands, where he later returned in his role as military physician, and Paris. Instituted sanitary reforms first on battlef...

Person, Armed Forces, Medicine, France, Netherlands, Scotland

1 memorial
English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and i...

Event, Armed Forces, Politics & Administration, Religion

1 memorial
G. C. Gosling

G. C. Gosling

Co-partner or employee of the South Suburban Gas Company. Served but did not die in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War served, WW1
1 memorial
General Sir James Outram

General Sir James Outram

Hero of the Indian Rebellion during which he relieved the siege of Lucknow.

Person, Armed Forces, India

1 memorial