On this day in military history…
On the night of 19 January 1915 the First World War reached Britain in a completely new and terrifying way. For the first time German aircraft attacked the British mainland from the air, using giant Zeppelin airships. These enormous hydrogen-filled machines were built by the German Navy to fly long distances over the sea and drop bombs on enemy towns. Their original target was the Humber estuary and its dockyards, but bad weather, strong winds and poor navigation pushed them off course, and instead two of the airships ended up over the coast of Norfolk.
Three Zeppelins had set out on the mission: L3, L4 and L6. L6 was forced to turn back with mechanical trouble, leaving L3 and L4 to continue alone. L3, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Hans Fritz, crossed the Norfolk coast near the village of Ingham and headed south toward Great Yarmouth. To help find his position in the darkness, Fritz released a bright flare, which lit up the ground below and allowed the crew to identify the town. Shortly after 8.25 pm the first bomb fell, landing on farmland at Little Ormesby just outside Great Yarmouth. The airship then moved over the town itself and began dropping its bombs.
Around ten bombs were dropped on Great Yarmouth, most of them high-explosive devices, along with smaller incendiaries designed to start fires. The bombs fell in a line as the Zeppelin flew steadily across the town, hitting streets, houses and open spaces. Buildings were smashed, roofs collapsed and windows were blown in across wide areas. One bomb struck at the corner of St Peter’s Plain and Lancaster Road, killing Samuel Smith, a 53-year-old shoemaker, who was caught in the blast in the street. Another bomb killed 72-year-old Martha Taylor inside her home. Three other people were injured. Several houses were wrecked or badly damaged, and the shock of the explosions left the town stunned and frightened.
While L3 was attacking Great Yarmouth, the second Zeppelin, L4, was also lost and believed it was near its original target. It dropped bombs along the north Norfolk coast at Sheringham and then flew inland before turning back toward the sea. On its return it released a group of bombs over King’s Lynn. Eight bombs fell there, smashing houses and shops and killing two more civilians, including a teenage boy and a young woman. Many more were injured, and parts of the town were left in ruins.
The bombs carried by the Zeppelins were small compared to those used later in the war, but they were deadly. Most were around 50 kilograms in weight and packed with high explosives, while others were incendiaries designed to ignite fires in wooden buildings, warehouses and dock areas. Together they caused a mix of blast damage and burning, which made firefighting difficult and increased fear among the population.
Britain tried to respond, but the country was badly prepared for air attack in early 1915. There were few anti-aircraft guns, no radar, and only a handful of aircraft capable of flying high enough or fast enough to intercept a Zeppelin at night. Some guns were fired, and searchlights were used, but neither L3 nor L4 was hit. Both airships escaped back across the North Sea without serious damage.
Although the physical damage from the raid was limited, its impact was enormous. For the first time British civilians had been killed by enemy bombs falling from the sky. People realised that the sea was no longer a safe barrier and that the war could reach them wherever they lived. The Great Yarmouth raid marked the beginning of a new form of warfare, one that would grow far more destructive as the war went on, and it left a lasting impression on those who heard the Zeppelins droning overhead and saw their homes and streets torn apart from above.
