WGFC: Battle of Britain 1917: The First Heavy Bomber Raids on England

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Book Title:

Battle of Britain 1917: The First Heavy Bomber Raids on England

Author:

Jonathan Sutherland & Diane Canwell

ISBN:

1-84415-345-2

Category:

History

Format:

Hardback

Summary:

Not actually what it says on the tin. This is in fact a 168pp chronological account of the German air raids on Britan from 1914 (and unconfirmed reconnaissance flight as early as 1912), through Zeppelins and Gothas to the R-type raids of 1917-18. 'This book looks at the development of the German airborne attacks on England, the airships and aircraft that weree specially deisgned for the purpose and the startled British reaction. It contains first-hand British and German combat reports and detailed accounts of the raids.' The significant aircraft types (particularly Gothas and Staakens) are given technical detail, and there are a good number of photographs, although the labelling of some of these is either ambiguous or inaccurate. Appendices provide detail of casualties infliceted, 1917-18 raids, missions flown by each Staaken, and RNAS/RFC sqn involvement. Overall, the level of detail is good for the general reader, and the narrative is engaging.

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Book Title:

Battle of Britain 1917

Author:

Jonathan Sutherland & Diane Canwell

ISBN:

1 84415 345 2

Category:

History

Format:

Hardback

Summary:

In the autumn of 1916 the Germans began to equip with the Gotha twin-engine bomber. The Gothas were designed to carry out attacks across the channel against Britain. A group of four squadrons was established in Belgium, and they carried out their first bombing raid towards the end of May 1917. This 22 aircraft sortie, against the town of Folkestone, caused 95 deaths. In mid June a force of 18 Gothas attacked London in broad daylight. Over 90 British fighters met them, but not one Gotha was brought down. This bombing raid caused 162 deaths.
From mid-September an even larger, more potent bomber joined the Gothas. The Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeug or "Giant" bomber. It had a range of about 800km (500 miles). The Gotha/Giant night raids continued throughout 1917, almost unscathed until December when the British began to have success in intercepting the Gothas at night. Anti-aircraft fire was also becoming more effective and the increased use of barrage balloons affected the bombers. By the end of the war a 50-mile long line of barrage balloons surrounded London.

This book lists Zeppelin and bomber raids on Britain. What planes and pilots responded, AA fire, views of teh action from both sides. The details of each raid are quite good but after reading several chapters it sounds repetative. Lots of good info for scenario design.

Chapter titles:
1, The First German Raids on Britain: The Zeppelin Offensive, 1914-16
2, The End of the Zeppelins, September 1916-May 1917
3, The England Squadron
4, The Gotha Bombers
5, The First Gotha Raids: May-June 1917
6, The Raids Continue: July-August 1917
7, The Giants
8, Night attacks Start: September-December 1917
9, The Final Raids: May-August 1918
10, The Legacy of the Raids