(You can find Part 1 - Airships Raids, here: http://www.russiadock.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/air-attacks-on-britain-during-great-war_5.html)
Introduction
If you have read Part 1, about the airship raids. you will have seen this introduction already and may want to skip ahead.
Rotherhithe is one of many areas of London (and indeed Britain as a whole) that
suffered terribly in the Second World War, and the bomb damage is well
recorded, but there are fewer details about Rotherhithe's fate in the
First World War. The Rotherhithe entry on Wikipedia,
for example, has a paragraph about the Second World War, but makes no
mention at all of the Great War. Nor is it mentioned on Southwark
Council's Rotherhithe History page.
The Museum of London Docklands devotes almost no space to it. So why
not? It is not that London wasn't targeted between 1914
and 1918, because it was. In fact, aerial warfare was virtually
invented during this period, with airships and then early warplanes
being employed to drop bombs.
The answer seems to come into three parts. The first is that although
London had been identified as a legitimate target by Germany, the
technology was too basic to inflict anything like the damage in the
Second World War, and the weather created problems that the fragile
aircraft could not overcome. Second, the docks were not identified as a
key strategic target in the First World War, whereas in the Second, all
the docks were seen as key, and the damage inflicted was staggering,
overshadowing anything inflicted between 1914 and 1918. With particular
reference to Rotherhithe, the third reason that we never hear about
bomb damage locally from the First World War is that the few bombs that
did fall on Rotherhithe and in neighbouring created minor damage, caused
much less significant harm than other bombs that fell, by accident or
design, during the same raids in other residential and commercial areas.
This post, together with part 1, is more about the aerial attacks on
London than about Rotherhithe specifically, but wherever Rotherhithe was
hit I have given details. I wanted to provide something towards
commemorating the centenary of the First World War, and it proved to be
very difficult to find anything very useful about Rotherhithe's role, so
I apologize that this is a bit generic.
The Fighter Plane Blitz: Gothas and Riesenflugzeug.
The
final days of the airships from service overlapped with a new way of
attacking Britain from the air. Aeroplanes were now being employed,
with the specific aim of attacking London when possible, and other
strategic targets when it was not possible to reach London. Again,
civilian areas were considered to be fair game.
Whilst the airships bombed England, Britain and
Germany were both developing their own heavier-than air craft. The
aeroplane had only been invented in 1903, and in 1914 was still a very
basic piece of kit that to modern eyes looks impossibly small and
fragile. The two English air divisions, the RFC and the RNAS, having
rejected airships for military purposes (the Balloon Section of the
Royal Engineers was disbanded in 1911), were experimenting with a number
of different types of aeroplane, including the BE2c, the BE12, the
FE2b, the DH4, the SE5a, the Sopwith Pup, the Sopwith Camel, the Sopwith
1 1/2 Strutter, the Bristol Fighter (commonly referred to as a
Brisfit), and the Armstrong-Whitworth FK8. Germany, however, was
focusing her attentions on a much smaller range. Early German G-type
(Grosskampfflugzeug or large battle aeroplane, usually called Gotha)
bombers made by the Zeppelin company had already been used in warfare,
and were being used successfully on the mainland. But the early G-type
had a limited range, and was unable to fly directly from German-occupied
Belgium to England. By the end of 1916, the new G-type G.IV was ready
for use, and this did have the range to get to and return from England.
Accordingly the air service's new commander Ernst van Hoeppner formed a
special unit, Kagohl 3, which would be tasked with bombing London
during daylight hours. This was the Englandgeschwader (England
Squadron) plan.
By the beginning of 1917, Britain had
begun to relax its air defences, believing that the airship threat was
now largely over, and needing the equipment and the personnel at the
Western Front. In short, Britain had placed herself in a similar
situation of ill-preparedness as she had been at the start of the
airship raids. .
 |
| A Gotha G.IV. Sourced from Wikipedia. |
The new Gotha G.IV biplanes were equipped with two
260hp engines and two machine guns and were capbable of flying at 80mph,
reaching heights of 18,000ft and could carry a bomb load of up to 400g.
They had the all-important range needed to both reach London and return
home. Each was manned by a commander, who was in charge of all the
decisions regarding the deployment of the plane and its bombs, a pilot
and a rear gunner. The Gothas were organized into groups of 6 units
known as "Kastas" (short for Kampfstaffeln). The plan was to attack
Britain during daylight hours, when she was least expecting it and when
visibility was high. The airships, raiding at night, had had the
benefit of low visibility (which was vital considering their vast size)
but rarely failed to hit specific military targets.
The
first Gotha daylight raid on England, a date dictated largely by the
weather, was originally destined for London on 24th May 1917, but was
met with heavy fog and contented itself with inflicting as much damage
as possible on the east coast, particularly Folkestone, leaving 95 dead
and 195 injured. From this point to the end of the war, Gotha raids
became common, and the considerably reduced home defence arrangements
were initially incapable of retaliating usefully.
 |
Contemporary illustration, showing
Britain under fire |
The first raid on London took place on 20th June,
when 18 Gothas bombed various locations, including the City. Although
162 died in the raid, with 426 injured and with material damage
estimated at £125,953, the Gothas came and went without serious
challenge from either air or ground defences, both of which were very
depleted. Decisions were delayed until a number of raids made it clear
that home defence had to become, once again, a priority. After the July
3rd raid, a committee was appointed to discuss improvements in home
defence, which once again meant diverting resources from the Western
Front. Over a period of time, recommendations for improvements were
implemented, leaving to new anti-aircraft measures being put into place,
assisted by more observation posts and a public warning system.
The
Gothas were by no means invulnerable. Quite apart from any damage that
English defences might have inflicted, they frequently experienced
engine problems, and many were damaged or destroyed on landing, as
without the ballast of bombs and fuel, landing them presented serious
difficulties. The weather, in particular high winds that blew them off
course, caused ongoing difficulties, and fog frequently prevented them
reaching their targets. Shortage of fuel could also be a problem. On
August 18th 1917 alone nine Gothas were lost after a failed attempt to
reach England due to a variety of circumstances, including Dutch
anti-aircraft fire, and on 22nd August of ten aircraft that reached the
English coast, three were shot down. The losses were considered
unacceptable, and daylight raids were abandoned in favour of night-time
offensives.
 |
Actually from World War II, but
this illustration is a good
example of how balloon barrages
worked. |
English home defence units were again taken by
surprise by the change in German tactics when the Gothas were sent in
under the cover of dark on the night of the 3rd of September.
Commercial, military and residential areas were hit, and the bombing was
deemed by the German air command to be a success. Gotha G.Vs were
added to the campaign, and the vast R-type Riesenflugzeug ("Giant")
aircraft became available to join the offensives against London. By the
time of the Harvest Moon Offensive (6 raids over 8 nights between 24th
September and 1st October 1917, a new anti-aircraft barrage tactic was
in operation, whereby the guns would be fired simultaneously to form a
curtain of shells through which the Gothas would not be able to pass,
and would have to divert around, making them easier prey for British
planes.
On the first night of the Harvest Moon raids on
24th September, the raids were heavy and the defences again failed to
make a dent in the damage inflicted. In addition, falling shrapnel from
the anti-aircraft guns firing in continuous unison, added to the damage
and injuries. The R-type Giant was deployed over England for the first
time on the 29th September, when its engines were so loud that those on
the ground thought that they must be clusters of Gothas rather than
single aircraft. Three bombers reached London, inflicting considerable
damage, and 276 anti-aircraft shells contributed to the chaos. The
clear skies over London, accompanied by moonlight, enabled the Gothas
and a small number of Giants to carry out devestating raids, piling ever
more pressure on the anti-aircraft guns, which were both reaching the
end of their operational lives and were overheating with over-work. By
the end of Harvest Moon, 151 bombs had left 50 dead and 229 injured.
The estimated cost of the damage was £117,773, and munitions production
at the Woolwich Arsenal had been slowed down significantly during the
raids.
In October two balloon screens were erected in
Essex. The balloons had wires suspended from them, forming physical
barrages that were intended to supplement the anti-aircraft gun
barrages. In addition, a new sound detection system was installed in
Dover, for early detection of incoming bombers. Improved air support
had been arranged too. Although raids continued towards December, they
were disappointing for Germany. English casualty figures were quite
low, but aircraft losses, due to a combination of circumstances, were
relatively high. Even so, the first raid of 1918, on January 28th,
resulted in the larges single loss of life from one bomb during the
entire London blitz. A 300g bomb was dropped on the Oldham Printing
Works in Covent Garden, an official air-raid shelter, killing 38 and
injuring 85.
For two months, between 8th March and 18th May,
German resources were required at the Western Front, and England was
spared the Gothas. To consolidate Britain's air strategy, the naval and
armed forces air divisions were replaced by the Royal Air Force, which
came into being on April 1st 1918. The Whitsun Raid of 19th May turned
out to be the final offensive against England before the Second World
War. Of the three Giants and twenty eight Gothas that reached England,
seven were destroyed. Plans were in place for future raids, using a
newly developed bomb, but it was widely accepted that the end of the war
was near, and the planned raids were cancelled.
Compared
with airships, more accurate bombing of identified targets mainly by
the Gothas had meant that there were fewer
accidental attacks on residential areas, but there were still a huge
amount of civilian losses. As with the airship raids, apart from
Woolwich, which had military value, southeast London was not a specific
target for raiders. However, a number of bombs were dropped over
Rotherhithe and nearby areas, and these are as follows.
On 4th/5th September 5 bombs were dropped in Greenwich to the east of Maze Hill, between Foyle and Colefraine Roads,
whilst another plane dropped two bombs on Millwall Docks, just across
the water from South Dock. On the first day of the Harvest Moon
offensive one of three Gothas that managed to reach London on 24th
September 1917 dropped explosive and incendiary bombs the East India
Dock Road, the West India Docks, Rotherhithe and Deptford before it
headed back east through Poplar. Of these, three explosive bombs hit
Rotherhithe just south of Evelyn Street just to the east of Plough Way,
and another hit right at the apex of Rotherhithe peninsula apparently
just west of the lock entrance into Lavander Pond, possibly in the
vicinity of where the St Paul's sports ground is now located. On the
night of October 31st, under a full moon, a Gotha came up from a bombing
raid in the Streatham and Tooting area, bombing Deptford, Surrey Docks,
Millwall Docks and Plaistow before heading out to the coast. This was
supposed to be part of a firestorm offensive, in which incendiaries
dropped all over London would create a blanket of fires. Fortunately,
the plan failed, and there were very few deaths that night. On 18th
December 1917, Bermondsey was the victim of an intensive explosive bomb
attack, most of which fell at Spa road, but one of which fell on the
Rotherhithe approach of Jamaica Road, near the river, almost opposite
the entrance to London Docks opposite.
 |
The crashed Gotha G.V at Harrietsham.
It was brought down by a British bomber crew after dropping
bombs on Rotherhithe, the Old Kent Road and elsewhere.
Sourced from www.aeroconservancy.com/gothafabric.htm |
Only one of the raids bit Rotherhithe in 1918, during
the final Whitsun raid of 19th May. It was one of several attacks by
18 aircraft observed by the Metropolitan Police and is recorded as
falling at 1155, when bombs were also falling on the Old Kent Road and
Kilburn. Sadly, I have been unable to find out whereabouts the
Rotherhithe bomb fell.
The
bomber was a Gotha G.V piloted by Vizefeldwebel Albrecht Sachtler, and
it was attacked on its return journey across England by Major F. Sowery,
who had brought down a Zeppelin in 1916, now flying a
SE5a. He fired on the Gotha, apparently injuring Sachtler, but an engine
stall caused him to lose sight of the bomber as it departed. Sachtle
was unlucky that night, because he was spotted by Lieutenants Edward
Turner (pilot) and Henry Barwise (observer) in a Bristol Fighter. They
fired on him, and although engine trouble forced Turner to give up the
chase, the aircraft crasehd at 12,45am near Harrietsham, killing its
pilot and commander. Only the rear gunner survived. Lieutenant Turner
was given the machine guns from the plane as a trophy, and Lieutenant
Barwise was given the propeller. Both men were awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross. A black cross retrieved from the plane was
pinned up in the Biggin Hill squadron mess thereafter. On the same
night one explosive bomb also fell immediately opposite Lavender Pond on
the north side of the Thames
.
The
final tally of the Gotha and Giant attacks on England were 837 dead
(486 in London) and 1991 injured (1432 in London). 16 aircraft were also
lost. As with the airship attacks, although British morale remained
undented, resources had be be withdrawn from the Western Front to tackle
the raids. In addition, munitions production was disrupted.
The Germans lost 60 Gothas and 2 Giants during the raids.
Conclusions
In the Second World War London's docklands were seen
as a strategic target and were bombed relentlessly. The Second World
War bombs that hit the Downtown area, setting fire to timber yards,
homes and Trinity Church, caused some of the worst fire damage in
London. But in the First World War, the docks were not a target for
either airships or aeroplanes, and the damage inflicted on Rotherhithe
was rather more incidental rather than intentional. Of the small number
of bombs that fell in and around Rotherhithe, I have been unable to find
any first hand or newspaper accounts, which is a shame.
The
positive outcomes of both the airship and aeroplane raids were that
the RAF was formed to manage air strategy in the future, a central
communications hub was created in the September of 1918, the value of
barrage balloons had been demonstrated, and were invaluable in World War
II, and a
considerable amount had been learned about both ground to air and air to
air combat. In the three years between the first airship raids in 1915
and the last airship and aeroplane raids in 1918, Britain went from
being a country that had never seen an air rad before to one that had
hard-earned expertise in how to deal with them.
As
the above account describes, London suffered during the First World
War, but this is often forgotten, overshadowed by the greater
devastation of the Second World War.
Further Reading
Parts 1 and 2 of this
post were hugely dependent on two books written by Ian Castle (although
any errors are, of course, my own). For anyone interested in finding
out more about the air raids on London, you need look no further:
Castle, I. 2008,
London 1914-17. The Zeppelin Menace. Osprey
Castle, I. 2010,
London 1917-18.The Bomber Blitz. Osprey
Books dealing more generally with the defence of Britain during the First World War are:
Cole, C. and Cheesman, E.F. 1984,
The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918. Putnam.
Charlton, L., 1938.
The Air Defence of Britain. Penguin Books.
Fredette, R.H. 1976,
The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918. Harvest.
There
are also some good photographs and helpful accompanying text about the
Gotha that came down in Harrietsham in 1918, on the Aero Conservancy
website:
http://www.aeroconservancy.com/gothafabric.htm
Finally,
there is an excellent television documentary about the Zeppelin attacks
on Britain during the Great War featuring engineer Hugh Hunt and
showing some stunning stills and footage. Entitled
Attack of the Zeppelins,
it is well worth watching out for, as it is bound to be repeated. My
thanks to my father for recording it for me on his whizzy Panasonic
does-everything box! Here's the Channel 4 summary:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/attack-of-the-zeppelins/episode-guide
There's also an excellent overview of it on the University of Cambridge website:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/attack-of-the-zeppelins
And on the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10262833/Zeppelins-the-beginning-of-modern-warfare.html
Both reviews repeat much off the information from the programme, and are therefore quite useful as resources in their own right.
