Zeppelin Kommt! Children play a Zeppelin raid on London. Holding his bomb in the gondola is a doll of the airship's inventor, Count Zeppelin. The other children, playing the English, cower, and the British fleet — folded paper boats — remains in port. Prewar postcards celebrated the imposing airships and the excitement they generated with the same expression, 'Zeppelin Kommt!'. Postcard by P.O. Engelhard (P.O.E.). The message on the reverse is dated May 28, 1915.
P.O.E.? EnglandLondonZeppelin Kommt!Reverse:Message dated May 28, 1915Stamped: Geprüft und zu befördern (Approved and forwarded) 9 Komp. Bay. L.I.N. 5
"On arriving at Dixmude at 1:05 A.M. I observed a Zeppelin apparently over Ostend and proceeded in chase of the same. I arrived at close quarters a few miles past Bruges at 1:50 A.M. and the Airship opened heavy maxim fire, so I retreated to gain height and the Airship turned and followed me.At 2:15 he seemed to stop firing and at 2:25 A.M. I came behind, but well above the Zeppelin; height then 11,000 feet, and switched off my engine to descend on top of him. When close above him, at 7000 feet I dropped my bombs, and, whilst releasing the last, there was an explosion which lifted my machine and turned it over. The aeroplane was out of control for a short period, but went into a nose dive, and the control was gained."
Excerpt from the report of Sub-lieutenant Reggie Warneford of Royal Navy Air Squadron Number 1. At 1:00 AM the morning of June 7, 1915, Warneford took off from Dunkirk on his first night flight, flying a Morane Parasol monoplane, a two-seater modified as single-seat scout. British Intelligence had identified Zeppelin sheds at Evere, Belgium, and the British Admiralty had just notified the Squadron that three Zeppelins were returning to their base from Britain. Two Henri Farman planes took off to bomb the Zeppelin sheds, and destroyed one shed and L.38 (Luftschiff — Airship — 38). Warneford took off to intercept the returning Zeppelins, his plane armed with six 20-pound bombs. His opponent — L.37 — had a crew of 28 and was well-defended by four side-mounted machine guns that kept Warneford at a distance. The Zeppelin could fly at a higher altitude, and it was not until it started to descend for landing that Warneford could get above it to drop his bombs. The airship had no defenses on its upper surface.Warneford flew over the massive machine, and had dropped five of his six bombs when L.37 burst open in flames with a force that flipped over the plane. The pilot dove to get away from burning debris and to regain control, his engine struggling. The Zeppelin's hulk landed on convent outside of Ghent, killing a man on the ground, and all but one of its crew. Warneford's engine died, and he glided to a landing in a field well behind German lines. His fuel line had been cut, but he was able to patch it with a cigarette holder and handkerchief. He was awarded the Victoria Cross and the French Cross of the Legion of Honor. Returning from Paris on June 17 after the ceremony for the latter, he was ordered to bring a new Farman biplane back to base. Eager for Warneford's story, American reporter Henry Needham joined him. The plane, perhaps too hastily assembled, crashed immediately after takeoff, throwing the men from the plane, killing them both.
The Zeppelin Fighters by Arch Whitehouse, pp, 84, 85, copyright © 1966 by Arch Whitehouse, publisher: New English Library, publication date: 1978
1915-06-07, 1915, June, Warneford, Zeppelin
