London 1917–18 The bomber blitz

by Castle, Ian; Hook, Christa

• ISBN13: 9781846036828
• ISBN10: 1846036828
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-19
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

On a sunny May afternoon in 1917, the peace of an English seaside town was shattered when a flight of German Gotha bombers appeared without warning. Twenty-three Gothas had set out to attack London in this first bomber raid, but heavy cloud forced them to target Folkestone and the Shorncliffe army camp instead. It was the start of a new phase of the war aimed at destroying the morale of the British people. London's defences were quickly overhauled to face this new threat, providing the basis for Britain's defence during World War II. This book tells the story of the Gotha and the massive Staaken 'Giant' bomber raids against London.

Author Biography

Ian Castle has lived in London all his life and balances writing with work in the advertising industry. He has been writing for Osprey for over 15 years. Ian regularly lectures at the National Army Museum in London and is a member of the Airship Heritage Trust.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 4
The road to war
Chronology	p. 7
Opposing Commanders	p. 9
German commanders
British commanders
Opposing Plans	p. 13
German plans
British plans
The 1917 Raids	p. 18
The campaign begins
London's first daytime raid
Reaction and response
The second daylight raid - Saturday 7 July
London makes ready
An English summer The 'daylight' defences tighten
The switch to night bombing
Defensive improvements The Harvest Moon Offensive
The arrival of the 'Giants'
A brief respite The bombers return
The failure of the firestorm
A success in the sky Preparations for a new year
The 1918 Raids	p. 66
The Long Acre tragedy
The night of the 'Giants'
Chelsea - the 1,000kg bomb 'A fine piece of shooting'
The Aurora Borealis Raid
The agony of the 'Giants' The Whitsun raid
Summary
The Sites Today	p. 91
Order of Battle For the London Air Raids	p. 92
Further Reading	p. 94
Index	p. 95
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