1/2 Oct. 1916               

Bombed:

Lincs., Northants., Norfolk & Herts 

On 1st October eleven navy Zeppelins set out for England but four turned back early.

Heinrich Mathy, commanding L 31, arrived over the Suffolk coast at Corton, north of Lowestoft at about 8.00pm and followed a south-west course towards his intended target: London. Having passed Chelmsford, at 9.45pm the searchlight at Kelvedon Hatch held L 31 causing Mathy to turn northwards and follow a course that would take him around the northern outskirts of London. At 11.10pm L.31 was over Hertford where Mathy shut off his engines, hoping to drift silently with the wind over London’s outer gun defences, but 20 minutes later he had only reached Ware so restarted the engines. He headed south but at 11.40pm the AA guns at Newmans and Temple House near Waltham Abbey opened a heavy fire to which Mathy replied by dropping 30 HE and 26 incendiaries over Cheshunt. The first 11 bombs landed in gardens along Turners Hill, the second batch of seven fell just north of the junction of College Road and Aldbury Walk, with 20 dropping along the line of Aldbury Walk. Of the final batch, 11 landed on the Recreation Ground (wrecking the pavilion and injuring a pony that had to be slaughtered) and six on large greenhouses at the Walnut Tree Nursery, between there and Cheshunt Hall. Flying glass injured a woman and the bombs seriously damaged four houses, caused slight damage to 343 more, and smashed acres of glass in large horticultural greenhouses. To escape the Waltham Abbey defences Mathy headed west, following a zig-zag course, dropping one more HE bomb at Great Wood near Potters Bar, which smashed some cottage windows and broke ceilings. At the same time four pilots of No.39 Squadron, attracted by the gunfire, were closing in. The first to reach L 31, 2nd Lieut. Wulstan Tempest flying a BE2c, found her at 12,700 feet. Three bursts from his Lewis gun were enough to seal the fate of Heinrich Mathy and the crew of L 31. Flames quickly took hold and the burning raider crashed to the ground at Potters Bar, just a few miles from Cuffley where the first airship had been shot down just a month earlier. There were no survivors; Germany had lost four airships and four experienced crews in just a month since the introduction of explosive and incendiary ammunition.

L 24, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Robert Koch, crossed the Norfolk coast at 10.15pm near Weybourne, west of Sherringham. Koch took a course towards Cambridge, evidently intent on attacking London, but at midnight as he reached Waterbeach, just north of Cambridge, he saw the flames of L.31 illuminating the sky. Koch flew westwards for 25 minutes then resumed his original south-west course until he reached Shefford, Hertfordshire, at 1.05am. From there Koch saw lights to the south-east and steered towards them. The lights were flares burning at a night landing airfield at the village of Willian, east of Hitchin. At 1.14am L 24 arrived over Willian and dropped ten HE bombs of which nine detonated on the landing field and one fell in a boundary hedge. The bombs killed Private Hawkes of No.56 Company, Royal Defence Corps, who was in charge of the flares. Koch continued dropping bombs (another 18 HE and 26 incendiary) along a line about two and a half miles long in open country, ending near Tilekiln Farm, just south of the village of Weston. Koch reported that he dropped his bombs across Stoke Newington and Hackney in London. L 24 now turned for home, eventually crossing the coast at Kessingland, south of Lowestoft, at 2.35am.

The wreckage of L 31 under guard at the

Oakmere Estate, Potter's Bar

Zeppelin L 34, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Max Dietrich, was on her first raid over England and came inland near Cromer on the Norfolk coast at 9.42pm. Dietrich steered to the south-west until, at 11.20pm, south of Peterborough he took a westerly line. At midnight, as he approached Corby, a searchlight caught L 34 and two 6-pdr AA guns fired off eight rounds. Presuming the guns must be guarding a worthwhile target, Dietrich began dropping a line of 17 HE bombs as he passed over Kirby Hall, between there and the mouth of the Corby railway tunnel. The only damage caused by these bombs was a broken railway telegraph wire. It seemed certain that L 34’s next bombs would land close to the AA guns, but at that crucial moment Dietrich turned away onto a north-east course, dropping 13 incendiaries in fields either side of the Rockingham to Gretton road where they caused no damage. Dietrich then took L 34 on a direct route back across eastern England, reaching the sea at 1.40am between Sea Palling and Horsey on the north-east Norfolk coast.

Oberleurnant-zur-See Kurt Frankenburg brought L 21 inland at Weybourne, near Sherringham on the north Norfolk coast, at 9.20pm. The weather was bad, limiting visibility for much of the time. Frankenburg flew westwards at first, dropping two incendiaries harmlessly at Heacham (one failed to ignite) before reaching the coastline of The Wash. He followed the coast around to Lincolnshire, reaching Kirton, south of Boston, at 10.45pm. From there L 21 followed a south-westerly course and, at 11.20pm, dropped an incendiary at the village of Kirkby Underwood. At midnight she was at Oakham from where the crew saw L 31 burst into flames in the distance. Frankenburg turned for home. At 12.30am an HE bomb released over the fenland village of South Kyme killed a sheep after which L 21 followed a direct line across Lincolnshire to the coast, reaching it at Donna Nook at 1.10am.

L 16, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Erich Sommerfeldt, reached the Lincolnshire coast at Theddlethorpe, north of Mablethorpe, at about midnight where she dropped a single HE bomb. Sommerfeldt headed south and at 12.45am dropped an incendiary at Huttoft followed, five minutes later, by an HE at Willoughby. Neither caused any damage. L 16 continued heading south until she reached Wainfleet at 1.10am, at which point she steered west as far as the hamlet of Westville where she changed her heading again, to the north-east, dropping three HE bombs between there and Stickford. Five minutes later two incendiary bombs fell at East Kirkby, followed at 1.20am by four HE and two incendiaries at Hameringham. The only damage caused was at the latter place where the bombs killed a cow and injured two horses. Sommerfeldt’s penultimate bomb, an HE, fell at Scrafield, with the final bomb, an incendiary, landing at Fulletby at 1.30am, neither causing any damage. L 21 then returned to the coast, which she reached at 2.00am near Wainfleet.

Hauptmann Kuno Manger brought L 14 in over the Lincolnshire coast at Friskney, north of Boston, at 12.45am, however she remained in the proximity of Boston for some time, only passing Coningsby at 2.20am, just 15 miles inland. Ten minutes later L 14 dropped five HE bombs and seven incendiaries over Blankney Dales followed a few minutes later by an HE bomb that fell at Kirkstead. The only damage caused by these 13 bombs was a broken window at the latter place. Just over two miles to the north, Manger then released 11 HE bombs over the village of Stixwould. Five of these failed to detonate and although the others caused no structural damage, they did kill a horse and three sheep. Another couple of miles on and an HE bomb landed harmlessly at Bucknall where L 14 changed on to a north-east course and, at 2.55am, dropped an incendiary at Horsington without effect. A broken window was the only result of four HE and two incendiaries bombs dropped five minutes later over Hemingby. Over the next few minutes L 21 continued to bombard this remote rural area; four HE bombs fell at Goulceby and another at Stenigot. At 3.10am Manger discharged his final bomb, an HE, which landed without harm in Burwell Woods south of Louth. Now just nine miles from the coast, L 14 went out to sea at Mablethorpe at 3.20am.

Zeppelin L 17, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hermann Kraushaar, crossed the north Norfolk coast at Weybourne at 1.45am but appears to have experienced navigation problems. Following a course southwards, he reached Guestwick at 2.10am and Reepham ten minutes later. A change of course took L 17 to the east of East Dereham and Shipdham, reaching Hingham at 2.46am where she turned to the north-east and at 3.10am dropped an HE bomb at Marlingford and another moments later at Easton; neither caused any damage. Passing to the north of Norwich, L 17 was now heading back to the coast, which she reached at Caister at 3.35am. Records show that she jettisoned a number of bombs when back out over the sea.