28/29 July 1916                 

Bombed:

Lincs., Norfolk & E. Yorks.

Due to the long light evenings of summer, this was the first Zeppelin raid for three months. Of the ten Navy Zeppelins that set out, four turned back early. Thick sea fog and heavy coastal mist severely hampered the raid and only one, L 13, penetrated a significant distance inland.

Commanded by Kapitänleutnant Eduard Prölss, L 13 came inland at North Somercoates on the Lincolnshire coast at 12.37am and embarked on a tour of the county with very little effect. Initially heading towards Lincoln, at 1.10am L 13 dropped a high-explosive (HE) and incendiary bomb on the village of Fiskerton, about six miles east of Lincoln, which broke windows in a house and a chapel. Prölss passed to the south of Lincoln and continued towards Newark, dropping an incendiary at Bassingham that landed harmlessly. Turning south, L 13 passed to the east of Newark, dropping a single incendiary bomb at Long Bennington before being attracted to the lights of a moving train on the line between Newark and Grantham. L.13 then dropped 27 bombs (10 x HE & 17 incendiary) which all fell between 50 and 500 yards of the railway. Two of the HE bombs fell at Stubton, breaking windows in a house, as did the four HE bombs that landed at Dry Doddington. Then, at about 2.00am, the remaining bombs all landed within 200 yards of Hougham station without causing any damage. L 13 then headed eastwards and went out to sea over the Wash, just north-east of Boston, at about 2.30am.

Zeppelin L 24, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Robert Koch, approached the mouth of the Humber at Kilnsea, crossed the estuary to Immingham, before dropping six HE bombs at 1.10am which landed on Stallingborough Marsh, near to Immingham Halt station. One of the bombs fell near the electric railway line, breaking electricity wires and windows in a hut. A 12-pdr gun at Immingham Halt hopefully fired off two rounds into the fog, but without result. L 24 exited on a north-east course across the Humber towards Withernsea where a 3-pdr and a 6-pdr gun briefly engaged through the fog, each getting off a single round. For some reason Koch then steered north and came inland again briefly just south of Bridlington. He went towards Driffield but before he reached it he headed back to the coast at Hornsea, where he aimed two bombs at a Swedish merchant ship anchored off the town; both missed.

Kapitänleutnant Herbert Ehrlich, commanding L 17, appeared near Grimsby at the mouth of the Humber at about 12.10am. He headed north-west along the southern bank of the river in thick fog. A searchlight at Chase Hill Farm, North Killingholme, briefly opened up and

L 17 responded by releasing eight HE and three or four incendiary bombs over Killingholme at about 12.45am; one fell on a road, the rest in fields. They caused no damage. Three minutes later he dropped another two HE and two incendiaries. These fell at East Halton. The two incendiaries set fire to a large straw stack on Manor Farm and an HE bomb exploded on a farm on Mill Lane where it killed a calf, damaged the farmhouse and demolished some outbuildings, while also causing minor damage to four cottages nearby. The other HE bomb landed in a field on Ash Tree Farm, damaging the windows of the farmhouse and those of two other cottages. Ehrlich then took

L 17 back across the Humber and headed towards the coast, passing out to sea between Hornsea and Withernsea at about 1.10am.

Kapitänleutnant Erich Sommerfeldt, commanding L 16, approached the Norfolk coast at 12.50am but appears to have struggled with the fog. He came inland over Brancaster Bay, passed over Thornham and released a flare over Ringstead. At Hunstanton L 16 turned south towards Heacham, which she reached at 1.15am. She then probed south of the town, dropping two incendiary bombs over Snettisham before heading out over the Wash. She came back inland at Heacham, then returned to Brancaster Bay and headed out to sea at about 1.45am.

Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy commanded L 31, one of the new ‘super Zeppelins’ as the British dubbed them, on her first flight to England. She came inland near Corton, just north of Lowestoft at about 1.15am. In the heavy fog Mathy first steered towards Beccles, then Bungay, but turned back to the east before reaching that town. He returned to the coast and, having circled there for a short time, went out to sea over Kessingland at about 1.50am. Unable to identify any targets, Mathy released no bombs overland.

The last raider to come inland, Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schutze’s L 11, approached Sheringham on the north Norfolk coast at 2.35am, dropping an HE bomb that landed in the sea. Five minutes later L 11 came inland at Weybourne, dropping an HE bomb in a field, killing a cow and dislodging roof tiles. Schutze released a flare over Holt and then, at 2.45am, dropped an HE bomb at Sharrington without damage. Another followed a few minutes later at Gunthorpe with a similar result. Turning eastwards, L 11 then headed back to the coast where she next dropped a HE bomb at Paston, near Mundesley at 3.20am (also, possibly an incendiary). Then, as she went out to sea over Mundesley, L 11 dropped a final HE and incendiary bomb. The incendiary landed about 300 yards from an AA gun positioned on Stow Hill. 

31 Jul/1 Aug 1916           

Bombed:

Lincs., Norfolk, Suffolk,

Cambs. & Kent 

Another large air raid, involving eight Zeppelins, but again effects were minimal. Areas of mist and fog did not help either the attackers find targets or the defenders to engage.

L 14, commanded by Hauptmann Kuno Manger, came inland over the Wash close to Sutton Bridge at about 12.10am. Taking a southerly course, L 14 dropped two high-explosive (HE) and two incendiary bombs at 12.33am at March. Landing close to the railway at Whitemoor Junction, one of the bombs cut through three telegraph wires. Turning east, L 14 dropped an incendiary at Hockwold, which failed to ignite, before releasing seven HE and an incendiary at 1.30am, on Croxton Heath, north of Thetford. A short while before L 22 had dropped a flare there, causing the heath to burn. Presuming an important target lay below, Manger added his bombs to the fire. Fifteen minutes later L 14 dropped two incendiaries at Bunwell, then a single incendiary half a mile east of the station at Buckenham. She then followed the railway line to Reedham, dropping four HE bombs at 2.05am, before going back out to sea just south of Great Yarmouth at 2.15am. 

L 22, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich, came inland near Lowestoft at 10.30pm and followed a south-westerly course, dropping her first bomb, an incendiary, at the village of Poslingford at 11.45pm. After changing course twice, attracted by a light at West Wickham aerodrome, L 22 dropped four HE bombs at 12.20am, one of which landed on the airfield and the others within 300 yards of it. Five minutes later she dropped six incendiary bombs in fields near Haverhill Gasworks, followed by five HE bombs at Withersfield, breaking windows in four houses. A HE bomb at Great Wratting failed to explode. Next, L 22 approached Thetford at 1.25m, aiming three HE bombs at Snarehill airfield south-east of the town, but without damage. Over Croxton Heath, L 22 released a flare and started the fire that attracted

L 14. Dietrich then released six HE and four incendiaries near Hevingham, where bomb splinters injured a horse. The final bomb, an incendiary, landed at Burgh-next-Aylsham, before L 22 passed out to sea between Mundesley and Happisburgh at 2.10am.

L 16, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Erich Sommerfeldt, crossed the coast near Skegness at about 11.35pm, shortly after L 14. She dropped only six incendiary bombs, causing no damage. Proceeding across Lincolnshire towards Newark, she dropped two incendiaries at Caythorpe at 1.35am. Five minutes later L 16 dropped another at Skinnand, followed at 1.55am by one at Langford Common. Turning for the coast, she dropped two final bombs, at Metheringham at 2.15am and West Ashby at 2.25am, before heading out to sea near Mablethorpe.

L 13, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Eduard Prölss, came inland over the Wash. First sighted near Sutton Bridge at 11.55pm, five minutes later he dropped an incendiary at Walpole St. Peter. Prölss then passed King’s Lynn and at West Newton, near Sandringham, he dropped another incendiary at about 12.15am. Heading east, Prölss dropped an incendiary at West Rudham, followed by another at Guist and an HE and two incendiaries near Cawston at 12.40am. L 13 went out to sea at Cromer at 1.00am.

Kapitänleutnant Herbert Ehrlich brought L 17 inland just north of Great Yarmouth at about 11.45 and appeared to be heading for Norwich. He dropped an incendiary (or a flare) at Bixley, just to the south-east of the city, but then passed to the south of it. Then, following a north-west course L 17 reached Tuddenham at 12.45am where a flare was burning on the airfield and a searchlight was active at Honingham. Ehrlich released 10 HE bombs over East Tuddenham and another seven HE and five incendiary bombs between there and Honingham where 13 telegraph wires were broken. He then returned to the coast, going out between Mundesley and Bacton at about 1.40am.

Kapitänleutnant Otto von Schubert, commanding L 23 over England for the first time, did not stay long. He crossed the coast south of Kessingland at about 11.15 and came inland for a short distance, flying south roughly parallel with the coast. At Wangford he turned back to the sea and dropped his only bomb of the raid, an incendiary, which landed on Southwold common at 11.35pm. Fortunately it missed an ammunition store by 20 yards.

L 11, commanded by Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schutze, crossed the coast west of Cley-next-the-Sea at around 2.00am. He dropped an incendiary on the sands at Warham Hole, from where he followed a course to the south-east, dropping further bombs at Binham (an incendiary), a flare at Field Dalling, another incendiary at Gunthorpe, followed by a flare at Briningham and another at Briston, and both a HE and incendiary bomb at Thurning. Here the only damage occurred. The HE bomb landed on a farm owned by James Gay of Thurning Hall, damaging roof tiles, smashing glass in a cottage door and injuring two bullocks, one of which had to be slaughtered. Schutze then dropped an incendiary at Wood Dalling and another at Cawston before he altered his course to the east, releasing an incendiary at Wroxham at 2.45am, followed by one at Hovetown St. John and another at Neatishead. L 11 went out to sea at between Horsey and Winterton at 3.00pm.

The eighth Zeppelin to appear over Britain, L 31, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy, attacked north-east Kent. She dropped a number of bombs at sea as she approached. Coming inland between Westgate and Margate at 11.25pm, she then headed towards Ramsgate. Searchlights picked her up and two 12-pdr guns at Manston airfield fired off 16 rounds, while the two 12-pdrs at Ramsgate got off one round each before both went out of action. There were no hits. L 31 responded by dropping three HE bombs. They fell in a field on the outskirts of Ramsgate, smashing the windows of 10 houses and a greenhouse. The blast also broke windows a mile and a half away at Westwood. L 31 dropped more bombs in the sea as she remained off the coast for a while before finally turning for home.