Airships - Germany: books - history, types and deployment

Zeppelin Blitz - The German Air Raids on Great Britain During the First World War

In the early years of the First World War, German lighter-than-air flying machines, Zeppelins, undertook a series of attacks on the British mainland. German military strategy was to subdue Britain, both by the damage these raids caused and by the terrifying nature of the craft that carried them out. This strategy proved successful.

The early raids caused significant damage, many civilian casualties and provoked terror and anger in equal measure. But the British rapidly learnt how to deal with these futuristic monsters.
A variety of defence mechanisms were developed: searchlights, guns and fighter aircraft were deployed, the British learnt to pick up the airships' radio messages and a central communications headquarters was set up. Within months aerial strategy and its impact on the lives of civilians and the course of conflict became part of human warfare.

As the Chief of the Imperial German Naval Airship Division, Peter Strasser, crisply put it: 'There is no such thing as a non-combatant any more. Modern war is total war.' "Zeppelin Blitz" is the first full, raid-by-raid, year-by-year account of the Zeppelin air raids on Britain during the First World War, based on contemporary official reports and documents.

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Zeppelins Over the Midlands : The Air Raids of 31st January 1916

On 31st January 1916 nine Zeppelin airships of the Imperial German Navy bombed the Midlands, opening a strategic bombing campaign designed to cripple British war production. It ended in total failure.

The main target was Liverpool but none of the Zeppelins reached it. On foggy Monday night several major Midlands towns were bombed and 70 people killed, 35 in the Black Country between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, 15 in Burton on Trent, 10 in Loughborough, 5 in Derby, 3 in Scunthorpe and 2 in Ilkeston.

A lot is known about the military aspects of the raids but much less is known about what happened on the ground. While the press produced many human interest stories and atrocity propaganda, wartime censorship prohibited publication of any information that could be useful to the Germans, including the towns hit and names of the victims.
Through intensive research the author has been able to identify many of the victims and give the full story of these events for the first time.

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Zeppelin vs British Home Defence 1916-1918 (Osprey)

When Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin's rigid airship LZ 1 flew over Lake Constance in 1900, it was the most advanced and impressive flying machine in the world: a colossal, lighter-than-air craft capable of controlled flight.

In World War I, Zeppelins were first used in a reconnaissance role, but on 19 January 1915 Kaiser Wilhelm II authorised their use in bombing strategic targets in England. From then on, "Zeppelin" became synonymous with terror to the British, and indeed the airship's effectiveness was more psychological than material.
Still, their raids compelled the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service to embark on a program of modernising their aerial defences, accelerating a process that would ultimately make the aeroplane, rather than the airship, the paramount flying machine of the war.

Using specially commissioned artwork, contemporary photographs and first-hand accounts, this book tells the fascinating story of Britain's first Blitz, from the airships who terrorised the public to the men who sought to defend the skies.

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Die Hindenburg - Höhepunkt und tragisches Ende der Zeppeline

The Zeppelin LZ 129 "Hindenburg" was the largest aircraft ever to take to the skies, and the journey in such a giant was incomparably luxurious. The ocean was crossed in style - there was even a grand piano on board.

Michael Belafi focuses his book on the fascination of the Zeppelins and the technology of the "Hindenburg" - and does so in previously unpublished or rarely seen photographs.
An extraordinary and impressive illustrated book about the luxury liner "Hindenburg" - up to the tragic accident at Lakehurst and the end of a unique era. A contemporary document!

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LZ 129 Hindenburg - Faszination Zeppelin

Using impressive photos, Barbara Waibel, director of the Zeppelin Archive in Friedrichshafen, reviews the history of the legendary LZ 129, the "Hindenburg". She offers fascinating insights into the construction and inner workings of the flying hotel and gives an overview of the history of probably the most famous airship of all time.
An exciting journey into the great era of the flying giants, and not just for technology enthusiasts!

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