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German Bombers of WWI in action (Aircraft 173) By Peter Cooksley, Ernesto Cumpian

Great Britain was separated from the European land mass by the English Channel, a meager strip of water measuring some 22 miles (35.4 km) wide. That the island nation was a potential target for enemy aircraft was made clear when Louis Bleriot crossed the Channel by air in 1909 — a mere six years after the Wright Brothers made their historic flight in 1903. German aware­ness of the situation was demonstrated only weeks after the outbreak of war in 1914. Major Wilhelm Siegert submitted to the Oberste Heeresleitung (HLL - the German High Command) plans to raid the South-East of England using aircraft flying from Calais. This was a seeming­ly simple proposition since it appeared likely that the French town of Calais would soon be in the hands of the rapidly-advancing German Army. Progress of the German Army, however, was unexpectedly halted and the intended bombing force was withdrawn to Menz. Despite the disruption of Maj Siegert's plan, Dover was attacked in daylight air raids on 21 and 24 December 1914, and the London docks were bombed on Christmas Day — all by lone, single-engine Friedrichshafen FF22 floatplanes. These attacks by single-engined aircraft occurred before the introduction of the much-feared bombing attacks by German lighter than air dirigi­bles, which began on the night of 19/20 January 1915.

There would be nearly two years of German airship raids before a land-based aeroplane raid­ed Britain's capital during the morning of 28 November 1916. Pilot Deck Offizier Paul Brandt and Leutnant Walther Ilges climbed aboard their single-engine L.V.G. C IV (No. 272/16) at Markiakerke near Ostend, Belgium. Their mission was to carry out the most audacious bomb­ing sortie of the war to date. The two men set course for London with the intention of bomb­ing the Admiralty building near Buckingham Palace. For some unexplained reason, the flight of the L.V.G. C IV passed unnoticed by British defenses and arrived over London at 1150 hrs at an altitude of 13,000 feet (3962 m). The two immediately set about dropping the first of their tiny 22 lb (10 kg) high explosive bombs. It is impossible to say whether judgement or luck favored their aim, because the bombs fell between the fashionable shopping area of Brompton Road and Victoria railway station — approximately seven miles (11.3 km) from the intended target. From that point, the courageous flyers' luck began to run out. Having crossed the town of Hastings on the south coast and headed out over the English Channel without interference, their so-far reliable engine began giving them trouble before finally failing. A forced landing had to be made near Boulogne at 1415 hours. Both Brandt and Ilges were captured.

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