ZEPPELINS IN THE WAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 300, 10 March 1928, Page 10

ZEPPELINS IN THE WAR

GERMAN AUTHORS ON JIJTUND , An article by Capt. E. A. Lehmann ■■ and Howard Mingos in the new number of “The World To-day” deals with the German Zeppelin operations in the fir* 'half of 1916, and claims that the Zeppelins “saved the German fleet at Jut* i land.” The basis of that claim is “a secre*. British report dated September 21, 1917.” But in September. 1917, the fui! facts of Jutland, as they have recently been revealed in the fifth volume the German Official Naval History North Sea Operations, had not be« disclosed. Fog and mist prevented the Zeppelins from carrying out extensive reconnaissance on the eve of Jutland. 0* the morning of May 31, 1916. a f«* hours before the battle opened. fi v * Zeppelins (L 9. Ll 4, Ll 6. L2l. and UJ went up. but saw nothing of the Britist Three of them were near the scene of the battle but heard and saw nothttg After the Battle On the morning after the battle, wta* the British fleet was steaming norte away from the German coast. I*** sighted 12 British Dreadnoughts Mj was violently shelled by them their big guns. The fire was ineffective and J was no damage. Some shrapnel buiw were uncomfortably close. The airffP was jolted incessantly by the concuss* on all sides. Her framework was *#* ing badly shaken. , Her captain consequently increase the distance from the ships, and lost the British in the L 24 also sighted British destroy** that morning and was fired at by she afterwards made out 3battleships, presumably the vessels by Lll. Lost to Sight In the High Sea Fleet's sortie August, 1936. the British Grand was sighted by LI3. and it se«n though a great naval battle minent, when Ll 3 lost sight quarry. A line of thunderstorms pelled the Zeppelin to make a and when she managed to . r course the British could not . D I rn p<j tf No doubt they had become alarm the presence of the Zeppelin. There are also those who the German Fleet had become* at the news of the propinquity powerful Grand Fleet. „ / ttf The “remarkable heroism British anti-aircraft fs »**' early days of Zeppelin fighting _ tioned; and interesting aCCO given of various raids. ZepP^ At that date the British fighters had no effective s>* to the fatuous policy of composure” which t* l ® _ islf. adopted. Not till Septembe » incendiary bullets suppnea & airmen, and with these er€ huge unwieldy a irships 9 speedily overcome and « flames.