The Zeppelin War: the archaeology of the First Blitz

Dr Neil Faulkner, Director of the Great War Archaeology Group, University College London Recent Lecture

At the beginning of his talk to a packed audience Dr Faulkner posed the question whether the study of modern conflict was truly archaeology. His account of the work of the First Blitz Project and the unprecedented number of questions and comments from the audience vividly demonstrated the importance of capturing evidence, both visual and oral, before memories are lost for ever.

The First World War witnessed the earliest use of strategic bombing campaigns aimed at undermining the enemy’s morale and capability to resist. Britain was totally unprepared in 1915 when the first Zeppelin raids commenced on London and other strategic military and industrial sites, causing horror and panic among the population. In response to public anger, the Government was forced to channel significant resources into developing an effective air defence system. This included anti-aircraft guns, searchlights and home defence squadrons, supported by listening stations which could detect the drone of Zeppelins flying above cloud level and intercept German wireless messages. Both sides embarked on a technological race, with the Germans designing airships which could operate at ever higher altitudes whilst the British sought to develop more powerful guns and fighter planes to shoot them down.

Count von Zeppelin, a retired Army officer, was interested in the military applications of his invention in 1900. The technology was subsequently adopted in a number of countries but only Germany used Zeppelins to pioneer strategic bombing of enemy industry, infrastructure and civilians.

Whilst Zeppelins were attached to both the German Army and Navy, it was the elite and committed Navy crews, commanded by Peter Strasser, who led the raids on Britain. Strasser was convinced that strategic bombing could significantly affect the outcome of the war and used his considerable technical knowledge and influence to secure continued investment in expansion of the programme in spite of costly setbacks. Between June 1915 and August 1918, 53 Zeppelin raids, consisting of 1-17 craft, were launched on Britain, although the destruction of 4 Zeppelins in 1916 effectively secured British air supremacy, causing the Germans to shift to conventional aircraft, such as Gothas and Giants, as vehicles for their bombing.

In June 2006 the First Blitz Project, with financial support from the BBC, started to investigate a 40km area around the Lea Valley, which would have been the main route for German bombers approaching London. Aerial observation enabled the archaeologists to map all military features within this area, including airbases, munitions factories, listening stations and anti-aircraft gun bases. A number of these structures still exist, serving as barns, garages or outbuildings, whilst others, such as gun emplacements, were re-used during the Second World War. Various combinations of desk and field research, geophysics, metal detection and excavation were adopted to examine specific features in more detail.

Because of the secret nature of their operations, records of military structures are scarce. However, the archaeologists found relics where least expected, e.g. a Marconi listening station subsequently incorporated into a holiday chalet at Hunstanton The Project also undertook the first excavation of a Zeppelin crash site at Theberton in Suffolk, where the L48 had been brought down by 3 British fighter planes in June 1917. Although much of the debris had been removed shortly after the crash by military analysts and local souvenir hunters, modern metal detection traced further remains in the plough soil. However, no point of impact could be identified, proving that the light weight of the airship would cause it to flop to the ground and burn up, leaving no trace below the level of the plough soil.

In hindsight it is debateable whether the impact of the German bombing campaign merited the investment in designing new craft, building larger sheds and training crews. In physical and financial terms the damage inflicted on Britain was relatively limited. However, the psychological aim of causing disruption and panic among the workforce supporting the war effort was, at least initially, more successful and significant resources were diverted from battlefields aboard to defence of the homeland. This marked an irreversible change in the nature of warfare, effectively dissolving the distinction between battlefield and homeland and creating a new context for future archaeological studies of modern conflict.

Jennifer Hunt