ABSTRACT
Von Zeppelin had considered the possibilities of lighter-than-air craft at least by 1874. On 2 August 1914, a German pilot bombed Luneville and on 14 August 1914, a French pilot reciprocated with a bombing raid on a Zeppelin hangar near Metz. In sum, terror, industrial absenteeism, community riots and anguish over the lack of defence were all present during the Zeppelin era in Great Britain. The production increase that Winston Churchill called for resulted in a sufficient supply on hand by the time of the first Zeppelin raids in 1915. Before the secret order of February 1915 which approved raids on London, Zeppelin attacks on other English targets had taken place. The official approval of Zeppelin raiding plans on England was given in a secret order by the Kaiser on 12 February 1915. Some historians state that history is best understood within the framework of‘challenge-response’ continuity. The chapter discusses with the first major aerial challenge to England.
