WWI Zeppelin Crew Left To Die In North Sea - 1916

“War is hell” so the old adage goes. Far too true for the 16 German soldiers that survived the crash of a Zeppelin in the North Sea, only to be left to die by a British skipper and his crew.

Capt. Odo Lowe

It was January 31, 1916 when nine German zeppelins headed out to bomb the English Midlands. Commanded by Captain Lieutenant Odo Lowe, the L-19, a German Imperial Navy Zeppelin, was on her first bombing raid after having spent the previous autumn as a scouting vessel over the North Sea.

The surprise raid was one of the largest launched against Britain during WW1. It was considered a success with the Germans dropping close to 400 bombs on the villages of Burton on Trent, Birmingham and Tipton. The L-19 caused no damage, unlike her sister ships, which killed more than 70 people and injured another 113.

German L-19

But on her return flight, engine problems began to develop for the L-19. With a malfunctioning radio, and three of her four engines failing, the airship came under fire from the Dutch as it drifted over Holland, a neutral country. The shooting punctured the gas cells, and the airship crashed into the North Sea during the night of February 1 – 2, 1916. Two crew members were killed, but 15 men and Captain Lowe survived.

Print of L-19 and King Stephen Fishing Vessel

The next morning, February 2, the King Stephen, a British fishing vessel, arrived at the wreckage site, after following the L-19’s distress signals for most of the night. The trawler’s skipper, William Martin with his crew of nine men, waited until daylight before approaching the broken zeppelin. There they discovered 16 German soldiers waiting on top of the sinking airship. Captain Lowe requested that his men be rescued, but Martin refused to give aid. Instead he sailed back to his homeport of Grimsby, Britain before reporting the downed airship to authorities.

The weather was growing worse as the airmen watched Martin’s vessel disappear. Those that could wrote out short messages for their loved ones and placed them in bottles to be thrown into the sea.

Captain Lowe’s final note read:

"With fifteen men on the top platform and backbone girder of the L 19, floating without gondolas in approximately 3 degrees East longitude, I am attempting to send a last report. Engine trouble three times repeated, a light wind on the return journey delayed our return and, in the mist, carried us over Holland where I was received with heavy rifle fire; the ship became heavy and simultaneously three engines broke down. 2 February 1916, towards one o'clock, will apparently be our last hour.”

Martin said later that he refused to rescue the airmen because he was afraid the Germans would overpower his crew and take control of the boat. 

Almost 50 years later a remaining crewman reported that Martin had been fishing in prohibited waters and knew if he’d returned with rescued soldiers, he would have had to report where he had been, which would have resulted in his being banned from fishing for breaking the law. Instead, the skipper gave Royal Navy authorities false coordinates for the downed zeppelin so no one would ever know he'd been fishing illegally.

 

The British, and the world, were divided on their sentiments. Some saw Martin’s act of abandonment as necessary in order to protect his crew. Others saw it as an act of retribution for the Germans having bombed civilian targets on January 31.

But still others felt that Martin’s refusal to save the men had been unpardonably cruel. The thought of leaving 16 helpless men to drowned in the North Sea – enemy or not – did not sit well with the morality of British citizens.

German Propaganda medal

The Germans used the incident for propaganda with an anti-British medal designed  showing the men on the L-19 being abandoned to the sea.

English Postal Box

The King Stephen never sailed again as a fishing vessel. The British Navy took it over as a Q-ship, and the Germans sunk it three months later. Captain William Martin died just over a year after the incident of heart failure. During his last year, Martin continued to receive letters and messages of support, along with death threats and hate mail.

~ Joy

100 Years Ago - First Aerial Bombing Raid On Britain

One hundred years ago World War One was gaining momentum across Europe. But on the evening of January 19, 1915 the war took a turn that made all participants realize it was not going to be like any other war.

On the night of January 19, three German Naval Zeppelins, L3, L4 and L6 were to carry out the first strategic bombing raid, but airship L6 had mechanical problems and had to turn around. Dirigibles L3 and L4 proceeded on toward the target, the town of Humberside, but strong winds forced the raid to end quickly, so the Zeppelins sought targets of opportunity on which to unload their bombs.

The towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn on the eastern coast of England were hit, instead. Four people were killed when bombs fell from the sky: Martha Taylor and Sam Smith died in Great Yarmouth, Alice Gazely and Percy Goate were killed in King’s Lynn that night; the first aerial bombing raid had been completed.

Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin

The first idea for a Zeppelin came about in 1874 and was built in 1893. Germany embraced and patented the balloon in 1895. (The U.S. issued a similar patented in 1899.) Named for its inventor, Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, the rigid steel-framed airship was propelled with a motor and carried a crew of about 20, along with massive amounts of hydrogen gas for fuel. The dirigible was first used to carry passengers between German cities in 1910. But the Zeppelin was temperamental and not sturdy in high winds; it could be brought down by any adverse weather and most ended their careers crashing to the ground due to high winds and bursting into flames.

Zeppelin Caught in Spotlights

Since the Zeppelin did not stand up well to being fired at (hydrogen gas was extremely flammable), the Germans decided to use the dirigibles for bombing villages and towns that did not have weapons or military stations, thereby killing or wounding civilians in an attempt to lower the morale of the English.

Instead of lowering morale, such raids only re-enforced the British sense of outrage and united English citizens against the Germans. Most Londoners would rush out into the streets when an air-raid signal was given in order to cheer on the English pilots defending their country against the Germans in the air.

Although the dirigible could travel great distances, antiaircraft fire rendered the airship practically useless in war compared to the airplanes being used in battle.  By 1915, the main use of the Zeppelin was for reconnaissance over the Baltic and North Seas. By the end of the year, the German Navy had 15 airships in commission. The air raids continued into 1916. By 1917, the Zeppelin could now fly higher with an altitude of 16,500 feet and a ceiling of 21,000 feet, but high winds and engine problems continued to plague the ships. They were soon replaced by airplanes, which could carry more bombs, resulting in more deaths, injuries and damage.

In all, 84 Zeppelins were built by Germany during the war: over 60 were lost – half to accidents, weather and mechanical problems: the other half due to repercussions from the enemy. German Zeppelins took part in over 50 bombing raids on Britain during WWI, killing 557 people and injuring 1,358.

In the Treaty of Versailles it was stated that Germany could not keep any “dirigibles … dirigible sheds or shelters, or … plants for the manufacture of hydrogen.”

It would take a few years before Germany, again, became openly involved with the production of Zeppelins, this time for the purpose of carrying passengers and mail across the ocean, and around the world.

~ Joy