War in the Air - Bombing Civilian Targets (2)

Question 1

When was the first night-fighter aircraft deployed in Britain and when were the first Gotha’s shot down?

Answer 1

• December 1917 the first night-fighter aircraft was deployed over Britain
• First Gotha shot down over Essex in January 1918 by two Camel fighters

Question 2

What unorthodox and orthodox measures were in place for the defence against air raids?

Answer 2

• Unorthodox included floodlighting southeast England and flying tethered balloons linked by steel wires
• London was divided into air defence zones with AA guns positioned to create a ‘curtain of fire’ between the zones

Question 3

How did the British government try to improve the air raid warning system using placards?

Answer 3

• Police would warn of enemy aircraft by going through the streets with ‘take cover’ placards calling out and blowing whistles
• When ‘take cover’ sign was given people were expected to remain in shelter until bugles sounded the ‘all clear’

Question 4

How did the Government make the public aware of their new measures?

Answer 4

• They used the press

Question 5

What did Government leaflets contain?

Answer 5

• Silhouettes of 11 German and 13 British aircraft for easy identification
• People were advised to take cover if they saw a Gotha or another German aircraft
• Shelter meant the nearest house and people were not to stand in crowds and touch unexploded bombs

Question 6

What were the public expected to do if they saw a German plane?

Answer 6

• Inform the authorities by telephone with details of time, direction and whether it was an airship or aeroplane

Question 7

What did LADA have by April 1918 and what was the effect of this?

Answer 7

• 266 AA guns, 353 searchlights and over 270 day + night fighters
• Bombers impact was disproportionate to their numbers
  -A single aircraft required attention of AA funs, fighters and civil defences on the ground

Question 8

How were most Gotha’s lost?

Answer 8

Of 60 lost more than 2/3 came down in the sea or crashed due to pilot error or mechanical error

Question 9

How did the National War Aims Committee 1917 portray the air raids?

Answer 9

• They took it as an opportunity to talk up the frightfulness od German air war
• Press reports, posters and public meetings kept a focus on air raids despite the majority having never even experienced one

Question 10

What did the National War Aims committee’s cinema unit do?

Answer 10

Screened film of damage from German air raids as part of its campaign

Question 11

What did the media stress above all?

Answer 11

• The resilience of the public and the counter-productive efforts of Germany to brea the public
• Ministry of Information carried this on in 1918 seeking influence in foreign opinion

Question 12

What did PM Lloyd George say when visiting bomb damaged areas of London?

Answer 12

• He assured that they promised to bomb Germany ‘with compound interest’
• Public opinion demanded retaliation

Question 13

What was the result of the public wanting to retaliate against Germany?

Answer 13

• New Br bombers rushed into service
• 3,000 DH4 fast day bombers and 200 0/400 night bombers
• No.41 wing formed in Oct 1917 to continue air offensice

Question 14

When was the last German air raid on Britain ?

Answer 14

19th May 1918
- Public was told that its Air Force and defence system countered the raids but in actuality Britain was vulnerable

Question 15

What’d Liddel Hart say in his 1937 book, ‘Europe in Arms’ ?

Answer 15

• Argued the psychological impact was great
• People would now associate war with the idea of being bombed from the air with no defence