Location of the first aerial bomb dropped in WWI – Sheringham, United Kingdom - Atlas Obscura

Location of the first aerial bomb dropped in WWI

Sheringham, United Kingdom

 

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On the morning of January 19th 1915 two German Imperial Navy Zeppelin airships, the L3 and L4 took off from Fuhlsbüttel in Germany. Both airships carried 30 hours of fuel, 8 bombs and 25 incendiary devices. They had been given permission by the Emperor Wilhelm II to attack military and industrial buildings on Humberside. Zeppelins L4 plans to attack the Humber were foiled by bad weather. They were forced to switch their attacks to the coastal towns of Norfolk.

When Zeppelin L4 parted company with Zeppelin L3 it followed a route over the coastal villages of Brancaster, Sheringham, Holme-next-the-Sea, Heacham, Snettisham, Dersingham until it finally came to Kings Lynn, bombing as it went. Zeppelin L4 dropped the first bomb to fall on Britain soil at Sheringham, on the north Norfolk coast. Fortunately it did not explode, and was taken away by a local resident, who put the bomb in a bucket. A second bomb was dropped on Sheringham which did detonate but caused no damage.

Casualties were inflicted at Kings Lynn where Percy Goate(14) and Alice Gazely(26) were killed. Alice Gazely’s husband being killed in France a few weeks earlier. Zeppelin L4 was under the command of Kapitanleutnant Count Magnus von Platen-Hallermund who was born in Vienna on June 7th, 1880. His combat report described a mission which included battles over heavily fortified towns with barrages of anti-aircraft fire. All pure fantasy - not a shot was fired at the Zeppelins. The Count survived the First World War and was killed during an air raid on Hamburg on July 21st, 1943. Zeppelin L4 was lost over Denmark on February 17, 1915. The ship was damaged by bad weather and was forced to land. As the crew abandoned ship the lightened craft suddenly rose, with four of the crew still on board. Zeppelin L4 and the remainder of the crew were never seen again.