Strategic bombing during World War I

Strategic bombing during World War I (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918)

Strategic bombing during World War I was mostly done by the United Kingdom and France for the Entente Powers and by Germany for the Central Powers. Many countries in the war used some form of strategic bombing. Bombing of cities from the air started when Germany began bombing cities early in the war. A plan for air forces to attack Germany together was talked about but never happened.

Early attempts at strategic bombing led to the creation of special bomber airplanes during World War I. At first, bombs were dropped by hand and aimed without special tools. But by the end of the war, bombsights were developed. World War I also saw the start of air raid warnings and shelters, as well as the design of anti-aircraft artillery and ways to organize air defenses. Many people who supported strategic bombing later, such as Italy's Giulio Douhet, America's Billy Mitchell, and Britain's Hugh Trenchard, led airplane groups during World War I. Improvements in airplane technology during and after the war made many believe that "the bomber will always get through", and this idea shaped plans for strategic bombing during World War II.

Germany

Main article: German strategic bombing during World War I

The first strategic bombing in history happened when a German airship dropped bombs on the city of Liège in Belgium in 1914. After that, German pilots dropped bombs on Paris, France. Later, Germany used airships to bomb cities in England. At first, the German leader tried not to bomb London, but this changed when England bombed German cities.

These bombings damaged buildings and hurt people, but they did not change the war much. Germany later used bigger airplanes instead of airships. Even with many attacks, the damage was not huge, and people in London used shelters to stay safe.

Britain

The Royal Naval Air Service carried out the first strategic bombing missions on 22 September 1914 and 8 October 1914. They targeted Zeppelin bases in Cologne and Düsseldorf. The airplanes used twenty-pound bombs and destroyed at least one airship. Later, on 21 November 1914, they flew over Lake Constance to attack Zeppelin factories in Friedrichshafen and Ludwigshafen. On 25 December, the Cuxhaven Raid became the first attack using sea-based airplanes launched from ships. The RNAS also attacked Constantinople in 1915 and 1917.

After the Royal Air Force was formed on 1 April 1918, the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George promised to respond to German air raids. On 19 July, the first aircraft carrier-based air raid in history, the Tondern raid, targeted a German Zeppelin base. The British created the Independent Force on 6 June 1918 to carry out long-range bombing on industrial targets deep in German territory. Although the war ended before Britain’s large Handley Page V/1500 bomber could be used, the British dropped bombs on Germany. The planned first raid on Berlin was cancelled when the war ended with the armistice.

France

France made a special bombing group called Groupe de Bombardement No. 1 (GB1) in September 1914. The French tried not to bomb their own land, even if German forces were there. They were also afraid of German attacks because their cities were close to Germany. Still, GB1 flew far behind enemy lines. They hit German supplies and troops to help the French Army. They used light bombers and sometimes changed reconnaissance craft to carry bombs. One key plane they used was the Breguet 14, made from 1917 to 1926.

On December 4, 1914, French pilots bombed the city of Freiburg im Breisgau for the first time. This was the start of such attacks by the Entente powers.

Italy

On 1 November 1911, during the Italo-Turkish War, the Kingdom of Italy did something new. Giulio Gavotti dropped bombs from a plane on Turkish positions in the Libyan desert. This was the first time anyone used a plane to drop bombs in war.

During World War I, Italy decided not to bomb places where people lived. This was because many of these places had Italian people living there, or Italy wanted to claim them after the war. Before Italy joined the war, they had big bombers. Giovanni Caproni built the Caproni Ca.1 in 1914. This plane could carry four small bombs.

In August 1915, these planes were used by the 21° Squadriglia of the Corpo Aeronautico Militare. Between October and November 1915, these planes attacked Austro-Hungarian railroads and supply places. Later, Ansaldo SVA planes did photography and attacks. On 28 February 1918, four SVA planes flew from Ponte San Pietro to strike Innsbruck. They targeted the railroad yards there. Innsbruck and Bolzano were attacked again on 29 October 1918.

Gabriele D'Annunzio flew over Vienna in August 1918. He dropped leaflets warning that he would return with bombs, but no more raids happened before the war ended.

Russia

The Russian Empire had a special airplane called the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets during the first year of the war. This airplane could carry many bombs and stay in the air for a long time.

In August 1914, Russia made a group of these airplanes for bombing missions. They placed them near Warsaw. Their main targets were places where supplies were kept, where soldiers gathered, and transportation networks like train stations on the Eastern Front.

In August 1915, Russian airplanes bombed a city called Constantinople.

Austria-Hungary

During World War I, pilots from Austria-Hungary dropped bombs on Venice. This happened more often as fighting came closer to the city. On February 27, 1918, one big attack hurt parts of central Venice. To stay safe, people in Venice turned off lights and covered shiny things to hide the city at night. The bombings made life harder for the people there.