5th August 1918 On this day: Daily Activity   9th Btn. (North Irish Horse) the Royal Irish Fusiliers. Mont des Cats. Wesleyan and Presbyterians paraded at 1430 for Church with 12th Royal Irish Rifles. Church of Ireland service was held at 1800. No work was done at night. War Diaries Zeppelin Raids on Britain   The last Zeppelin raid on Britain took place on 5 August 1918 when four Zeppelins bombed targets in the Midlands and the North of England. The airships reached the British coast before dark, and were sighted by the Leman Tail lightship 30 mi (48 km) northeast of Happisborough at 2010, although defending aircraft were not alerted until 2050. Despite thick cloud two aircraft from Yarmouth succeeded in intercepting the recently commissioned LZ112 (L70), which was carrying Peter Strasser, Commander of the Airship Operations as an observer, and shot it down in flames. Egbert Cadbury and Robert Leckie flying a DH.4 were credited with the victory. The remaining airships dropped their bombs blind, relying on radio bearings for navigational information: none fell on land. A substantial effort was made to salvage the wreckage of L70 and most of the structure was eventually brought ashore, providing the British a great deal of technical information. The bodies of the crew members were buried at sea. Sopwith Camel N6620 of 273 Squadron from Burgh Castle was one of the many aircraft sent up in an attempt to intercept the Zeppelins. It failed to return and pilot Lt G.F. Hodson is recorded as Missing in Action. DH9 D5802 took off from Yermouth and also failed to return. Pilot Capt D.G.B Jardine and observer Lt E.R. Munday (Canadian) were posted Missing. Jardine's body was later found on the coast in Jutland. John Doran  Routine Training and appointments    By the beginning of 1917 the German High Command was losing faith in the extremely costly air ships campaign, which overall had wreaked only limited structural damage on Great Britain. From May 1917 most bombing raids were carried out by the Gotha bombers although, with a more limited range, these operations were largely limited to London and the South East. There were only seven airship-raids in 1917 and four in 1918. The final airship raid on Great Britain took place on the 5th August 1918. The command airship was shot down over the North Sea by the gunner of a British DH4 twin-seater aircraft flying from South Denes aerodrome, Great Yarmouth. The German Leader of Airships, Peter Strasser, and his 23 crew were all killed. The remaining four airships hurriedly and mistakenly dropped their bombs into the English Channel and turned for home. The total number of airship attacks on Britain between 1915 and 1918 probably numbered only a total of 12 raids on London and 40 more over the rest of the country, but the Zeppelin was very effective in drawing RFC and RNAS resources away from the battle front. By December 1916 at the height of the Zeppelin threat 17,340 officers and men were in the AA service together with 12 RFC squadrons comprised of 200 officers, 2,000 other ranks and 110 aircraft for home defence duties. By 1918, facing the raids by Gotha bombers, there were 55 Home Defence Squadrons. The threat of bombing certainly reduced the numbers of effective squadrons and trained pilots at the front and thus reduced the pressure on the German front line. The First Air Raid on Lancashire: The Zeppelin Menace By Scott Carter-Clavell    SWARTEN BROUGH Nothing to report. 18th DLI war diary WO95/2361/1  Baths  Working Parties and Training  Special Order  Football  Reliefs Complete  7th Battalion, East Kent Regiment (The Buffs).  Training  Reliefs  A Lecture  Horse Show  Training  Training  Training  A report having been received that the enemy had evacuated posts on our left  Quiet Day  Officers joined the Battalion  Bivouacked with IV Brigade RHA  Patrols  Training  Records Cleaning  Operational Orders No.44.  Inspections.  Day O.P. established in "No Man's Land"  Operational Order.  Tanks parked up  Patrols Can you add to this factual information? Do you know the whereabouts of a unit on a particular day? Do you have a copy of an official war diary entry? Details of an an incident? The loss of a ship? A letter, postcard, photo or any other interesting snipts? If your information relates only to an individual, eg. enlistment, award of a medal or death, please use this form: Add a story.

Killed, Wounded, Missing, Prisoner and Patient Reports published this day. This section is under construction.

Want to know more about 5th of August 1918? There are:30 items tagged 5th of August 1918 available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.

Remembering those who died this day, 5th of August 1918. Rfmn. William Agnew. 15th (Service) Btn. Read their Story. Pte. John Garland Hume. 1st Btn East Yorkshire Regiment Read their Story. Sepoy. Sher Dil Khan. Read their Story. Pte. Isaac Lee. 5th Btn. Royal Irish Fusiliers Pte. Richard Samuel Warner. 1st Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers Read their Story. Add a name to this list.

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