"Air Threat in WW1? " Topic

How credible is the air threat in ww1 to either the Grand or High Seas fleet from either Zeppelins or winged aircraft. Looking at the British fleet, the most that any ship seems to have is a couple HA 3" guns- otherwise most just have Maxim or Lewis Guns.

I know the Brits had a few carriers and both sides employed spotter planes (presumably with radios). Or for the Germans, also Zeppelins which in one-case misidentified a force as the Grand Fleet which led to an abortive raid. I also know that in at least one instance, a Zeppelin tried to bomb a British cruiser or capital ship but the ship managed to evade the threat.

I've also heard that against Zeppelins there was no real response as the guns were incapable of attacking them, though perhaps the 3" HA is an exception. And that in one operation, British carriers launched an unsuccessful bombing attack from the sea against Zeppelin hangars.

So while historically, air power had negligible impact in the naval war- what was the potential of the impact at that time given the forces and technology available?

Zeppelins were a real terror initially but for the most part they dropped from such an altitude that a normal maneuvering ship would watch for the drop and then evade. I know of no recorded instances where they actually hit something moving.

I rather think aiming would be a problem for aircraft of this period. The bombs used were small too, so unlikely to do much to a Dreadnought.

I think aircraft in WWI functioned mostly in a recon or spotting fall of shot mode. British aircraft were able to direct aim on Konigsberg hidden in the Rufiji Delta, for example.

A teacher in grad school collected interwar era novels describing the next war. One of the most optimistic had aircraft damaging ships , resulting in a naval battle that was more evenly balanced, i.e., even in the late 30s, people didn't think aircraft would be decisive in naval warfare.

Grelber

I do see that a British seaplane actually torpedoed a turkish supply ship and later a turkish tugboat. A short type 184 from Ben-my-Chree launched a 14" aerial torpedo at a Turkish ship which was apparently beached at the time, having been already torpedoed once before, then later he torpedoed a large tugboat and sank it.

That said an immobile supply ship or a tugboat is certainly not a battle line of Dreadnoughts steaming at 20kts. Also not sure how much real damage a 14" torpedo would do to most warships of cruiser size and above.

There were also some bombs dropped during the Cuxhaven raid, both against the british ships by the Germans and against German ships by one or two British seaplanes that had failed to find the Zeppelin sheds. In both events, no harm was done to either side.

Do not underestimate the seriousness with which air was seen as a threat. True, very few successful kinetic strikes on ships – no true warship was sunk by airpower during hostilities until FAA Skuas bagged the light cruiser Konigsberg during the Norwegian campaign in 1940 – but in the recce and anti-submarine patrol roles, very much feared. The Grand Fleet's hopes of a decisive battle vs the High Seas Fleet rested on the Germans walking into an unexpected fleet (qv Dogger and Jutland), so the Royal Navy worried that a Zeppelin in the wrong place could spoil everything for them. Hence the lead they took in developing carrier aviation – the aircraft carried by the capital ships and towed on lighters behind destroyers were not spotters, but fighters – Pups, Strutters and Camels – Zeppelins, for the destruction of.

Aircraft and blimps were not yet potent submarine killers, but could still force a submarine down and summon destroyers. Hence the private war waged between the RNAS flying boats and the German floatplanes based at Ostend and Zeebrugge. The Royal Navy lost coastal motor boats (early MTBs) to German strafing.

And the RAF invested in the Blackburn Kangaroo as a torpedo bomber at the end of the war.

Don't forget the FF33 used by the German raider Wolf to scout ahead for merchant ship targets, and on one occasion stop a ship with near-miss bombs.