The Dolphin Tavern and WWI German air raids on London

Today I made the journey over to Holborn to visit The Dolphin Tavern, which, on the night of 9th September 1917, was hit by a high explosive bomb dropped from KapitanLeutnant Mathy in Zeppelin L13. Three men were killed, one of them, Fireman Green, dying of burns while trying to put fires out in nearby houses. The tavern was rebuilt and is still open serving a decent selection of beers and food (among other alcohol but I wasn’t paying attention to those!). Hanging on the wall is a clock which stopped when the bomb hit and was later found in the wreckage. Afterwards I went to the IWM Museum to see the WWI Zeppelin and anti-aircraft exhibits.

Me outside The Dolphin Tavern

The clock

Unfortunately you can’t see the photograph well but it shows The Dolphin after the bomb hit, with the windows smashed and the entrance to the pub blown out, looks very surreal especially as I walk past many of these street corner style pubs every day. The writing says;

‘THE DOLPHIN TAVERN – hit by an H.E. Bomb dropped by Zepp L.13. on the 9th of Sept 1915. 3 men were killed. The old clock was recovered with the hands stopped at 10.40 p.m. – the time the tavern was hit.’

French 75mm field gun. These were used on lorries by the French and British for anti-aircraft work on a different mounting, on the night The Dolphin was hit the newly arrived motorised 75mm was used by the RNAS to drive away Zeppelin L15 which was attacking the nearby Inns of Court.

British one pounder anti aircraft gun mark two, the first gun fired in the defence of London. Although a naval design, this was issued to the anti-aircraft station at Gresham College. On the night The Dolphin was bombed, it shot at (and missed) Zeppelin L13 (which bombed The Dolphin). The officer in charge of the gun that night later became the first secretary and curator of the IWM.

Sopwith Camel 2F1, the type of Camel developed by the RNAS to defend the fleet against Zeppelins, which shot down Zeppelin L53 on 11th August 1918, the last German airship to be shot down in WWI, piloted by Flight Sub-Lieutenant Stuart Douglas Culley.

Be2c that flew with Home Defence Squadrons in WWI

British 13 pounder field gun. Like the French 75mm it was used as an AA gun using different types of shell, mounted on the back of lorries. They became widely available when they were replaced by the 18 pounder, and along with the 75mm, one pounder and 3 inch AA gun they were the standard anti-aircraft guns for the UK armed forces in WWI.

Observation car from Zeppelin LZ90 which fell off it on the night of 2/3 September 1916 (the same night William Leefe Robinson VC shot down Schutte-Lanz SL11). These were used by Zeppelins to lower an airman thousands of feet below a Zeppelin via cable to see beneath clouds while the Zeppelin remained hidden. When it fell off LZ90, it was being lowered unmanned when the winch went out of control.

Control panel from Zeppelin L33, shot down in Essex in the early hours of 24th September 1916

Triangular girder section from a Zeppelin brought down over England (there were no further details unfortunately). The two small bomb like objects are Ranken explosive darts, containing high explosive, phosphorous and black powder which were designed to ignite when the dart penetrates the Zeppelin’s skin. The tail has spring loaded vanes which opened and lock into position to make sure the bomb stuck into the Zeppelins fabric

Postcards showing Schutte-Lanz SL11 being shot down by William Leefe Robinson VC and a signed photograph of him. The fuel gauge on the left is from SL11 too. The Maxim MG08 machine gun is from Zeppelin L15 which chucked it out to gain height after being damaged by AA fire on 31st March 1916, however it later came down in the sea north of Margate.

Incendiary bomb dropped by Zeppelin LZ38 (for those wondering, LZ denotes a Zeppelin used by the German Army, and L by the Navy) on London during the first airship raid on London, 31st May 1915.

Large model of Zeppelin L33 hanging from the roof. L33 came down gently in Essex just after 1am on 24th September 1916 after being damaged by AA fire after a raid on London. When it came down the commander of the Zeppelin tried to warning the inhabitants of nearby cottages that he was going to set it on fire, however one house didn’t answer the door, deciding to hide in a cupboard instead.

When they tried to set fire to the Zeppelin, there was so little gas left which had been leaking out since hit by AA fire, apparently all it managed to burn was the envelope of the Zeppelin and singe the fur of a white terrier dog sniffing around!

The photos I posted a few weeks ago of RAFM Hendon show the gondola car of British airship R33, which entire structure and gondola design was a copy of L33.

Hope the photos are of interest, cheers, Rob