While I don’t know where to find any solid records of them ever actually shooting anything down - there are a few scattered comments about one plane being shot down during the Tondern raid, and others about Alan Arnett McLeod VC getting shot down by one in 1917, but I can’t substantiate either - they did have guns on them. To take the Zeppelin P Class as an example, those had eight MG 08 machine guns on them
I mean yeah, but they were getting shot at regardless of whether they shot back or not seeing as they were there to reconnoitre and bomb stuff. But yeah apparently the dorsal guns couldn’t always be used because of leaking lift gas
Show me which Zeppelin engaged air targets.
Doctrine radical: an insect in flight is an air target.
What about other balloons?
What, by jousting?
While I don’t know where to find any solid records of them ever actually shooting anything down - there are a few scattered comments about one plane being shot down during the Tondern raid, and others about Alan Arnett McLeod VC getting shot down by one in 1917, but I can’t substantiate either - they did have guns on them. To take the Zeppelin P Class as an example, those had eight MG 08 machine guns on them
Getting into a shootout while suspended from a giant fragile bag sounds like an intensely stupid idea.
I mean yeah, but they were getting shot at regardless of whether they shot back or not seeing as they were there to reconnoitre and bomb stuff. But yeah apparently the dorsal guns couldn’t always be used because of leaking lift gas
… was firing the guns causing the leaks? Or would firing the gun risk blowing yourself sky high?
Or ground low, I suppose.
The latter, unless the gunner is particularly incompetent. Hydrogen is just really difficult to contain
Clearly a gentleman’s way of air combat.