England. The attack produced a
degree of indignation and irritation that was more than proportional
to the damage done, and the Government was criticized for the
inadequacy of the protective measures.

After these air raids on Great Britain there was a lull in such
activities, but it was realized by the English that with the opening
of spring these attacks probably would be carried on with greater
vigor and determination, as there would be an increased number both of
Zeppelins and Schuette-Lanz airships. The atmospheric conditions
pervading the British Isles formed as important a defense against
airship attacks for almost half the year as actual military measures.
Several times fogs and high winds prevented attempts of this kind, and
it was realized by the German air pilots that unless weather
conditions were favorable flights should not be attempted. Therefore,
during the late autumn and winter of 1915-1916, they concerned
themselves with problems of construction and equipment, and the
training of air pilots rather than actual attempts.

In the meantime the Germans suffered by the destruction of several
Zeppelins. One was destroyed with its crew by colliding with a dummy
on October 18, 1915, near Maubeuge, and the _Z-28_ was lost near
Hamburg, and a third, whose number was unknown, at Bitterfeld, Saxony.
On December 5, 1915, the Russians brought down another Zeppelin near
Kalkun on the Libau-Romin railway, locating it with a powerful
searchlight and destroying it by artillery fire. The airship
previously had escaped several attacks after being caught by the
searchlights, but when it appeared for a second time over Kalkun, with
its motors silent, it was hit by gunfire. Another accident at Tondern
resulted in the destruction of the Zeppelin _Z-22_ during the first
week in December, 1915, this being the same station at which the
_Z-19_ was destroyed in the previous month. The _Z-22_ had been in
service only a few weeks, and was of the latest type, with invisible
gondolas, platforms at the top of the envelope, and detachable rafts
for use in case of accident while crossing the sea. Its destruction
was due to the accidental explosion of a bomb while the airship was
leaving the shed, and nearly all the forty members of the crew were
killed or wounded. Still another Zeppelin was reported to have been
destroyed by a storm in Belgium about December 12, 1915.

On November 15, 1915, two Austrian aeroplanes bombarded Brescia,