2 U.S. planes are down and Iran hits Gulf refineries as the war wraps its 5th week
NPR →The refinery has been a target of Iranian drones in the past. The Kuwait Army also said its air defense systems were responding to hostile missiles and drone threats. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates reported a fire in the country's Habshan gas facility caused by falling debris from an intercepted attack.
British Shot Down Raiding Airplanes: Two German Machines Lost When Twenty Made Attack on England's Southeast Coast
LONDON, Sept. 9. Two German air- planes which took part in last night's raid over the southeast coast of England were brought down, it is announced officially. No casualties were caused by the raid. The following official announcement was made. Lord French, commander of the home defence, reports that the latest information indicates that about 20 enemy machines participated in last night's raid. Bombs were dropped in a number of places in Kent, Essex and Suffolk, but no casualties occurred and only insignificant damage has been reported up to the present. Repeated attacks were made on London, but in no case did the raiders penetrate the outer defences. One enemy aeroplane is reported to have been shot down in the Thames estuary and a second one off the coast.
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Harvest moon offensive
By 24 September 1917, the weather had improved and the moon was moving into the phase known as the 'harvest moon', which would later give its British name to this series of raids. Of the 16 Gothas which took off, three aircraft turned back with engine problems, while only three bombers actually reached London; the others, perhaps deterred by the recently improved anti-aircraft barrage, chose to bomb coastal towns in Essex and Kent. Of those that reached the capital, one approached from the south and bombed the London Docks, while the other two approached from the north and attacked Islington and the West End; a total of 14 were killed and 49 injured.
Wikipedia →First Battle of Passchendaele
The First Battle of Passchendaele took place on 12 October 1917 during the First World War, in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front. The British had planned to capture the ridges south and east of the city of Ypres as part of a strategy decided by the Allies at conferences in November 1916 and May 1917. Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres, 5 mi (8.0 km) from the railway junction at Roulers, which was an important part of the supply system of the German 4th Army.
Wikipedia →Winter raids
The squadron's next sortie against London was on 18 December, when 15 Gothas and a single Giant set out on an almost moonless night which had lulled the defenders into a false sense of security. Six Gothas and one Giant penetrated the London barrage and bombed the centre of the capital. A total of 13 deaths and 79 injuries were recorded, for one Gotha shot down by No. 44 Squadron and another two which crashed on landing.
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