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Topic: Default Topic Tags: Aircraft, Aircraft Carriers, Bomber Aircraft, Germany, United Kingdom, War History, and World War I The Christmas “Raid on Cuxhaven” Was the First Carrier Raid in History December 25, 2025
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The raid was not militarily significant—but it was proof that planes could take off from ships and attack land targets, giving them a new significance in naval operations.
World War I is rightly remembered as the end of the European-led world order. In just four bloody years, the conflict replaced the Belle Epoque with an unrecognizable new world order—and set the stage for another, even more destructive, world war that inevitably replaced European rule around the world with that of the Americans.
Although World War I began on July 28, 1914, it was only clear by the winter that the fighting would not be over quickly—and that European leaders’ promise to their troops that they would be “home by Christmas” would turn out false.
World War I Fundamentally Changed Naval Strategy
By now, all of us know about the grueling, static nature of the trenches that defined the Western Front in Europe. What fewer remember, though, is that there was plenty of tactical and technological innovation in the military realm throughout the Great War. One instance in which tactical and technological innovation were displayed was during the Christmas raid on Cuxhaven in 1914.
On Christmas Day 1914, the British Royal Navy and its Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) launched an audacious air-sea operation against Imperial Germany’s naval air facilities near the Cuxhaven, the northern German harbor town at the mouth of the River Elbe.
The British strike on Cuxhaven is widely believed to presage the carrier-based airstrikes that are routinely launched from naval assets even today.
Before World War I, battles between fleets were expected to be fought at sea in set formations of battleships and cruisers powered by steam guns and armor. War at sea was largely a grand contest of gunnery and maneuver at relatively close ranges.
At the onset of World War I, both Britain and Germany strove to define the role of airpower at sea. Airpower itself was a unique and new concept. The concept of naval airpower was even more alien to the great powers. Britain feared that German Zeppelin airships, based around Cuxhaven and the nearby Nordholz airbase, would launch reconnaissance and bombing raids upon the British Isles.
So, London opted to strike the Germans first using a new and dynamic technology—namely, seaplanes carried by ships.
Three British seaplane carriers—the HMS Engadine, HMS Empress, and the HMS Riviera, carrying seven seaplanes between them—escorted by cruisers, destroyers, and submarines under Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt and Commodore Roger Keyes, deployed from just north Heligoland. These seaplanes, primitive by today’s standards, carried a small batch of bombs per unit.
The raid was intended as mere proof of concept. In fact, the use of warships, like HMS Empress, indicated the beginning of what’s known as “strike warfare at sea.” These are operations that didn’t just defend sea lanes or contest fleet battles but projected seapower onto land (via aircraft).
Britain’s strike plan for the Cuxhaven operations included destroying Zeppelin sheds and other targets early in the war to deprive the Germans of these systems the longer the war went on.
Ships with onboard aircraft showed that airpower from the sea would soon displace even battleships (of course, many admirals in the Western navies did not fully embrace this idea until decades later, when they had no choice but to accept this new paradigm).
How the Raid on Cuxhaven Unfolded
The raid itself suffered major complications.
Weather conditions, for example, were terrible. Fog and low cloud hindered reliable navigation. Because of this, the seaplanes, laden with bombs, flew low and slow. They were, therefore, exposed to heavy German anti-aircraft fire. As for the effectiveness of the bombardment, the seaplanes dropped some of their bombs on military targets near Cuxhaven, though direct damage was negligible.
Royal Navy forces sustained counterattacks from German submarines, seaplanes, and at least one Zeppelin. These attacks, however, were successfully rebuffed by British warships.
In what amounts to a Christmas miracle, all aircraft crews survived and made it home to Britain after the mission. Three of the seaplanes returned safely to their carriers. Three more were force-landed at sea and the crews were picked up by nearby British submarines. One aircraft ditched and its crew was later rescued by a Dutch trawler.
Though not a total success in terms of damage inflicted on the Imperial German war machine, the raid did provide valuable experience for Britain (and the world) in air-sea coordination and highlighted both the potential (and limitations) of early naval aviation.
An Explosive Christmas That Will Echo for All Eternity
The raid at Cuxhaven demonstrated to the world the way in which aircraft could be used to launch offensives from the sea. According to the United States Naval Institute, this instance was the spark behind the interest in developing aircraft carriers and the shift of naval air doctrine toward carriers.
It would not be until World War II, however, that the real paradigm shift would occur. But it can be traced to the Christmas raid at Cuxhaven.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest. Recently, Weichert became the host of The National Security Hour on America Outloud News and iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8pm Eastern. Weichert hosts a companion book talk series on Rumble entitled “National Security Talk.” He is also a contributor at Popular Mechanics and has consulted regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, and the Asia Times. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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Источник: nationalinterest.org