Zeppelin defence challenged the bomber myth

Early Zeppelin raids generated fear partly because people saw them as a threat that could not be stopped. Defenders needed aircraft able to reach the raiders, methods of finding them at night, and incendiary ammunition that worked inside the envelope. As those elements improved, the cost of raids to Germany became harder to justify. John Bull uses that development to criticize later assumptions that bombers would always get through. In his argument, predictions of a rapid bomber victory avoided having to explain what defenders could develop during a longer war. Alex introduces Douhet's destructive vision of air war, while the later discussion questions treating Condor Legion operations in Spain as proof that bombing would decide a war by itself.