Case file · Sighting
The 1909 'scareship' wave
From March to May 1909 people across Britain reported a fast night airship with lights; on 19 May a grocer's assistant at Tharston, Norfolk, described one 400 feet long heading for Norwich.
1909 CE · 52.48, 1.21 · status: explained
The account
Sightings ran from Peterborough and East Anglia to Ipswich, Cardiff and Dublin. The press linked them to German Zeppelins and invasion fears; questions were asked in Parliament.
The sceptical view
No airship of that range then existed. Historians see a war scare fed by stars, planets, kites and hoaxers.