For almost two years during the First World War, German airships roamed over the British countryside, bombing towns and villages without fear of a significant response from the aircraft assigned to defend the country. But all that changed in the late summer of 1916 when a new weapon was introduced, one that spelt the end of the Zeppelin menace.Ian Castle is the author of two books and a website detailing Germany's air campaign against Britain during the First World War (www.IanCastleZeppelin.co.uk).