Editing Imperial German Navy (section)

==Naval aviation==
{{See also|German strategic bombing during World War I}}
[[File:Friedrichchristiansen.jpg|thumb|right|Friedrich Christiansen in 1918]]

The ''Marine-Fliegerabteilung'' consisted of Zeppelins (airships), [[observation balloon]]s and [[fixed-wing aircraft]]. The main use of the Zeppelins was in reconnaissance over the North Sea and the Baltic, where the endurance of the craft led German warships to a number of Allied vessels. Zeppelin patrolling had priority over any other airship activity.{{sfnp||Lehmann, & Mingos|2008}} During the entire war around 1,200 scouting flights were made.{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|p=25}} During 1915 the German Navy had some 15 Zeppelins in commission and was able to have two or more patrolling continuously at any one time.{{sfnp||Lehmann, & Mingos|2008}} They kept the British ships from approaching Germany, spotted when and where the British were laying sea-mines, and later aided in the destruction of those mines.{{sfnp||Lehmann, & Mingos|2008}} Zeppelins would sometimes land on the sea surface next to a minesweeper, bring aboard an officer and show him the lay of the mines.{{sfnp||Lehmann, & Mingos|2008}} The [[Imperial German Naval Air Service|Naval]] and [[Imperial German Air Service|Army Air Service]]s also directed a [[German strategic bombing during World War I|number of strategic raids]] against Britain, leading the way in bombing techniques and also forcing the British to bolster their anti-aircraft defences. The possibility of airship raids were approved by the Kaiser on 9 January 1915, although he excluded London as a target and further demanded that no attacks be made on historic or government buildings or museums. The night-time raids were intended to target only military sites on the east coast and around the Thames estuary, but difficulties in navigation and the height from which the bombs were dropped made accurate bombing impossible, and most bombs fell on civilian targets or open countryside.

Stationed in North Sea coastal airfields, German naval aircraft often fought against their British counterparts of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]].{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|p=25}} Naval pilots flew aircraft that were also used by the German Army's ''Luftstreitkräfte'' in addition to seaplanes. [[Theo Osterkamp]] was one of the original naval pilots, the first German pilot to fly a land-based aircraft to England on a reconnaissance mission, and its leading ace with 32 victories.{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|pp=177–178}} By war's end, the roster of German naval flying aces also included [[Gotthard Sachsenberg]] (31 victories),{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|pp=195–196}} [[Alexander Zenzes]] (18 victories),{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|pp=234–235}} [[Friedrich Christiansen]] (13 victories),{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|pp=92–93}} [[Karl Meyer (aviator)|Karl Meyer]] (8 victories),{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|p=167}} [[Karl Scharon]] (8 victories),{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|pp=197–198}} and [[Hans Goerth]] (7 victories).{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|p=115}} Another decorated aviator was [[Gunther Plüschow]] who shot down a Japanese plane during the Siege of Tsingtao and was the only German combatant to escape from a prison camp in Britain.{{sfnp|Mahncke|2001|pp=7-11}}{{sfnp|Derbyshire Life and Countryside, ''Castle Donington, Derbyshire''|2013}}

List of aircraft that were assigned to naval air service:
* [[Kaiserliche Werft Danzig 1105|''Kaiserliche Werft Danzig'' 1105]] – trainer
* [[Hansa-Brandenburg W.12|''Hansa-Brandenburg'' W.12]] – fighter floatplane
* [[Hansa-Brandenburg W.29|''Hansa-Brandenburg'' W.29]] – fighter floatplane

Naval Air Service Units included ''Marine Jagdgruppe Flandern'' composed of:
* ''Marine Feld Jasta'' I
* ''Marine Feldflieger Abteilung'' II