The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 48 (L 15) was a P-class World War I zeppelin.
| LZ 48 (L 15) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Zeppelin LZ 48 (L 15) in the water | |
| Role | P-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship |
| National origin | German Empire |
| Manufacturer | Luftschiffbau Zeppelin |
| Designer | Ludwig Dürr |
| First flight | 9 September 1915 |
| Status | Shot down by AA fire on 1 April 1916 |
| Primary user | Imperial German Navy |
| Number built | 1 |
Operational history
editThe Airship took part in eight reconnaissance missions with three attacks on England dropping 5,780 kg (12,740 lb) of bombs.
Destruction
editThe Zeppelin was damaged by ground fire from Dartford AA battery[1] during a raid on London on 1 April 1916. The airship came down at Kentish Knock Deep in the Thames estuary. One crew member was killed; the other 17 were taken prisoner of war after being picked up by ships.[2] The gunners at Purfleet attempted to claim a prize of £500 offered by the Mayor of London for shooting down the Zeppelin, but the War Office declared them ineligible.[3] Instead the gunners received a gold medal.
Specifications
editData from ,[4] Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 18-19 (Executive Officer, Commander, Navigator, Sailmaker (responsible for gasbags), Chief Engineer, 2 altitude coxswains, 2 steering coxswains, 8 engineers)
- Capacity: 16,200 kg (35,715 lb) typical disposable load
- Length: 163.5 m (536 ft 5 in)
- Diameter: 18.7 m (61 ft 4 in) maximum
- Fineness ratio: 8.68
- Volume: 31,900 m3 (1,130,000 cu ft)
- Empty weight: 20,800 kg (45,856 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 4,800 kg (10,582 lb) maximum
- Useful lift: 37,000 kg (82,000 lb)
- Powerplant: 4 × Maybach C-X 6-cylinder water-cooled inline piston engine, 160 kW (210 hp) each
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 96.1 km/h (59.7 mph, 51.9 kn)
- Cruise speed: 90 km/h (56 mph, 49 kn)
- Range: 4,300 km (2,700 mi, 2,300 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 2,800 m (9,200 ft) static
Armament
- Guns: 7 or 8 machine guns: naval airships generally using the water-cooled MG 08, army ships the air-cooled Parabellum MG 14
- Bombs: 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) bombs (a greater load could be carried with reduced fuel load)
Dirigibles shot down over the UK
editAirships made about 51 bombing raids on Britain during the war. These killed 557 and injured another 1,358 people. More than 5,000 bombs were dropped (largely on towns and cities) across Britain, causing £1.5 million (equivalent to £128,500,000 in 2023) in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30 were shot down or lost in accidents.[5]
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See also
editReferences
edit
- ^ "Super Zeppelins". Flight. VIII (No.35) (401): 739–741. 31 August 1916.
- ^ a b Robinson, Douglas Hill (1973). Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295952499.
- ^ Panorama, the Journal of the Thurrock Local History Society, Volume 39
- ^ Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 91–95. ISBN 1560982284.
- ^ Liddell Hart 1934, p. 76.
- Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (1934). A History of the World War 1914–1918. Faber. ISBN 978-0-304-93653-3.