Schütte-Lanz SL 11
 Silhouette of SL 11 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} German Empire | |
| Name | SL 11 |
| Operator | German Army |
| Builder | Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz |
| Launched | 1 August 1916 |
| Home port | Spich |
| Fate | Shot down, September 3, 1916 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Airship |
| Tonnage | 21 tonnes |
| Displacement | 38 780 m³ of hydrogen |
| Length | 174 metres |
| Beam | 20.1 metres |
| Installed power | 4 Maybach 960 hp/716 kW total |
| Speed | 91.8 km/h |
| Complement | 16 |
The Schütte-Lanz SL 11 was a German military dirigible built in 1916 by Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz. It was the first German airship to be shot down while bombing England.
Operational history
[edit]
The SL 11 was based at Spich and commanded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Schramm. In the early hours of 3 September 1916, after jettisoning bombs over Essendon, Hertfordshire, destroying several houses, damaging a church, and killing two sisters aged 26 and 12,[1][2] it was then shot down over nearby Cuffley by Lt. William Leefe Robinson flying a BE 2C using incendiary ammunition. It crashed at Cuffley, killing the entire crew, who were buried at Potters Bar Cemetery; they were re-interred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery in 1962.[3] Robinson was awarded the Victoria Cross.
Specifications
[edit]- First Flight: 1 August 1916
- Length: 174 m (571 ft)
- Diameter: 20.1 m (66 ft)
- Gas Capacity: 38,780 m3 (1,370,000 cu ft)
- Performance: 91.8 km/h (57.0 mph; 49.6 kn)
- Payload: 21 t (21,000 kg; 46,000 lb)
- Engines: 4x Maybach HS-Lu 6-cyl in-line engines:960 hp (970 PS; 720 kW) total
See also
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ "Obituary" (PDF). Telegraph and Telephone Journal. 3 (25): 14. October 1916.
- ^ "Zeppelin Raids". Herts at War. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ Baker, Brian (2002). The Zeppelin Graves on Cannock Chase (2nd revised & extended ed.). Cannock Chase: The Association of Friends of Cannock Chase. pp. 1–2.
References
[edit]- Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (1934). A History of the World War 1914–1918. Faber. ISBN 978-0-304-93653-3.
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