Zeppelin LZ 95
| LZ 95 (L 48) | |
|---|---|
| |
| History | |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire | |
| Name | LZ 95 |
| Operator | Imperial German Navy |
| Builder | Luftschiffbau Zeppelin |
| Maiden voyage | 22 May 1917 |
| Identification | LZ 95 (L 48) |
| Fate | Shot down, 17 June 1917 |
Zeppelin LZ 95 (L 48) was a U-class zeppelin of the Imperial German Military.
Career
[edit]One successful reconnaissance mission. L 48 and its U-class sister Airships were designed to fly as high as 20,000 feet (6,100 m).[1]
Destruction
[edit]L 48 joined attempted attack on London with 4 other Zeppelins, L 42, L 44, L 45 and L 47.[1] Commanded by George Eichler, on his thirteenth raid, it became lost and was intercepted and destroyed by Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12, serial No. 6110,[2] flown by Canadian pilot Second Lieutenant Loudon Pierce Watkins.[1] He was attached to No. 37 Squadron of British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) fighters. Watkins enlisted with his three brothers. He had been based in the UK, as home defence, since 11 December 1916.[3] Watkins shot down L 48 over water near Great Yarmouth on 17 June 1917 but it crashed near Theberton, Suffolk, a village near the town of Leiston. Three survivors; crew buried at St Peter's Church, Theberton, later to be exhumed and reburied at Cannock Chase.
Of the seven Zeppelins lost over England that were shot down in 1917 during the First World War, L 48 was the only one shot down by the RFC's Home defence.[4]
Specifications (LZ 95 / Type u zeppelin)
[edit]Data from Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940[5]
General characteristics
- Crew: 19
- Capacity: 39,000 kg (85,980 lb) typical disposable load
- Length: 196.4 m (644 ft 4 in)
- Diameter: 23.9 m (78 ft 5 in)
- Fineness ratio: 8.22
- Volume: 55,795 m3 (1,970,400 cu ft)
- Empty weight: 25,750 kg (56,769 lb)
- Useful lift: 64,750 kg (142,750 lb)
- Powerplant: 5 × Maybach HS Lu 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engines, 180 kW (240 hp) each
- Propellers: 2-bladed Lorenzen propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 107.6 km/h (66.9 mph, 58.1 kn)
- Range: 7,400 km (4,600 mi, 4,000 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,000 ft) static
Armament
- Guns: defensive machine-guns in gondolas and envelope top gun positions
- Bombs: provision for bombs
Dirigibles shot down over the UK
[edit]Airships 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.[6]
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See also
[edit]
Bibliography
[edit]Notes
- ^ a b c Boyne 2005, p. 106.
- ^ Pigott 2005, p. 32.
- ^ Mower 2009, p. 56.
- ^ Wise 1980, p. 243.
- ^ Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 100–106. ISBN 1560982284.
- ^ Liddell Hart 1934, p. 76.
References
- Boyne, Walter J. (2005). The Influence of Air Power Upon History. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 9781844151998. - Total pages: 464
- Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (1934). A History of the World War 1914–1918. Faber. ISBN 978-0-304-93653-3.
- Mower, Mark (2009). Zeppelin over Suffolk: The Final Raid of L48. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781844157372. - Total pages: 160
- Pigott, Peter (2005). On Canadian Wings: A Century of Flight. Dundurn. ISBN 9781550029963. - Total pages: 192
- Wise, Sydney F. (1980). Canadian Airmen and the First World War: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Volume I (PDF). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802023797. Retrieved 17 June 2020.