Zeppelin LZ85
LZ 85 (tactical number L 45) | |
---|---|
LZ 85 (L 45) over Tønder | |
Role | Type r Super Zeppelin - rigid reconnaissance-bomber airship |
National origin | Imperial Germany
|
Manufacturer | Zeppelin Luftschiffbau
|
Designer | Ludwig Dürr |
First flight | 12 April 1917 |
Retired | 20 October 1917 |
Status | Destroyed in forced landing |
Primary user | Kaiserliche Marine
|
Number built | 1 |
The LZ 85, tactical number L 45, also known as Zeppelin of
Construction
LZ 85 was an R-Class zeppelin built by
In six-engined configuration the R-class zeppelins had single pusher engines in the rear of the front control gondola and two engine cars either side amidships, with a further three engines in the rear gondola. Of the rear gondola engines, one drove a pusher propeller direct at the rear of the gondola and two more in the centre of the gondola drove propellers, via gearboxes and transmission shafts, mounted on framework either side of the gondola. Five-engined R-class zeppelins omitted the rear gondola direct-drive centre engine.[3]
The 19 crew members were housed in the control cabin, rear gondola, two engine cars and open gun positions on top of the envelope.[4]
War career
LZ 85 conducted its first flight on 12 April 1917 from Staaken to Ahlhorn under the command of Kapitänleutnant Waldemar Kölle and first officer Oberleutnant zur See Bernhard Dinter. Dinter would be replaced in May by Lieutenant Colonel Schiltz; Dinter himself would take the command of another zeppelin in June. LZ 85 was stationed at Ahlhorn until it was moved to Tønder on 5 June 1917.[5]
Bombing raid on Norfolk
The LZ 85 conducted its first bombing raid on Britain on the night of 23 May and 24 May 1917. The ship took off from Ahlhorn and joined five other naval airships whose objective was to attack London. However the weather worsened and dense clouds were beginning to cover the East of England and by the time the airships crossed over Suffolk and Norfolk, they were caught in a thunderstorm. Sixty bombs were dropped over East Anglia which killed one person and L 40 was chased by a seaplane near Terschelling. The raid was deemed a failure because of the cloud cover and wind.
August 1917 bombing raid on warships
LZ 85 started its second bombing raid against Britain during the night of 21 August and 22 August 1917. The ship left its base in Tønder and joined seven other airships to conduct a bombing raid on
Silent raid of October 1917 and crash
The LZ 85 conducted its last bombing raid on Britain on the night of 19 October and 20 October 1917. The ship took off from Tønder and joined 10 other naval airships. The raid took place at such a great height that no British fighters could reach high enough to shoot the attacking zeppelins down, giving the airships a huge advantage. The airships reached Britain undisturbed and dropped 274 bombs from a record height of well over 5 kilometres (3.1 mi).[6]
Bombing of Northampton
LZ 85 was ordered to bomb
The attack on London
LZ 85 continued southward, when at 11.30pm the ship bathed in light from searchlight batteries over northwest
While continuing its flight over London, LZ 85 encountered a
Forced landing in France
LZ 85 escaped Britain and flew over the English Channel towards Belgium and France. However, due to its long duration at an extreme height and the numerous mechanical problems, including fuel leaks, the ship was left to the mercy of the weather as the fuel ran out. The ship drifted over Amiens and Compiègne, heading toward neutral Switzerland.[21] When passing by Lyon, at a height of 500 m (1,600 ft), a fighter took off from Meyzieu east of the city, following the airship to the south of Saint-Marcellin, but had to give up the chase and return to Meyzieu due to lack of fuel.[22]
At 10.50am, commander Kölle decided to make an emergency landing on a reclaimed island near
Aftermath
In the afternoon of 20 October 1917, 16 of the crew-members were taken to
The crew of LZ 85 were held as Prisoners Of War until the end of the war, when they were all released, except Waldemar Kölle, who was accused under
The Silent Raid Aftermath
The raid was not viewed as a great success as the German navy lost a total of five airships:
- LZ 85 crash-landed in Laragne and her crew of 19 were captured.
- LZ 93 was shot down by anti aircraft fire from French Army artillery over Lunéville resulting in the death of everyone on board.
- LZ 96 force-landed in Bourbonne-les-Bains and was captured undamaged together with her crew.
- LZ 89 Tried to land in Mediterraneanwhere it exploded, killing the 5 remaining crewmen on board.
- LZ 101 crash-landed at the Werra river in Thuringia and was declared a total loss.[27][28]
Legacy
LZ 85 will always be remembered as the Zeppelin of Laragne to the people of France. The airship dropped a total of 4,700 kg (10,400 lb) of bombs during its three raids and killed an estimated 30 people, as well as damaging many buildings.[29] One of the people killed during LZ 85's last bombardment of London was a girl named Lily, who was the inspiration for Henry Williamson's 1957 novel The Golden Virgin,[30] in which the protagonist Lily is killed in the bombardment. This also inspired Kate Bush in 1993 for the song "Lily."[31]
Specifications (LZ 85 / Type r zeppelin)
Data from Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 17-19
- Capacity: 32,400 kg (71,430 lb) typical disposable load
- Length: 198 m (649 ft 7 in)
- Diameter: 23.9 m (78 ft 5 in) maximum
- Fineness ratio: 8.24
- Volume: 55,200 m3 (1,950,000 cu ft) in 19 gas cells
- Empty weight: 31,400 kg (69,225 lb)
- Gross weight: 32,908 kg (72,550 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 6,250 kg (13,779 lb)
- Useful lift: 63,800 kg (140,700 lb)
- Powerplant: 5 × Maybach HS Lu6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engines, 180 kW (240 hp) each
- Propellers: 4-bladed Lorenzen fixed-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 103 km/h (64 mph, 56 kn)
- Cruise speed: 81 km/h (50 mph, 44 kn)
- Range: 7,400 km (4,600 mi, 4,000 nmi) at 81 km/h (50 mph; 44 kn)
- Service ceiling: 3,900 m (12,800 ft) static
- Rate of climb: 10 m/s (2,000 ft/min) maximum permitted (r-class)
Armament
- Guns: machine-guns in hull-top positions and gondolas
- Bombs: up to 60 bombs to a total of 5,000 kg (11,023 lb)
References
- ^ "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 900". aviation-safety.net. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Sterowce Zeppelin 1900-39". zeppelin.mariwoj.pl. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ ISBN 1560982284.
- ^ "Desert Column Forum Pix". alh-research.tripod.com. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Lz85 - L45". lzdream.net. 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "The silent raid". vimu.info. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Sywell Aviation Museum News". sywellaerodrome.co.uk. 31 August 2006. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Silent Raid: The Untold Story". Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "The Airship". cottonites.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Parkwood Street, Northampton: Zeppelin Raid". bbc.co.uk. 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Bomb from deadly Zeppelin raid to go on display". northamptonchron.co.uk. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "The war in the air; being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force" (PDF). crossandcockade.com. 1935. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Raid 9: 19 Oct 1917". Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "When a Zeppelin flew over Kilburn". westhampsteadlife.com. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "The Silent Raid Traduction des pages 86 à 89". lzdream.net. 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Bomb damage: war comes to Camberwell". bridgetonowhere.friendsofburgesspark.org.uk. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "World War I Air Raid, 19/20 October 1917 Air Raid". alewishamwarmemorials.wikidot.com. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "The Zeppelin Attack on Hither Green". runner500.wordpress.com. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Zeppelin Raids". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 October 1917. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Histoire du L45 dit " Zeppelin de Laragne "". ubaye-en-cartes.e-monsite.com. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-85052-893-0.
- ^ "L45, L50 et le L55". lzdream.net. August 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Bomb damage: war comes to Camberwell". sylviedamagnez.canalblog.com. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "The Zeppelin Raids", Colonist, vol. LX, no. 14545, p. 5, 25 October 1917, retrieved 29 December 2016 – via National Library of New Zealand
- ^ "L'ATTERRISSAGE DU ZEPPELIN L45 À LARAGNE-MONTEGLIN LE 20 OCTOBRE 1917" (PDF). naval-military-press.com. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Angriff eines Luftschiffgeschwaders auf England". stahlgewitter.com. 2005. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Zeppelin over Essex". greatwarforum.org. 13 September 2006. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
- ^ "French bring down five zeppelins" (PDF). query.nytimes.com. 21 October 1917. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Zeppelin LZ85 (L45)". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-571-30996-2.
- ^ "Lily". Kate Bush. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2016.