LZ 20

The Zeppelin LZ 20 was Count Zeppelin's twentieth airship and the eighth airship of the German Army .

history

On July 8, 1913, LZ 20 made its first journey. As an army airship, the Zeppelin carried the military ID ZV. At the beginning of the First World War , ZV was deployed on the Eastern Front in August 1914 for reconnaissance trips over Russian Poland . The airship was damaged by strong enemy rifle and machine gun fire. German troops mistakenly took the zeppelin under fire. Nevertheless, ZV was still able to carry out reconnaissance at the end of August and dropped small bombs on Russian troops.

End of LZ 20 / ZV

On August 28, 1914, ZV launched an air raid on the Mlawa railway station during the Battle of Tannenberg . The enemy defensive fire perforated the ship's gas cells to such an extent that the zeppelin had to make an emergency landing on enemy territory due to the large loss of lifting gas. The crew tried to burn the wreck, but were overwhelmed and captured by the approaching Russian cavalry.

Technical specifications

Carrying gas volume: 22,500 m³ hydrogen
Length: 158.0 m
Diameter: 14.90 m
Payload: 9.5 t
Drive: three Maybach engines of 165 hp each
Speed: 76 km / h

literature

Peter Meyer: Airships - The History of the German Zeppelins , Wehr & Wissen, Koblenz / Bonn 1980.

Individual evidence

^ Ernst A. Lehmann : On air patrol and world travel . Wegweiser-Verlag, Berlin 1936, pages 74-75

[1] Ernst A. Lehmann : On air patrol and world travel . Wegweiser-Verlag, Berlin 1936, pages 74-75