Zeppelin military airships
Zeppelin military airships were from the German military leadership in World War I used airships . At the beginning of the war, they appeared mainly as strategic long-range reconnaissance aircraft and long-range bombers. Apart from a few airships from Schütte-Lanz , it was mostly zeppelins that were used for these tasks.
Military zeppelins
In total, the Zeppelin-Werke built 103 airships for the military by the end of the First World War, 86 of them during the First World War (LZ 26 to LZ 114, LZ 70 was not built, LZ 114 not finished before the end of the war) Airships for the army and navy. The Zeppelin classes were divided according to the alphabet, so LZ 1 was type A. The chief designer of the Zeppelins of type B (LZ 2) up to LZ 130 was Ludwig Dürr .
Most of the pre-war models were one-offs or were built in two or three copies, such as the military models H, I, (there was no type J) K and L (LZ 13 to LZ 23). Only the type M was produced several times. However, when the war broke out, these ships were technically obsolete, just like the Type N, although this can be regarded as the prototype of the modern military zeppelins. It also turned out to be difficult to obtain enough gold bat skin for the production of the gas cells in series production.
The airships of the following series P and Q were still quite successful in the first phase of the war, but the losses due to anti-aircraft defenses increased rapidly . This forced Zeppelin airship construction to develop models that could go to higher altitudes in order to at least be protected from the small-caliber air defense. However, the race against the ever more altitude-capable fighters was hopeless. Therefore, the army command recognized that holding on to the airships made no sense and in January 1917 discontinued airship operations in favor of Alexander Baumann 's giant Zeppelin aircraft . These had a 20-30% higher speed with a comparable payload and the effort in terms of construction and maintenance was minimal compared to an airship. Zeppelins were not suitable for tactical tasks anyway and this role was taken over by medium-sized bombers (so-called large aircraft) from Gotha , AEG and the Friedrichshafen aircraft construction company , the establishment of which Graf Zeppelin had personally supported.
In the Navy, however, the incomparably greater range and endurance of the airships in reconnaissance missions was an important factor. Nevertheless, a use as a strategic bomber was retained in the navy, which led to huge losses. In the end, the commander of the naval airships Peter Strasser himself became a victim of this ideology.
Statistically, every zeppelin built during the war only brought around 5 tons of bombs to its destination before it was lost. Sixteen ships weighed over 10 t (1 × N, 10 × P, 1 × Q, 3 × R, 1 × V), five of them over 20 t (1 × N, 2 × P and the first two ships of the series R). → see military airship
Designation system
The name of the army airships was initially Z with a consecutive Roman numeral. From Z XII onwards, the manufacturer's identification was initially used (for LZ 34, 35, 37, 38 and 39) and from LZ 42 "30" was added to these so that the latter bore the identification LZ 72. The name of the navy was L with a consecutive (but not complete) number.
Outbreak of war
When the war broke out, the older ships LZ 20 (ZV), LZ 21 (Z VI), LZ 22 (Z VII), LZ 23 (Z VIII) and the M-class ships LZ 24 (L3) and LZ 25 (Z IX ) ready for use. All ships mentioned were lost in emergency landings after ground fire, except for Z IX which burned in its hall after an air raid.
Pre-war constructions
Pre-war designs such as the M and N models, recognizable by the “passenger cabin” located under the middle of the fuselage and the multiple rudders, were still in use at the beginning of the war, but soon had to give way to more mature designs and were scrapped.
Type M
- Carrying gas volume: 22,470 m³ in 18 gas cells
- Length: 163.3 m
- Drive: three engines, 220 PS (162 kW)
- Top speed: around 85 km / h
- Commissioning: May 1914 - March 1915
- Built: 12
- LZ 24 (L 3), LZ 25 (Z IX), LZ 27 (L 4), LZ 28 (L 5), LZ 29 (ZX), LZ 30 (Z XI), LZ 31 (L 6), LZ 32 (L 7), LZ 33 (L 8), LZ 34 (LZ 34), LZ 35 (LZ 35), LZ 37 (LZ 37)
- LZ 37 was the first zeppelin that was brought down by an airplane (fire bomb on June 7, 1915).
Type N
Forerunner of the more modern types with cross tail, but still with the central cabin.
- Carrying gas volume: 25,000 m³ in 15 gas cells
- Length: 163 m
- Drive: three motors
- Top speed: around 85 km / h
- Commissioning: Dec. 1914
- Built: 1
- LZ 26 (Z XII)
- Considered the most successful ship in the army. 11 raids in northern France and on the eastern front, dropping 20,000 kg of bombs. After abandoning the army airship service, it was scrapped in Jüterbog on August 8, 1917.
Airships built during the war
Type O
First really usable military models (LZ 36 drove 74 reconnaissance missions and 4 bomb attacks). These first really modern ships were recognizable by two gondolas and a simple cross tail without additional rudder surfaces. The driver's cab was in the front nacelle and a motor with a pusher propeller was located at the end. Two motors were housed in the rear nacelle, which transmitted their power (as is usual with previous Zeppelin models) to the propellers on the side of the fuselage by means of long-distance waves. The central part of the fuselage was still cylindrical with a rounded nose and a conical stern part, but the central cabin was missing. The defensive armament included up to ten machine guns, two of which were mounted in a machine-gun stand on the top of the fuselage above the driver's gondola. The bomb load of these airships was not particularly large and was about 500 to 1000 kg. If there was no fuel or other equipment, more could be loaded.
- Carrying gas volume: 24,900 m³ in 15 gas cells
- Length: 163.5 m
- Drive: three Maybach engines
- Commissioning: March 1915
- Built: 2
- LZ 36 (L 9), LZ 39 (LZ 39)
Type p
Enlarged type O with modified motor arrangement. In the rear nacelle there was now a fourth motor that drove a pressure screw at the end of the nacelle. Bomb load about 800-1200 kg. The first type P was put into service in May 1915, the last in February 1916. The length of the cylindrical part was about 60 m. The first squadron attack on England took place on August 10, 1915. The naval airships "L 10", "L 11", "L 12" and "L 13" were involved. The so-called scouting basket was tested for the first time at LZ 60 . In mid-1917 the ships were outdated and only one survived the war as a training ship. P-class ships normally had a crew of 19 men.
- Carrying gas volume: 31,900 m³ in 16 gas cells
- Length: 163.5 m
- Diameter: 18.7 m
- Drive: four Maybach engines with 210 hp (154 kW)
- Top speed: around 90–95 km / h
- Summit height: ~ 3500m
- Commissioning: May 1915 - February 1916
- Built: 22
- LZ 38 (LZ 38), LZ 40 (L10), LZ 41 (L11), LZ 42 (LZ 72), LZ 43 (L12), LZ 44 (LZ 74), LZ 45 (L13), LZ 46 (L14) , LZ 47 (LZ 77), LZ 48 (L15), LZ 49 (LZ 79), LZ 50 (L16), LZ 51 (LZ 81), LZ 52 (L18), LZ 53 (L17), LZ 54 (L19 ), LZ 55 (LZ 85), LZ 56 (LZ 86), LZ 57 (LZ 87), LZ 58 (LZ 88 later L25), LZ 60 (LZ 90), LZ 63 (LZ93)
- LZ 51, LZ 56, LZ 57, LZ 58, LZ 60 and LZ 63 were probably converted to the standard of type Q and then designated as LZ 51a etc. LZ 42 had poor material quality and could only be used as a training ship. LZ 58 was delivered shortly before the end of the army airship service and then handed over to the Navy as L25. Since the Navy had already switched to the larger R-Class ships, it was no longer used.
- One of the P-class ships (LZ 77) was shot down by ground defense or fighter planes near Verdun , and two others also crashed while burning for reasons that are not clear (possibly lightning). Three burned on the ground and five more had to be written off after an emergency landing. LZ 90 tore itself loose in a storm and disappeared unmanned over the sea. All remaining class P ships with the exception of LZ 46 / L 14 were canceled and scrapped in August 1917.
- L11, L13, L14 and L16 were the most successful airships in World War I from a military point of view. Together, these four ships carried out 162 reconnaissance trips and 56 attack trips and dropped 17% of the total bombs (approx. 75 t) dropped by airships. Taken together, P-Class ships dropped 166 t of bombs, which is around 38% of the number of bombs dropped by zeppelins in World War I. Another 12% (53.4 t) are accounted for by the stretched type "Q".
Type Q
Type P extended by 15 m with a further increased load capacity thanks to an intermediate piece on the cylindrical part. The last Type Q entered service at the end of 1916.
- Carrying gas volume: 35,800 m³ in 18 gas cells
- Length: 178.5 m
- Diameter: 18.7 m
- Drive: four Maybach engines
- Top speed: around 95 km / h
- Summit height: 4000 m
- Commissioning: Dec. 1915 - Dec. 1916
- Built: 12
- LZ 59 (L20) , LZ 61 (L21), LZ 64 (L22), LZ 65 (LZ 95), LZ 66 (L23), LZ 67 (LZ 97), LZ 68 (LZ 98), LZ 69 (L24) , LZ 71 (LZ 101), LZ 73 (LZ 103), LZ 77 (LZ 107), LZ 81 (LZ 111)
- Three of the type Q were lost in fire by being shot down (L 21 on November 28, 1916, L22 on May 14, 1917, L23 on August 21, 1917); two stranded after bullet damage (LZ 95, L20) and one burned in its hall (L 24). The rest was scrapped in 1917.
Type R
First row of the so-called super zeppelins with two additional motor gondolas with pusher propellers offset to the side under the center of the fuselage. The fuselage was now approximated to a slender teardrop shape, which ensured both lower air resistance and increased gas volume. The first Type R entered service in July 1916. At times (from LZ 59 to LZ 81) the models Q and R were produced in parallel, as the army had no airship hangars for the new giant ships . Only two of the new super zeppelins LZ 83 and LZ 90 went to the army and were mothballed when the army airships were discontinued. Only the first two ships L30 and L31 were able to build on the "successes" of the previous models and brought together around 42 tons of bombs to the enemy. After that, the average value per ship fell to the values mentioned at the beginning.
- Carrying gas volume: 55,200 m³ in 19 gas cells
- Length: 196.5 m
- Largest diameter 23.9 m
- Drive: six Maybach engines with 240 hp (177 kW)
- Top speed: around 100–105 km / h
- Bomb load up to 3500 kg.
- Commissioning: May 1916 - January 1917
- Built: 17
- LZ 62 (L30), LZ 72 (L31), LZ 74 (L32), LZ 75 (L37), LZ 76 (L33), LZ 78 (L34), LZ 79 (L41), LZ 80 (L35), LZ 82 (L36), LZ 83 (LZ113), LZ 84 (L38), LZ 85 (L45), LZ 86 (L39), LZ 87 (L47), LZ 88 (L40), LZ 89 (L50), LZ 90 (LZ120 )
- Of the 17 ships, only six saw the end of the war (L30, L35, L37, L41, LZ 113, LZ 120). Three were shot down while burning by fighter pilots (L 31 on October 1, 1916, L 32 on September 24, 1916, L34 on November 28, 1916), L 39 by flak, one burned in its hall (L 47) and the rest went by Emergency landings broken after shelling. L33 ran aground in England, was measured and served as a model for the R33 and R34 , which were the first airship to cross the Atlantic.
Type S
The type S was a lightweight ship. Due to the increasing defense, it was suitable for greater heights. The external propellers driven by long-distance waves were dispensed with. Instead, two motors jointly drove a larger propeller in the rear pod, while one motor was housed in the driver's pod and two in individual pods. It is possible that this arrangement was already introduced in the R series from around LZ 74, because no outer propellers can be seen in the pictures of, although they are still clearly visible in the LZ 72. However, they are present in pictures of the wreckage of LZ76.
- Carrying gas volume: 55,800 m³ in 18 gas cells.
- Length: 196.5 m
- Drive: five Maybach engines with 245 hp (180 kW) each
- Top speed: about 110 km / h
- Commissioning: Feb. 1917
- Built: 2
- LZ 91 (L42), LZ 92 (L43)
- L42 saw the end of the war, L43 was shot down while burning on June 14, 1917
Type T
- Carrying gas volume: 55,800 m³ in 18 gas cells suitable for greater heights ( rebound height )
- Length: 196.5 m
- Drive: five Maybach engines with 245 hp (180 kW) each
- Top speed: about 110 km / h
- Commissioning: April 1917
- Built: 2
- LZ 93 (L44), LZ 94 (L46)
- L44 was shot down while burning and L46 burned in its hall.
Type U
- Carrying gas volume: 55,800 m³ in 18 gas cell lightweight airship suitable for greater heights.
- Length: 196.5 m
- Drive: five Maybach oversized altitude motors with 245 HP (180 kW) each
- Top speed: about 110 km / h
- Commissioning: June 1917
- Built: 5th
- LZ 95 (L48), LZ 96 (L49), LZ 97 (L51), LZ 98 (L52), LZ 99 (L54)
- Only L52 saw the end of the war. L51 and L54 burned in their hall and L48 was shot down while burning on June 16, 1917. L 49 stranded in France and served as a model for the ZR-1 "Shenandoah"
Type V
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Suitable for high altitudes. Attempts were made to continue using the airships by increasing the summit height. LZ 101 unintentionally reached 7600 m while trying to escape from the defense.
- Carrying gas volume: 56,000 m³ in 14 gas cells
- Length: 196.5 m
- Drive: five Maybach high-altitude engines, each with 245 hp (180 kW)
- Top speed: around 115 km / h
- Commissioning: Aug. 1917
- Built: 10
- LZ 100 (L53), LZ 101 (L55), LZ 103 (L56), LZ 105 (L58), LZ 106 (L61), LZ 107 (L62), LZ 108 (L60), LZ 109 (L64), LZ 110 (L63), LZ 111 (L65)
- Five type V ships saw the end of the war (L56, L61, L63, L64, L65)
- L53 was shot down while burning on August 11, 1918, L55 destroyed in an emergency landing, L58 and L60 burned in their halls and L62 crashed on fire for unexplained reasons.
Type W
Extended type V for long distance journeys. These two ships were only 10 m shorter than the later LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin"
- Carrying gas volume: 68,500 m³ in 16 gas cells
- Length: 226.5 m
- Drive: five Maybach engines with 245 hp (180 kW) each
- Top speed: around 115 km / h
- Commissioning: Sept. 1917
- Built: 2
- LZ 102 (L57), LZ 104 (L59 "Africa Airship")
- L57 burned when entering the hall and L59 crashed while burning for unexplained reasons.
Type X
So-called. America airships. The first Type X entered service on July 1, 1918.
- Carrying gas volume: 62,200 m³ in 16 gas cells
- Length: 226.5 m
- Largest diameter: 23.9 m
- Empty weight: 28.5 t
- Payload: about 51 t
- Drive: six Maybach engines with 245 hp (180 kW) each
- Top speed: around 115 km / h
- Range:> 7000 km
- Commissioning: July 1918
- Built: 3
- LZ 112 (L70), LZ 113 (L71), LZ 114 (Dixmude)
- L70 was shot down while burning on August 6, 1918 the other two were only completed after the end of the war and confiscated as reparations.
Calls
On August 6, 1918, after a bomb attack, the largest and most modern zeppelin LZ 112 / "L 70" was shot down. The commander of the naval airship division, Corvette Captain Peter Strasser , was also on board . Strasser had stuck to the idea of using large airships as bombers until the end. On August 11, 1918, LZ 100 (L53) was also lost. This ended the era of the zeppelins as bomb carriers.
| year | Attack drives | Reconnaissance trips |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | - | 58 |
| 1915 | 38 | 350 |
| 1916 | 123 | 312 |
| 1917 | 52 | 338 |
| 1918 | 18th | 131 |
Zeppelin airships dropped at least 442 tons of bombs in 51 individual or squadron attacks (according to the addition from the list of zeppelins ) ( Army 156 t, Navy 287 t), killing 557 people and injuring 1,358. In addition, around 1200 reconnaissance trips, mostly over the North and Baltic Seas as well as Russia and the Baltic States. The own losses were 79 men in the army and 389 men in the navy.
On October 19, 1917, a squadron raid with eleven airships under the direction of Lieutenant Horst Treusch von Buttlar-Brandenfels took place on London . The attack came to be known as the " Silent Raid " because the new ships' attack height of over 5,000 m on the ground meant that hardly any engine noise could be heard. The 74 ascended British interceptors could not reach the attackers, who dropped 274 bombs. During this attack, LZ 101 (L 55) under Kapitänleutnant Hans von Schiller reached the record height of 7600 meters. This attack marks the climax of the airship attacks. However, this attack turned out to be a debacle for naval aviation. After the attack, which killed 32 people, five ships were lost on October 20, 1917. LZ 93 was shot down while burning by French flak, LZ 85, LZ 89 and LZ 96 crash landings in France and LZ 101 stranded in Thuringia.
Eleven airships were shot down while burning by fighter pilots (LZ 37, 47, 61, 64, 66, 72, 74, 78, 92, 95, 100, 112) and another six also crash burning after being hit by ground fire or for other reasons (LZ 32, 40, 93, 95, 104 and 107).
Another twelve airships burned in their halls (LZ 30, 31, 36, 38, 53, 69, 87, 94, 97, 99, 105 and 108), three of them after British air attacks. In the fire in Ahlhorn on January 5, 1918, the SL20 and the LZ87 (L47), LZ94 (L46), LZ 97 (L51) and LZ105 (L58) burned down.
36 of the airships built during the war were scrapped due to obsolescence (17) or after emergency landings, sank in the sea or fell into the hands of the enemy as wrecks. The LZ 46 (L14) was the only one of the "small" zeppelins from the beginning of the First World War to escape scrapping and saw the end of the war.
After the end of the war, 21 airships were left, which were either scrapped, destroyed by their own crews or handed over to the victorious powers as reparations. These included the LZ 46 and the large zeppelins LZ 62, 75, 79, 80, 83, 90, 91, 98, 103, 106, 109, 110 as well as the two sister ships of Strasser's LZ 112 (L70), the LZ 113 and 114 The two civil post-war newbuildings LZ 120 “Bodensee” and LZ 121 “Nordstern” were also assigned as reparations. LZ 114 later also crashed while in French service for unexplained reasons.
Others
- The first large American airship, the USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), was a copy of the LZ 96 that fell into the hands of the Allies on October 20, 1917 after an emergency landing in France.
- The British R34, which made the first Atlantic crossing in both directions in 1919, was a copy of the naval airship L 33.
- The British airship R38 , intended for delivery to the USA as the ZR-2, was also a copy of a German high altitude zeppelins.
- The LZ 126 "Los Angeles" built for the US Navy was the last military airship to be built by Zeppelin airship and at that time the largest rigid airship in the USA.
- The height of 7600 m, which LZ 101 reached, is the greatest height that an airship has ever survived.
- In the post-war airship LZ 120, still existing drive components of the U or V series were installed, which made this relatively small ship with 135 km / h the fastest airship to date.
See also
- List of zeppelins with the history of all ships built.
- List of Schütte-Lanz airships
literature
- Douglas H. Robinson: German naval airships 1912-1918. Mittler ES + Sohn GmbH, 2005, ISBN 3-8132-0786-2