Zeppelin LZ 48

The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 48 (L 15) was a P-class World War I zeppelin.

LZ 48 (L 15)
Zeppelin LZ 48 (L 15) in the water
Role P-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship
National origin German Empire
Manufacturer Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Designer Ludwig Dürr
First flight 9 September 1915
Status Shot down by AA fire on 1 April 1916
Primary user Imperial German Navy
Number built 1
Unit cost
DM 1,360,000

Operational history

The Airship took part in eight reconnaissance missions with three attacks on England dropping 5,780 kg (12,740 lb) of bombs.

Destruction

The Zeppelin was damaged by ground fire from Dartford AA battery[1] during a raid on London on 1 April 1916. Even though it was hit the Airship came down at Kentish Knock Deep in the Thames estuary. One crew member was killed, the other 17 were taken prisoner of war after being picked up by ships.[2]

Specifications

Data from [3], Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 18-19 (Executive Officer, Commander, Navigator, Sailmaker (responsible for gasbags), Chief Engineer, 2 altitude coxswains, 2 steering coxswains, 8 engineers)
  • Capacity: 16,200 kg (35,715 lb) typical disposable load
  • Length: 163.5 m (536 ft 5 in)
  • Diameter: 18.7 m (61 ft 4 in) maximum
  • Fineness ratio: 8.68
  • Volume: 31,900 m3 (1,130,000 cu ft)
  • Empty weight: 20,800 kg (45,856 lb)
  • Fuel capacity: 4,800 kg (10,582 lb) maximum
  • Useful lift: 37,000 kg (82,000 lb)
  • Powerplant: 4 × Maybach C-X 6-cylinder water-cooled inline piston engine, 160 kW (210 hp) each
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 96.1 km/h (59.7 mph, 51.9 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 90 km/h (56 mph, 49 kn)
  • Range: 4,300 km (2,700 mi, 2,300 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 2,800 m (9,200 ft) static

Armament

  • Guns: 7 or 8 machine guns: naval airships generally using the water-cooled MG 08, army ships the air-cooled Parabellum MG 14
  • Bombs: 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) bombs (a greater load could be carried with reduced fuel load)

See also

References
  1. Flight Magazine 1916.
  2. Robinson, Douglas Hill (1973). Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295952499.
  3. Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 91–95. ISBN 1560982284.

Further reading
  • "Super Zeppelins". Flight. Vol.VIII (No.35) (No. 401): 739–741. 31 August 1916.

Zeppelins shot down over the UK

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 on towns across Britain, causing £1.5 million in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30 were either shot down or lost in accidents.[1]

  1. Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (1934). A History of the World War 1914-1918. Faber. p. 76. ISBN 9780304936533. - Total pages: 635
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