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LZ 37

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LZ 37
Artist's impression of the destruction of German ZeppelinLZ 37by Sub-Lieutenant Reginald Warneford on 7 June 1915.
General information
TypeM-Class Zeppelin
National originGerman Empire
ManufacturerLuftschiffbau ZeppelinatFriedrichshafen
OwnersImperial German Navy
Number built77
Construction numberLZ 37
Flights14
History
First flight4 March 1915
In service4 March 1915 – 7 June 1915
FateShot down, 7 June 1915

TheairshipLZ 37was aWorld War IZeppelinof the GermanKaiserliche Marine(Imperial Navy). It was the first Zeppelin to be brought down during the war by an enemy plane, on the night of 6 to 7 June 1915, nearSint-Amandsberg,Belgium.[1]

History

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In 1915 Zeppelins were first used by Germany forstrategic bombing.[2]

LZ 37was part of a raid with ZeppelinsLZ 38andLZ 39.While returning, she was intercepted in the air byReginald Warnefordin hisMorane Parasolduring its first raid on Calais, on 7 June 1915.[3][4]Warneford dropped six 20-pound (9 kg)Halesbombs on the zeppelin, which caught fire and crashed into the convent school ofSint-Amandsberg,next toGhent,Belgium (51°3′43.2″N3°44′54.7″E/ 51.062000°N 3.748528°E/51.062000; 3.748528), killing two nuns. The commander ofLZ 37,OberleutnantOtto van der Haegen[de],and seven members of the crew were killed. One crew member, Steuermann Alfred Mühler, survived with only superficial burns and bruises when he was precipitated from the forward gondola, landing in a bed.[5]It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible.[1]Warneford was awarded theVictoria Crossfor his achievement.

LZ 37was based inGontrode[fr;nl],Belgium (airport location:50°58′54.6″N3°47′17.1″E/ 50.981833°N 3.788083°E/50.981833; 3.788083), where also other heavy bombersGotha G IVwere based.[6][7]

Specifications

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Data from"The Zeppelin Airships - Part Two: Zeppelins of the Great War 1914–1918".Puget sound airship society.Retrieved28 January2011.

General characteristics

  • Crew:28
  • Length:163.37 m (536 ft 0 in)
  • Diameter:18.7 m (61 ft 4 in)
  • Volume:33,780 m3(1,126,000 cu ft)
  • Empty weight:17,588 kg (38,775 lb)
  • Useful lift:8,520 kg (18,780 lb)
  • Powerplant:4 × Maybach MC-X, 155 kW (210 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed:96 km/h (60 mph, 52 kn)

Armament

  • Four machine-guns

Citations

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  1. ^abStephenson 2004,p. 16.
  2. ^"The National Archives - Homepage".The National Archives.The National Archives UK.Archivedfrom the original on 4 September 2024.Retrieved8 February2024.
  3. ^Piet, Dhanens (12 April 2013)."Zeppelin LZ 37 te Sint-Amandsberg".Luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be(in Dutch). Archived fromthe originalon 2019-12-29.Retrieved2019-12-29.
  4. ^Dhanens, Piet (2008).Een eeuw luchtvaart boven Gent(in Dutch). Vol. 1. Erembodegem (Aalst): Flying Pencil.ISBN978-90-78878-04-9.OCLC1074669308.
  5. ^History of the First World War,vol. 3, pp. 986.
  6. ^Ghent, Thomas (2012)."KG III Der Englandflieger".thomasgenth.de(in German). Archived fromthe originalon 2013-09-14.Retrieved29 June2013.
  7. ^White, C. M. (1986).The Gotha summer: the German daytime air raids on England, May to August 1917.London: Hale.ISBN978-0-7090-2791-1.

References

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