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A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874 and developed in detail in 1893. They were patented in Germany in 1895 and in the United States in 1899. After the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the word zeppelin came to be commonly used to refer to all forms of rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and as scouts. Numerous bombing raids on Britain resulted in over 500 deaths.
An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air to achieve the lift needed to stay airborne.
The K-class blimp was a class of blimps built by the Goodyear Aircraft Company of Akron, Ohio for the United States Navy. These blimps were powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp nine-cylinder radial air-cooled engines, each mounted on twin-strut outriggers, one per side of the control car that hung under the envelope. Before and during World War II, 134 K-class blimps were built and configured for patrol and anti-submarine warfare operations, and were extensively used in the Navy’s anti-submarine efforts in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean areas.
A German air campaign of the First World War was carried out against Britain. After several attacks by seaplanes, the main campaign began in January 1915 with airships. Until the Armistice the Marine-Fliegerabteilung and Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches mounted over fifty bombing raids. The raids were generally referred to in Britain as Zeppelin raids but Schütte-Lanz airships were also used.
The British R.23X class of rigid airships were developed during World War I using the experience gained from the 23 class, but only two of the planned four R.23X class were built: R.27 and R.29. Both were completed mid-1918, but just 2+1⁄2 months after entering service R.27 was destroyed by fire in a hangar; while R.29 went on to become the most successful British wartime rigid airship, being the only one to meet enemy action, as well as the only one to sink a submarine.
Lebaudy République was a semi-rigid airship built for the French army in Moisson, France, by sugar manufacturers Lebaudy Frères. She was a sister ship of the airship Patrie, the main differences between the two being in the dimensions of the gasbag and the ballonet. Although she was operationally successful, République crashed in 1909 due to a mechanical failure, killing all four crew members.
The Zeppelin P Class was the first Zeppelin airship type to be produced in quantity after the outbreak of the First World War. Twenty-two of the type were built as well as twelve of a lengthened version, the Q Class. They were used for many of the airship bombing raids on the United Kingdom in 1915-16, for naval patrol work over the North Sea and Baltic and were also deployed on the eastern and south-eastern fronts.
The Zeppelin R Class was a type of rigid airship developed by Zeppelin Luftschiffbau in 1916 for use by the Imperial German Navy and the German Army for bombing and naval patrol work. Introduced in July 1916 at a time when British air defences were becoming increasingly capable, several were lost in the first months of operation, leading the Germans to reconsider their technical requirements and eventually to develop airships capable of bombing from a greater height. Most surviving examples were modified to meet these requirements, by reducing weight at the expense of performance. A total of 17 were built.
The Imperial German Army Zeppelin LZ 47 was a P-class World War I zeppelin. Destroyed by enemy fire on 21 February 1916 in the Battle of Verdun, killing the crew of 15.
The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 48 was a P-class World War I zeppelin.
The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 53 was a P-class World War I zeppelin.
Zeppelin LZ 38 was Zeppelin P Class airship of the German Imperial Army. It was the first to bomb London, United Kingdom.
The Imperial German Army Zeppelin LZ 43 was a P-class World War I zeppelin. While taking part in a bombing raid of the United Kingdom the Airship was hit by AA fire and it crashed outside of Ostend, Belgium on 10 August 1915. While being towed into the harbour, it burst into fire.
The LZ 85, tactical number L 45, also known as Zeppelin of Laragne by the French public, was a World War I R-Class zeppelin of the German Navy that carried out a total of 27 flights, including 3 raids on England and 12 reconnaissance missions.
LZ 72 was an R Class super-zeppelin belonging to the Imperial German Navy. It was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy, an experienced commander, and took part in several raids over London during World War I. It also participated in a reconnaissance role during the Sunderland raid of 19 August 1916. Its last flight was launched late at night on 1 October 1916. Several miles north of London, it was caught in searchlights and anti-aircraft fire. During this engagement, 2nd Lt. Wulstan J. Tempest was on patrol and spotted the zeppelin. He proceeded to engage the airship with incendiary rounds, causing the ship to burst into flames and crash in a field near Potter's Bar. The entire crew died, and were originally buried there but were reinterred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery in the 1960s. After this disastrous crash, the Imperial German Navy began reducing the number of zeppelin raids.
The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 31 was an M-class World War I Zeppelin.
The Zeppelin LZ 23 was the 2nd improved L-class Zeppelin, and the eleventh airship of the Imperial German Army, first flown on 21 February 1914 and shot-down by anti-aircraft fire on 23 August 1914.
The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 86 (L-39) was a R-class World War I zeppelin.
M.2 Città di Ferrara was a semi-rigid military single-gondola airship made in 1910 by the Stabilimento Costruzioni Aeronautiche in Rome, designed by Gaetano Crocco and Ottavio Ricaldoni as the second aircraft of the "M-Class" airships and operated by Regia Marina. On 8 June 1915 it was destroyed by an Austro-Hungarian seaplane, becoming the first airship to be destroyed by another aircraft.
References
- ↑ Daubeney, Arthur Frederick; Eveleigh-de Moleyns Baron Ventry, Eugène M. Koleśnik (1982). Airship Saga: The History of Airships Seen Through the Eyes of the Men who Designed, Built, and Flew Them. Blandford Press. ISBN 9780713710014.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Wilson, Herbert Wrigley; Sir John Alexander Hammerton (1916). The Great War: The Standard History of the All-Europe Conflict · Volume 6. Amalgamated Press.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)