Zeppelin LZ 95

LZ 95 (L 48)
History
German Empire
Name	LZ 95
Operator	Imperial German Navy
Builder	Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Maiden voyage	22 May 1917
Identification	LZ 95 (L 48)
Fate	Shot down, 17 June 1917

Wreckage of Zeppelin LZ 95 (L 48), near Leiston

Zeppelin LZ 95 (L 48) was a U-class zeppelin of the Imperial German Military.

Career

One successful reconnaissance mission. L 48 and its U-class sister Airships were designed to fly as high as 20,000 feet (6,100 m). ^[1]

Destruction

L 48 joined an attempted attack on London with 4 other Zeppelins, L 42, L 44, L 45 and L 47. ^[1] Commanded by George Eichler, on his thirteenth raid, it became lost and was intercepted and destroyed by Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12, serial No. 6110, ^[2] flown by Canadian pilot Second Lieutenant Loudon Pierce Watkins. ^[1] He was attached to No. 37 Squadron of British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) fighters. Watkins had enlisted with his three brothers. He had been based in the UK, as home defence, since 11 December 1916. ^[3] Watkins shot down L 48 over water near Great Yarmouth on 17 June 1917 but it crashed near Theberton, Suffolk, a village near the town of Leiston. There were three survivors; the remainder of the crew were buried at St Peter's Church, Theberton, later to be exhumed and reburied at Cannock Chase.

Of the seven Zeppelins lost over England that were shot down in 1917 during the First World War, L 48 was the only one shot down by the RFC's Home defense. ^[4]

Specifications (LZ 95 / Type u zeppelin)

Data from Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940 ^[5]

General characteristics

• Crew: 19
• Capacity: 39,000 kg (85,980 lb) typical disposable load
• Length: 196.4 m (644 ft 4 in)
• Diameter: 23.9 m (78 ft 5 in)
  
• Fineness ratio: 8.22
• Volume: 55,795 m³ (1,970,400 cu ft)
• Empty weight: 25,750 kg (56,769 lb)
• Useful lift: 64,750 kg (142,750 lb)
• Powerplant: 5 × Maybach HS Lu 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engines, 180 kW (240 hp) each
• Propellers: 2-bladed Lorenzen propellers

Performance

• Maximum speed: 107.6 km/h (66.9 mph, 58.1 kn)
• Range: 7,400 km (4,600 mi, 4,000 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,000 ft) static

Armament

• Guns: defensive machine-guns in gondolas and envelope top gun positions
• Bombs: provision for bombs

Dirigibles shot down over the UK

Airships made about 51 bombing raids on Britain during World War I. These killed 557 and injured another 1,358 people. More than 5,000 bombs were dropped (largely on towns and cities) across Britain, causing £1.5 million (equivalent to £128,500,000in 2023) in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30 were shot down or lost in accidents. ^[6]

Airships shot down over the UK during WWI

Shot down Tactical No Production No Shot down by Aircraft Squadron Serial Number Crash location Picture 1 April 1916 L 15 LZ 48 Combination of Ranken darts dropped by Alfred Brandon and Anti-Aircraft Fire B.E.2e & ground fire No. 19 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron and Dartford AA battery Kentish Knock, Thames estuary 3 September 1916 SL 11 Lt Leefe Robinson B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 2693 Cuffley, Hertfordshire 24 September 1916 L 32 LZ 74 2nd Lt Frederick Sowrey B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4112 Great Burstead, Essex 24 September 1916 L 33 LZ 76 Alfred Brandon B.E.2e fighter No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4112 Little Wigborough, Essex 2 October 1916 L 31 LZ 72 2nd Lt Wulfstan J. Tempest B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4557 Potter's Bar, Hertfordshire 27 November 1916 L 34 LZ 78 2nd Lt Ian Pyot B.E.2c No. 36 Home Defence Squadron 2738 Hartlepool, County Durham 28 November 1916 L 21 LZ 61 Flt Lt Egbert 'Bertie' Cadbury B.E.2c RNAS Great Yarmouth 8265 Sea 17 June 1917 L 48 LZ 95 2nd Lt Loudon Pierce Watkins B.E.12 No. 37 Home Defence Squadron 6110 Theberton, East Suffolk

See also

• List of Zeppelins

Bibliography

Notes

1. Boyne 2005, p. 106.
2. Pigott 2005, p. 32.
3. Mower 2009, p. 56.
4. Wise 1980, p. 243.
5. Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 100–106. ISBN   1560982284.
6. Liddell Hart 1934, p. 76.

References

• Boyne, Walter J. (2005). The Influence of Air Power Upon History. Casemate Publishers. ISBN   9781844151998.- Total pages: 464
• Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (1934). A History of the World War 1914–1918. Faber. ISBN   978-0-304-93653-3.
• Mower, Mark (2009). Zeppelin over Suffolk: The Final Raid of L48. Pen and Sword. ISBN   9781844157372.- Total pages: 160
• Pigott, Peter (2005). On Canadian Wings: A Century of Flight. Dundurn. ISBN   9781550029963.- Total pages: 192
• Wise, Sydney F. (1980). Canadian Airmen and the First World War: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Volume I (PDF). University of Toronto Press. ISBN   9780802023797 . Retrieved 17 June 2020.

External links

• Account with excavation report
• BBC account
• Aerial photo on New Zealand government history site