Zeppelin LZ 59
{{Short description|World War I German Navy Airship}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=File:Zeppelin LZ59-LZ61.svg |Ship caption=Silhouette of LZ 59 (L 20) }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=German Empire |Ship flag=60px |Ship name=LZ 59 |Ship namesake= |Ship owner= |Ship operator=Imperial German Navy |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Luftschiffbau Zeppelin |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down=1915 |Ship launched=1915 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed=21 November 1915 |Ship acquired=November 1915 |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage=21 December 1915 |Ship in service=21 December 1915 |Ship out of service=3 May 1916 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship identification=L 20 |Ship motto= |Ship nickname=Raider of Loughborough |Ship honours= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Stranded due to fuel exhaustion on 3 May 1916 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=Type Q |Ship type=Airship |Ship tonnage=23,852 kg |Ship displacement= |Ship tons burthen=17,500 kg of cargo |Ship length={{convert|178.5|m|ftin}} |Ship beam={{convert|18.7|m|ftin}}ø |Ship draught= |Ship draft= |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship power=Four 240 hp Maybach HSLu engines{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/de-luftschiff-lz-list.htm |title=Luftschiff/Airships |publisher=globalsecurity.org |date=11 July 2011 |access-date=27 December 2016}} |Ship propulsion=4 Lorenzen propellers |Ship sail plan= |Ship range={{convert|4,900|km|mi}}{{cite web |url=http://air-ship.info/airship59.html |title=LZ59 (L20) |publisher=air-ship.info |access-date=27 December 2016}} |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity=35,800 m³ Gas Volume in 18 gas cells |Ship troops= |Ship complement= |Ship crew=18 |Ship armament= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities=2 gondolas |Ship notes= }} |
The LZ 59 (L 20) was a World War I German Navy Airship and was the first Q-Class zeppelin{{cite web |url=http://zeppelin.mariwoj.pl/spis0lz2.htm |title=Sterowce Zeppelin 1900–39 |publisher=zeppelin.mariwoj.pl |access-date=27 December 2016}} with a then record length of {{convert|178.5|m|ftin}}. It was allocated the tactical numbering L 20 and carried out a total of 19 flights, including 2 raids on England and 10 reconnaissance missions.{{cite web |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1916/1916%20-%200744.html |title=1916 |publisher=flightglobal.com |date=2010 |access-date=27 December 2016}}
Construction
The LZ 59 was built by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin in Friedrichshafen, Germany, during the First World War. It was built to join the ranks of the German Kaiserliche Marine in the fight against the United Kingdom. The ship was completed as the first Q-Class zeppelin on 21 November 1915 and had a record length of {{convert|178.5|m|ftin}}. It also had a diameter of {{convert|18.7|m|ftin}} and 35,800 m³ gas volume contained in 18 gas cells.{{cite web |url=http://zeppelin-museum.dk/main.php?page=airships&id=l-20 |title=Zeppelin L 20 |publisher=zeppelin-museum.dk |access-date=27 December 2016}} The ship could reach a top speed of 95 km/h, with four {{convert|240|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Maybach HSLu engines driving four propellers, producing at total of {{convert|960|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}}, giving a range of {{convert|4,900|km|mi}}.{{cite web |url=http://zeppelin-museum.dk/D/german/historie/zeppelin/zeppelin.html |title=Luftschiffe in Tondern |publisher=zeppelin-museum.dk |date=August 2003 |access-date=27 December 2016 |archive-date=14 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814092912/http://www.zeppelin-museum.dk/D/german/historie/zeppelin/zeppelin.html |url-status=dead }} The LZ 59 could reach an altitude of {{convert|3,200|m|ft}}.{{cite web |url=http://p159.phpnet.org/lzdream/dirigeables/zeppelin/ficheszep/0/zeppelin.php?lz=59&p=0 |title=Lz59 – L20 |publisher=phpnet.org |date=2000 |access-date=27 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305102015/http://p159.phpnet.org/lzdream/dirigeables/zeppelin/ficheszep/0/zeppelin.php?lz=59&p=0 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} The ship had room to carry 18 crew members in her two gondolas.{{cite web |url=http://www.pugetairship.org/zeppelins/list_2.html |title=The Zeppelin Airships |publisher=pugetairship.org |date=2007 |access-date=27 December 2016}}
War career
The LZ 59 conducted its first flight on 21 December 1915 from Friedrichshafen to Tønder. The first flight was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Franz Stabbert with first officer Lieutenant Ernst Schirlitz, but the ship did not see action in the war until 1916. It was stationed in Tønder from 18 January 1916 to 21 February 1916 and in Seddin near Slupsk, Poland before being flown back to Tønder on 6 April 1916.
= Bombing raids on the English Midlands =
The LZ 59 conducted its first bombing raid on Britain on the night of 31 January and 1 February 1916. The ship took off together with L 19 from Tønder and joined 9 other naval airships whose objective was to destroy the docks in Liverpool, as well as other targets in the English midlands. The raid was personally led by airship fleet manager Peter Strasser who was on the L 11.
LZ 59 dropped 7 high explosive bombs on the railway junction at the Bennerley Viaduct and steelworks near Awsworth {{convert|10|km|mi}} northwest of Nottingham. The viaduct, however, emerged with only superficial marks from shrapnel, which are visible to this day,{{cite web| url=http://www.tvas.info/docs/TVAS_Jan-March2008.pdf| title=Air Raids| work=The Voice of Trent Valley Aviation Society| access-date=24 January 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722002350/http://www.tvas.info/docs/TVAS_Jan-March2008.pdf| archive-date=22 July 2011| url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Zeppelin Attack |url=https://www.bennerleyviaduct.org.uk/?page_id=1641 |publisher=The Friends of Bennerley Viaduct |access-date=1 February 2022}} and no fatalities were reported.{{cite web |url=https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/204606-zeppelin-raids-on-nottinghamshire// |title=Zeppelin Raids on Nottinghamshire |publisher=greatwarforum |date=4 January 2014 |access-date=2018-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227195747/http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F204606-zeppelin-raids-on-nottinghamshire%2F |archive-date=27 December 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} The next target for LZ 59 was the Stanton steelworks, located south of Ilkeston. The ship dropped 15 bombs on its intended target, of which one bomb hit the railway bridge over Nutbrook Canal, killing 2 people. The ship then went on to drop another 4 bombs on Loughborough, which is located about {{convert|30|km|mi}} south of Nottingham. Two of the bombs fell on the Rushes stores in the center of the town and the other two near the Empress plant to the east. The attack on Loughborough led to 12 people being injured and the death of ten of the town's inhabitants, including Mary Anne Page and two of her children, whose names can be seen on a plaque in Loughborough Carillon Park.{{cite web |url=http://www.leics.gov.uk/leicestershire_and_rutland_her_-_ww1-2.pdf |title=The First World War On The Her |publisher=leics.gov.uk |date=2014 |access-date=27 December 2016}}
File:Bennerley Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 15955.jpg
LZ 59 flew {{convert|40|km|mi}} westward and bombarded Burton-upon-Trent at 8:45{{nbsp}}pm.{{cite news |url=http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/bygones-terror-rained-night-sky-zeppelin-pilots/story-21058133-detail/story.html |title=Bygones: Terror rained down from the night sky as Zeppelin pilots attacked Burton in mistake ... for Liverpool |newspaper=Derby Telegraph |date=5 May 2014 |access-date=27 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031025235/http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/bygones-terror-rained-night-sky-zeppelin-pilots/story-21058133-detail/story.html |archive-date=31 October 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} One of the bombs dropped on the city landed between the Christchurch and the mission house in Uxbridge Street, where over 200 people had gathered. The following explosion injured 72 and killed 6 people, including guest missionary Mary Rose Morris from Brighton, who died while hugging her Bible. LZ 59 also dropped 12 firebombs on the city, which damaged some houses and 2 breweries. The bombardment of Burton-upon-Trent ended up killing a total of 15 people.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PifAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT234 |title=The Baby Killers: German Air Raids on Britain in the First World War |author=Thomas Fegan |publisher=Pen and Sword |date=2013|isbn=9781473818927 |access-date=27 December 2016}}{{page needed|date=November 2017|reason=book has only 224 pages, how can this be page 234?}}
As the night passed, all of the airships were ordered to return to their bases. In the end, none of the nine airships reached Liverpool, however a great deal of damage was done to the English midlands and many British citizens died in the attacks. The German army ended up losing one airship, the L 19, which was forced to crash land in the North Sea leading to the death of everyone on board. An English ship had rushed to the surviving crew's aid, but ended up abandoning them.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
After the air raid LZ 59 was given the nickname Raider of Loughborough due to the city's damage and the high death toll.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}
= May 1916 bombing raid and crash =
LZ 59 started its second bombing raid on Britain during the night of 2 May and 3 May 1916. The ship left its base in Tønder and joined 6 other airships to conduct another bombing raid against a number of factories, smelters and railways in Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Hartlepool in northeast England. Another target for the airships were some enemy warships at the mouth of the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh, Scotland.{{cite web |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19160506.2.34 |title=The Zeppelin Raid |newspaper=Otago Daily Times |date=6 May 1916 |access-date=27 December 2016}}
After the air raid the airships returned safely to their bases except LZ 59, which was having problems with one of its four engines and also encountered strong winds from the southeast, which increased to a moderate gale. The wind blew the ship north past Peterhead and out to the North Sea towards neutral Norway. In the early morning of 3 May 1916, LZ 59 passed northeast of Feistein Lighthouse about {{convert|8|km|mi}} from the mainland. It then changed course to the southeast in order to follow the coastal landscape along Jæren, Revtangen and Obrestad Lighthouse at an altitude of {{convert|200-300|m|ftin}}. Commander Stabbert decided to attempt an emergency landing at Gandsfjorden near Sandnes due to the low amount of gasoline left in the airship's fuel tanks.{{cite web |url=http://www.hinnavis.no/index.cfm?event=doLink&famId=163959 |title=Bydelens historie |publisher=hinnavis.no |date=11 February 2011 |access-date=27 December 2016 |archive-date=20 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220004315/http://www.hinnavis.no/index.cfm?event=doLink&famId=163959 |url-status=dead }}
The airship passed west of Sandnes and Lura at a low altitude in order to go beyond Gandsfjorden and into the inner fjords south of Stavanger. Around 11:00{{nbsp}}am, the airship touched down in a fairly calm fjord, where it dipped its nose and front gondola a few times in the water. Commander Stabbert ordered the crew to jump in the water, Lieutenant Schirlitz and six sailors followed the commander's orders and jumped overboard. Two officers swam ashore to Dale, while the sailors were rescued by a small fishing boat captained by Jeremiah Bykle. However, there were still 8 men on board the airship, which started to gain height again as it was relieved of weight. The wind took the airship northwest before its anchor caught a large rock on Heddå mountain. The shock of the sudden stop detached one of the gondolas, which fell to the ground with four men on board, of whom 3 died. The airship rose again and flew further to Hafrsfjord before it slowly fell into the water near Jåsund at 11:55{{nbsp}}am. Shortly before it hit the water and broke in half, one man jumped out the ship and the last three crewmen were rescued by a torpedo boat.{{cite web |url=http://www.aftenbladet.no/lokalt/Storkrigen-strandet-i-Hafrsfjord-392210b.html |title=Storkrigen strandet i Hafrsfjord |newspaper=Stavanger Aftenblad |access-date=27 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227130718/http://www.aftenbladet.no/lokalt/Storkrigen-strandet-i-Hafrsfjord-392210b.html |archive-date=27 December 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}
Aftermath
On 4 May 1916 at 9:00{{nbsp}}am the wind turned toward the northeast and drove the wreck of the airship towards the stone coast of Sør-Sunde. As a result, the gondola and motors were crushed and the ship's machine guns fell into the water. In order to prevent the ship from doing any damage to the nearby towns, Norwegian Colonel Johannesen summoned 12 soldiers who, at 3:00{{nbsp}}pm, fired at the wreckage from a distance of {{convert|120|m|ftin}}, igniting the remaining hydrogen in a massive explosion.{{cite web |url=http://karolius.info/divdok/zeppelineren-l20 |title=Zeppelineren L20 |publisher=karolius.info |access-date=27 December 2016}}
= Internment of the crew =
Some of the crew were interned on the German auxiliary cruiser Berlin in Trondheimsfjord, where they remained until the end of the war. Six other crew members, including an officer, were interned in Madlalejren and were released shortly after. Commander Stabbert fled after 6 months of internment and returned to the airship base in Tønder on 20 December 1916.{{cite web |url=http://www.456fis.org/ZEPPELIN.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227130948/http://www.456fis.org/ZEPPELIN.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |title=The Zeppelins |publisher=456fis.org |date=2 October 2014 |access-date=27 December 2016}}
Legacy
The LZ 59 will always be remembered as the Raider of Loughborough to the people of Britain.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} The airship dropped a total of {{convert|2864|kg|abbr=on}} of bombs during its two raids and killed an estimated 17 people, as well as damaging many buildings. It made a total of 19 flights, covering a distance of {{convert|7211|km|mi nmi|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.loughborough-rollofhonour.com/page64.htm |title=Zeppelin L20 |publisher=loughborough-rollofhonour.com |access-date=27 December 2016}}
References
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