Zeppelin LZ 74
{{Infobox aircraft
| name=LZ 74 (L 32)
| image= Zeppelin monument - geograph.org.uk - 171512.jpg
| caption= The Zeppelin LZ 74 (L 32) memorial shaft (right front) in Saint Giles Churchyard.
| other_names =
| type = Zeppelin R Class
| manufacturer =
| construction_number = LZ 74
| construction_date =
| civil_registration =
| military_serial = L 32
| radio_code =
| first_flight = 4 August 1916
| owners = Imperial German Navy
| in_service =
| last_flight = 24 September 1916
| flights =
| total_hours =
| total_distance =
| status =
| aircraft_carried =
| fate = Shot down on 24 September 1916 by 2nd Lt Frederick Sowrey
| preservation =
}}
LZ 74 (navy designation L 32) was an R Class super-zeppelin belonging to the Imperial German Navy. It was shot down in 1916.
Missions
The airship took part in three attacks on England dropping {{cvt|6860|kg}} of bombs.
Destroyed
On its final mission LZ 74 was commanded by Kapitan-Leutnant Werner Petersen. The Airship set out with LZ 72, LZ 76 and LZ 78 part of Zeppelin raid on the night of 23 September 1916.
Second Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey, of 39 Home Defence Squadron, in a Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2C, launched from Sutton Farm at 23:30 hours to patrol toward Joyce Green. Flying at {{Convert|13000|ft|m}}, he spotted Zeppelin LZ 74 at about 0110 hours. He was able to close in with the Zeppelin until he was close enough to fire three drums of incendiary ammunition into its belly. Round after round hit the Airship before it finally exploded in flame. There were no survivors from the aircrew; most of the bodies recovered were charred and burned. The burning wreckage of L 32 fell into farm fields off Green Farm Lane in Great Burstead, Essex, crashing at 01.30. The site drew enormous crowds.{{cite book |last1=Parsons |first1=Les |last2=Battams|first2=Samantha | title = The Red Devil: The story of South Australian aviation pioneer, Captain Harry Butler, AFC |year=2019 |publisher = Wakefield Press |isbn=9781743056721 |page=43}} The crew's bodies (22 in total) were buried at Great Burstead Church under 1 mile from the crash site, being buried on the 27th of September 1916, then exhumed in 1966 and reburied at the German Military Cemetery Cannock Chase.{{cite book|last=Bowman|first=Martin W. | title = Voices in Flight: Escaping Soldiers and Airmen of World War I|year=2017| publisher = Casemate Publishers| isbn= 9781473863248}}
==Specifications (LZ 74 / Type R zeppelin)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Peter W. |title=Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940 |url=https://archive.org/details/zeppelinrigidair00broo_303 |url-access=limited |date=1992 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=1560982284 |pages=95–99}}
|prime units?=met
|crew=17-19
|capacity={{cvt|32400|kg|0}} typical disposable load
|length m=198
|length note=
|dia m=23.9
|dia note=maximum
- Fineness ratio: 8.24
|volume m3=55200
|volume note=in 19 gas cells
|empty weight kg=31400
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=32908
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity={{cvt|6250|kg|0}}
|lift kg=63800
|lift note=
|more general=
|eng1 number=5
|eng1 name=Maybach HS Lu
|eng1 type=6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engines
|eng1 hp=240
|eng1 note=
|prop blade number=4
|prop name=Lorenzen fixed-pitch propellers
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop dia note=
|max speed kmh=103
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=81
|cruise speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=7400
|range note=at {{cvt|81|km/h|mph kn}}
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range nmi=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=3900
|ceiling note=static
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=10
|climb rate note=maximum permitted (r-class)
|time to altitude=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|more performance=
|guns= machine-guns in hull-top positions and gondolas
|bombs=up to 60 bombs to a total of {{cvt|5000|kg|0}}
}}
{{LZ shot down over UK}}
See also
{{Commons|Category:LZ 74 / L 32}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
- {{cite book |last=Liddell Hart |first=Sir Basil Henry |author-link=B. H. Liddell Hart |title=A History of the World War 1914–1918 |year=1934 |publisher=Faber |isbn=978-0-304-93653-3}}
{{LZ Navbox}}
Category:Airships of the Imperial German Navy
Category:1916 in military history
Category:Military airships of World War I
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1916