Zeppelin LZ 76
{{short description|German World War I-era zeppelin}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name = LZ 76 (L 33) |image = WO I, neergehaalde zeppelin vlakbij cottage - Zeppelin brought down near a cottage (6934945658).jpg |caption = Imperial German Army Zeppelin LZ 76 brought down near a cottage in Essex |alt = }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type = R-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship |national origin = German Empire |manufacturer = Luftschiffbau Zeppelin |design group = |designer = Ludwig Dürr |builder = |first flight = 30 August 1916 |introduction = |introduced = |retired = |status = |primary user = Imperial German Navy |more users = |produced = |number built =1 |program cost = |developed from = |variants with their own articles = |developed into = }} |
The Imperial German Army Zeppelin LZ 76 (L-m33) was a R-class World War I zeppelin.
Operational history
On 23 September 1916 a bombing raid was planned for London. That night, a Zeppelin group (LZ 72 [L 31], L 32, L 33 and L 34) set out to complete the mission. They succeeded in dropping {{Convert|3200|kg|lbs}} of bombs on London and surrounding counties. On its first mission, anti-aircraft damaged LZ 76 its commander Kapitan-Leutnant Alois Bocker changed its course over Essex. It was here that the airship was attacked by 39 Home Defence Squadron night fighters from Hainault Farm. Alfred Brandon was flying a B.E.2e fighter when he attacked Zeppelin LZ 76, helping to bring the airship down in a field.{{sfn|Classen|2017|pp=220–222}} Even after dropping guns and equipment, Bocker calculated that the ship would not make it safely across the North Sea, and he landed in Little Wigborough, Essex, the morning of 24 September 1916 with no fatalities. Right away, the crew set out to destroy the airship but were only partly successful in burning the hull.{{sfn|Guttman|2018|p=70}} British engineers examined the skeleton and later used the plans as a basis for the construction of airships R33 and R34.
Specifications (LZ 76 / Type R zeppelin)
File:One of the huge propellers, Bestanddeelnr 158-2592.jpg
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Zeppelin: rigid airships, 1893–1940{{sfn|Brooks|1992|pp=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 76 / L 33}}
References
= Footnotes =
{{reflist|20em}}
= Bibliography =
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Peter W. |title=Zeppelin: Rigid Airships, 1893–1940 |year=1992 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-1-56098-228-9}}
- {{cite book |last=Classen |first=Adam |title=Fearless: The Extraordinary Untold Story of New Zealand's Great War Airmen |year=2017 |publisher=Massey University Press |isbn=978-0-9941407-8-4}}
- {{cite book |last=Guttman |first=Jon |title=Zeppelin vs British Home Defence 1915–18 |year=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-2034-1}}
- {{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}}
{{refend}}
{{LZ Navbox}}
Category:Accidents and incidents involving balloons and airships
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1916