Top speed 96 km/h | Manufacturer Luftschiffbau Zeppelin | |
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The airship LZ 37 was a World War I Zeppelin of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). It was the first Zeppelin to be brought down during the war by an enemy plane on the night of 6–7 June 1915.
Contents
History
In 1915 Zeppelins were first used by Germany for strategic bombing of the United Kingdom and France.
LZ 37 was part of a raid with Zeppelin LZ 38 and LZ 39. While returning, she was intercepted in the air by Reginald Warneford in his Morane Parasol during its first raid on Calais on 7 June 1915. Warneford dropped six 20 pounds (9.1 kg) Hales bombs on the zeppelin which caught fire and crashed into the convent school of Sint-Amandsberg, next to Ghent, Belgium (51°3′43.2″N 3°44′54.7″E), killing two nuns. The commander of LZ 37, Oberleutnant von der Hägen, and seven members of the crew were killed. One crew member, Steuermann Alfred Műhler, miraculously survived with only superficial burns and bruises when he was precipitated from the forward gondola, landing in a bed. It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible. Warneford was awarded the Victoria Cross for his achievement.
The LZ 37 was based in Gontrode, Belgium (airport location: 50°58′54.6″N 3°47′17.1″E).
Specifications
Data from "The Zeppelin Airships - Part Two: Zeppelins of the Great War 1914–1918". Puget sound airship society. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
General characteristics
Performance
Armament