Zeppelin LZ 53
| LZ 53 (L 17) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Zeppelin LZ 53 (L 17) | |
| Role | P-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship |
| National origin | German Empire |
| Manufacturer | Luftschiffbau Zeppelin |
| Designer | Ludwig Dürr |
| First flight | 20 October 1915 |
| Status | Burned in its hangar when LZ 69 caught on fire and the fire spread to the hangar |
| Primary user | Imperial German Navy |
| Number built | 1 |
The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 53 (L 17) was a P-class World War I zeppelin.
Operational history
[edit]The Imperial German Navy first launched it on 20 October 1915 and throughout its career took part in 27 reconnaissance missions; nine attacks on England dropping 10,724 kg (23,642 lb) bombs.
Destruction
[edit]Destroyed in its hangar at Tondern on 28 December 1916 when LZ 69 (L 24) caught fire.[1] [2]
Specifications
[edit]Data from ,[3] Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship[4]
General characteristics
- Crew: 18-19 (Executive Officer, Commander, Navigator, Sailmaker (responsible for gasbags), Chief Engineer, 2 altitude coxswains, 2 steering coxswains, 8 engineers)
- Capacity: 16,200 kg (35,715 lb) typical disposable load
- Length: 163.5 m (536 ft 5 in)
- Diameter: 18.7 m (61 ft 4 in) maximum
- Fineness ratio: 8.68
- Volume: 31,900 m3 (1,130,000 cu ft)
- Empty weight: 20,800 kg (45,856 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 4,800 kg (10,582 lb) maximum
- Useful lift: 37,000 kg (82,000 lb)
- Powerplant: 4 × Maybach C-X 6-cylinder water-cooled inline piston engine, 160 kW (210 hp) each
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 96.1 km/h (59.7 mph, 51.9 kn)
- Cruise speed: 90 km/h (56 mph, 49 kn)
- Range: 4,300 km (2,700 mi, 2,300 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 2,800 m (9,200 ft) static
Armament
- Guns: 7 or 8 machine guns: naval airships generally using the water-cooled MG 08, army ships the air-cooled Parabellum MG 14
- Bombs: 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) bombs (a greater load could be carried with reduced fuel load)
See also
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to LZ 53 / L 17.
Bibliography
[edit]Notes
- ^ Robinson 1973, p. 334.
- ^ Topping 2001, p. 253.
- ^ Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 91–95. ISBN 1560982284.
- ^ Robinson 1973.
References
- Robinson, Douglas Hill (1973). Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295952499.
- Topping, Alanson Dale (2001). When Giants Roamed the Sky: Karl Arnstein and the Rise of Airships from Zeppelin to Goodyear. University of Akron Press. ISBN 9781884836695. - Total pages: 276
Further reading
[edit]- "Super Zeppelins". Flight. VIII (No.35) (401): 739–741. 31 August 1916.