MILITARY USES OF ZEPPELINSLimitations of Use.Nothing excites the Teutonic imagination so strongly as things military to which the characteristic German adjectivekolossalcan be enthusiastically applied. It was for this reason that, despite its uniform record of tragic disaster for years before the war, the Germans pinned their faith to the Zeppelin as a weapon that could not fail to strike terror to the hearts of the British and French and make them hasten "to sue for peace." However, apart from its reputed employment on the single occasion that the German grand fleet left the security of the Kiel Canal, it is not known to have been used in any purely military operation. The aeroplane has been developed to a point that, in spite of the ability of the Zeppelin to ascend rapidly when hard pressed, would make it suicidal for one of the huge gas bags to sally forth in daylight, unless attended by a large number of battle planes to prevent enemy flying machines from attacking it. No such use of the Zeppelin has been recorded thus far. Consequently, it has been used only in nocturnal bomb-dropping expeditions, chiefly directed against London and only undertaken when weather conditions made detection difficult. In order to carry these out, it has been necessary to establish stations in Belgium, since the fuel consumption of the Zeppelin is so great that, even with its tremendous fuel supply of 3 to 5 tons, a flight to London and return to points well within the German border is impracticable. The first raids of this character were carried out successfully, but subsequent attempts were marked by the loss of one or two airships on each occasion, so that the practice was abandoned as being too expensive for the results attained and aeroplanes were substituted.Number Built.Taking it for granted that the numbering of the German airships has been consecutive, the total number built during the first three and one-half years of the war by the Germans would be between eighty and one hundred. All large German airships have come to be commonly termed Zeppelins, but a number of them were of the Schutte-Lanz type, almost equally large and also characterized by rigid construction, which, however, was of wood with aluminum fittings instead of being all metal, as it was found that the huge metal frame accumulated a static charge of high potential that was responsible for igniting the gas in one or two instances.Weakness of Type.The L-I (Luftschiff, or airship), the first of the German airships designed for purely military purposes, was a Zeppelin 525 feet long by 50 feet in diameter, of 777,000 cubic feet capacity, and 22 tons displacement. Its three sets of motors developed 500 horsepower and it had a speed of 52 miles per hour. It was launched at Friedrichshafen in 1912, and after a number of successful cross-country trips, it was tried in connection with naval maneuvers off Heligoland. Before the trial had proceeded very far, a sudden squall broke the backbone of the huge gas bag and hurled it into the sea, drowning fifteen out of the crew of twenty-two. It is a striking commentary on the frailness of these aerial monsters that every one of the big airships built up to that time had met disaster in an equally sudden manner but from a totally different cause in each instance. The L-II was slightly shorter but had 5 feet longer beam and displaced 27 tons. She was designed particularly for naval use, had four sets of motors developing 900 horsepower, and was fitted with a navigating bridge like that of a ship. It was confidently thought that all possible shortcomings had been remedied and success finally achieved in the L-II, but before there was any opportunity to demonstrate its efficiency, the airship exploded in mid-air, killing its entire crew.Effectiveness Grossly Overrated.Despite this unbroken chain of disasters, the German official press bureau spread broadcast the prowess of the Zeppelin, its magnificent ability, and its remarkable achievements as an engine of war—in theory, since this was a year or two prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Had it not been for the forced descent of the Zeppelin IV at Luneville, where it was taken possession of by the French, these tales might have been accepted at their face value. But the log of the commander of this airship showed that its maximum speed was but 45 miles per hour, the load 10,560 pounds, and the ascensional effort 45,100 pounds. The fuel consumption averaged 297 pounds per hour while the fuel capacity was only sufficient for a flight of seven hours. During its flight, it had reached an altitude of only 6,250 feet, to accomplish which over 3 tons of ballast had to be dropped. It was also shown that the critical flying height of these huge airships is between 3,500 and 4,000 feet, Zeppelin himself declaring that his machines were useless above 5,000 feet. This probably accounts for the fact that the early raids on English towns were carried out at a height but slightly in excess of 2,000 feet. Later types, however, are said to have reached high altitudes.Fig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French AirmanFig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French Airman, Resting on Hillside near Bourbon-Les-BainesCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkShortly before the outbreak of the war the L-5 was completed. This had a capacity of about 1,000,000 cubic feet, motors aggregating 1,000 horsepower or over, and a reputed speed of 65 miles per hour. Just what was the fate of this particular ship did not become known, since information of a military character has not been permitted to leak out of Germany from that time on. But capture or destruction has accounted for many of the intermediate numbers of the series; big German airships have been brought down in England, in the North Sea, in France, and at Saloniki, their loss culminating in the disaster to four out of the fleet of five that attempted a raid over London but were caught by adverse winds which exhausted their fuel supply so that they were blown out of control, toward the south of France. French anti-aircraft batteries or aeroplanes accounted for three of these, while the fourth, the L-49, was captured intact.Fig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersFig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkL-49.An essential part of the equipment of every form of German military apparatus is a means of destroying it in case of capture. In the case of the big airships, the officers are provided with revolvers loaded with incendiary bullets, which are fired into the gas bag, so that until the L-49 was forced to descend in the south of France by the activities of a battle plane, plus a lack of fuel, no airship of a recent type had ever been captured intact. In this case, the commander fired his pistol at the balloon but missed and was prevented from firing again by a French peasant who "covered" him with a shotgun. The wireless operator succeeded in using a sledge hammer on some of the apparatus of the very completely equipped wireless cabin before he was captured but did not do sufficient damage to prevent reassembly of the parts with little trouble. With the exception of the earlier type of Zeppelin that was forced to descend at Luneville prior to the war, the L-49 was the first that was ever known to have landed undamaged in hostile territory, as practically all the others were destroyed in the air, most of them having been wrecked either by aeroplane or anti-aircraft fire. Fig. 22 shows the L-49 as it rested on a hillside at Bourbon-les-Baines, France, and Fig. 23 shows a close view of the nose of the monster.Standardized Parts.Comparing the L-49 with many of its predecessors led to the conclusion that it was one of the latest types, but an inspection of its construction revealed the use of many parts produced in quantities from standard patterns as well as a lack of the finish that has always characterized airship construction. Appearance and comfort had both been sacrificed with a view to saving the last ounce of superfluous weight in order to carry more fuel and ammunition. Evidently the production of these large airships has been reduced to a manufacturing basis and they are constructed in series in much the same manner as motor cars, though on a reduced scale.General Design.In its general construction the L-49 was along the same lines that have characterized the Zeppelin since its inception, the outer envelope being stretched over a rigid frame of aluminum girders, inclosing a large number of independent balloons inflated with the usual hydrogen gas, no trace being discovered of the non-inflammable gas, the discovery of which had been hailed by the German press. The commander’s cabin was suspended well forward with the wireless room directly behind it, while a V-shaped gangway, recessed in the envelope proper so as to present no additional head resistance, ran back from the latter the whole length of the ship. This and the gun platform on top, mounting two machine guns and reached by a ladder suspended in a well amidships, have been familiar features of all the recent Zeppelins. The main envelope contained nineteen independent gas bags, each of which was made integral with an air balloonet to take care of the expansion and contraction of the hydrogen with varying altitudes and temperatures. Distributed along the lower part of the frame inside the envelope were a series of 50-gallon water-ballast tanks.Power Plant.No less than nine large motors were employed to drive the huge gas bag, the maximum horsepower probably aggregating 1,600 to 2,000. The motors were distributed in five different locations, the largest being suspended just abaft the wireless room. The remainder were placed in self-contained units in the form of gondolas suspended from the sides of the frame, as shown in Fig. 24, the outline being that of a blunt-nosed fish. Each of these gondolas carried two motors placed side by side and coupled up so that either one or both could be employed to drive the single propeller. For cruising speeds one motor in each gondola supplied sufficient power or in some gondolas both motors could remain idle. No accommodation was provided for attendants in the gondolas, any of which could easily be reached by light ladders from the inclosed gangway.To insure greater safety, the fuel supply was divided among sixteen tanks, all of which were interconnected with each other and the engines so that gasoline from any tank or tanks could be diverted to any particular engine. The supply of lubricating oil for each engine was carried in a tank in the gondola itself.Control.Vertical and horizontal stabilizing surfaces of conventional form were built on the sharply tapering rear end of the frame, the elevator and rudder being similar to those used in aeroplane construction, except that the rudder was in two sections, the larger of which was placed on top of the envelope. The control of these surfaces, the operation of all the engines, the control of the water ballast, the air supply to the balloonets, and the fuel supply to the motors were all concentrated at a panel board in the commander’s cabin, the forward end of which bore a close resemblance to the bridge of a man-of-war. By means of thirty-eight push buttons, half red and half white, air could be released from or pumped into the balloonets, while in a similar manner the contents of any one of the water-ballast tanks could be emptied. Elaborate controls were provided for the power plant, it being possible to vary the speed or stop any one or more of the motors from the bridge. The rudder and elevators were operated by means of small hand wheels, similar to a marine steering wheel. One of the most prominent features of the operating cabin was a huge chart frame, capable of carrying a large scale map covering a considerable area, as well as an ample supply of maps. Few instruments were found in the captured ship and it is thought highly probable that everything not fastened in place had been dumped overboard at the last to increase its lifting power.Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Copyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkApart from the use of standardized fittings and parts and the employment of a great deal more power in a slightly different manner than had characterized the earlier types of Zeppelins, the L-49 revealed nothing of unusual importance in airship design and certainly none of the world-beating features that German propaganda had been heralding for some time previous.Destruction of Zeppelins.Mention has already been made of the fact that practically the only use made by Germany of her huge airships has been the bombardment of open cities, and that always at night. From the first of September, 1914, up to the end of 1917, between thirty and forty had met disaster, but only two were captured intact. The first of these was discovered by a Russian cavalry patrol while at anchor and its crew of thirty men were made prisoners. This was at an early period in the war, while the second one to be captured was the L-49, already referred to, which formed one of a squadron of five evidently sent out on a bombing expedition against London. Owing to adverse winds, they never reached their destination and four of them were known to have been put out of action, all except the L-49 being destroyed in the air. Not a few of these big airships have fallen victims to their own weakness and succumbed to the elements, in one instance a high wind tearing the airship loose from its moorings while the crew was not aboard. This was at Kiel, and after traveling a number of miles unguided, the big bag fell into the North Sea. In quite a number of other cases head winds have prevented the return of the raiders to their base and they have either been destroyed by their crews or wrecked at sea in attempting to return. In still other instances the unwieldy monsters have been wrecked by high winds when attempting to land, as was so frequently the case prior to the war.Aeroplane and Anti-Aircraft Fire Effective.Before the war broke out the ability of either the aeroplane or the anti-aircraft gun to overcome the Zeppelin was purely theoretical, but actual experience has demonstrated that much of the theory was well founded. At least three Zeppelins have been destroyed by British aviators in mid-air, all or most of the crews being killed, while probably an equal number have been accounted for by French aviators in open battle. The war had not been under way a month before French anti-aircraft gunners showed their skill by bringing down-a "Zep," while only a week later a Russian battery accomplished the same feat, in this instance killing the entire crew. In 1916, British and French gunners succeeded in either "winging" or setting on fire three or four, while two dropped into the North Sea and one was blown up by its crew, having run out of fuel while raiding Scotch towns.Bombing Raids against Zeppelin Sheds.Not the least of the disadvantages from which such huge and unwieldy craft suffer is the fact that the correspondingly large structures required to house them make exceedingly easy marks for the raiding aviator. Bombing, however, is such an uncertain art that even such large buildings as these cannot be struck from any altitude with a fair degree of accuracy. Consequently, in the number of raids that have been carried out against Zeppelin sheds, success has been due very largely to the temerity of the aviators, who have descended within a few hundred feet of their mark despite the fire directed at them from all quarters. At least three and probably more of the big airships have been destroyed in this manner by British aviators, who have made flights of several hundred miles to reach their destination, while the destruction of as many more has been ascribed by the Germans to the "accidental" explosion of a bomb in the shed. In view of the great precautions taken against accident from the explosion of the bombs carried by the airship itself, it is not considered at all likely that there was anything accidental about the wrecking of these craft.One of the earliest attempts against Zeppelin headquarters at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, which resulted in the destruction of the L-31, is typical of the plan followed in attacks of this kind. Two British aviators flew from their base in France, about 250 miles distant, at a high altitude. They became separated before reaching their destination owing to a mist. This, however, prevented their discovery until they had dropped within a few hundred feet of the surface of the lake, which it was necessary to do to obtain a view of the airship sheds. The first pilot dropped his cargo of bombs from a height of only 100 feet or so over the shed and was rewarded by seeing it catch fire. He had hardly straightened out on his return course before he heard the attack of his companion. The latter was not so fortunate in escaping unscathed, as a bullet pierced his fuel tank and compelled him to descend. In the majority of instances, however, the raiders have succeeded not only in carrying out their task but in escaping undamaged as well.
MILITARY USES OF ZEPPELINSLimitations of Use.Nothing excites the Teutonic imagination so strongly as things military to which the characteristic German adjectivekolossalcan be enthusiastically applied. It was for this reason that, despite its uniform record of tragic disaster for years before the war, the Germans pinned their faith to the Zeppelin as a weapon that could not fail to strike terror to the hearts of the British and French and make them hasten "to sue for peace." However, apart from its reputed employment on the single occasion that the German grand fleet left the security of the Kiel Canal, it is not known to have been used in any purely military operation. The aeroplane has been developed to a point that, in spite of the ability of the Zeppelin to ascend rapidly when hard pressed, would make it suicidal for one of the huge gas bags to sally forth in daylight, unless attended by a large number of battle planes to prevent enemy flying machines from attacking it. No such use of the Zeppelin has been recorded thus far. Consequently, it has been used only in nocturnal bomb-dropping expeditions, chiefly directed against London and only undertaken when weather conditions made detection difficult. In order to carry these out, it has been necessary to establish stations in Belgium, since the fuel consumption of the Zeppelin is so great that, even with its tremendous fuel supply of 3 to 5 tons, a flight to London and return to points well within the German border is impracticable. The first raids of this character were carried out successfully, but subsequent attempts were marked by the loss of one or two airships on each occasion, so that the practice was abandoned as being too expensive for the results attained and aeroplanes were substituted.Number Built.Taking it for granted that the numbering of the German airships has been consecutive, the total number built during the first three and one-half years of the war by the Germans would be between eighty and one hundred. All large German airships have come to be commonly termed Zeppelins, but a number of them were of the Schutte-Lanz type, almost equally large and also characterized by rigid construction, which, however, was of wood with aluminum fittings instead of being all metal, as it was found that the huge metal frame accumulated a static charge of high potential that was responsible for igniting the gas in one or two instances.Weakness of Type.The L-I (Luftschiff, or airship), the first of the German airships designed for purely military purposes, was a Zeppelin 525 feet long by 50 feet in diameter, of 777,000 cubic feet capacity, and 22 tons displacement. Its three sets of motors developed 500 horsepower and it had a speed of 52 miles per hour. It was launched at Friedrichshafen in 1912, and after a number of successful cross-country trips, it was tried in connection with naval maneuvers off Heligoland. Before the trial had proceeded very far, a sudden squall broke the backbone of the huge gas bag and hurled it into the sea, drowning fifteen out of the crew of twenty-two. It is a striking commentary on the frailness of these aerial monsters that every one of the big airships built up to that time had met disaster in an equally sudden manner but from a totally different cause in each instance. The L-II was slightly shorter but had 5 feet longer beam and displaced 27 tons. She was designed particularly for naval use, had four sets of motors developing 900 horsepower, and was fitted with a navigating bridge like that of a ship. It was confidently thought that all possible shortcomings had been remedied and success finally achieved in the L-II, but before there was any opportunity to demonstrate its efficiency, the airship exploded in mid-air, killing its entire crew.Effectiveness Grossly Overrated.Despite this unbroken chain of disasters, the German official press bureau spread broadcast the prowess of the Zeppelin, its magnificent ability, and its remarkable achievements as an engine of war—in theory, since this was a year or two prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Had it not been for the forced descent of the Zeppelin IV at Luneville, where it was taken possession of by the French, these tales might have been accepted at their face value. But the log of the commander of this airship showed that its maximum speed was but 45 miles per hour, the load 10,560 pounds, and the ascensional effort 45,100 pounds. The fuel consumption averaged 297 pounds per hour while the fuel capacity was only sufficient for a flight of seven hours. During its flight, it had reached an altitude of only 6,250 feet, to accomplish which over 3 tons of ballast had to be dropped. It was also shown that the critical flying height of these huge airships is between 3,500 and 4,000 feet, Zeppelin himself declaring that his machines were useless above 5,000 feet. This probably accounts for the fact that the early raids on English towns were carried out at a height but slightly in excess of 2,000 feet. Later types, however, are said to have reached high altitudes.Fig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French AirmanFig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French Airman, Resting on Hillside near Bourbon-Les-BainesCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkShortly before the outbreak of the war the L-5 was completed. This had a capacity of about 1,000,000 cubic feet, motors aggregating 1,000 horsepower or over, and a reputed speed of 65 miles per hour. Just what was the fate of this particular ship did not become known, since information of a military character has not been permitted to leak out of Germany from that time on. But capture or destruction has accounted for many of the intermediate numbers of the series; big German airships have been brought down in England, in the North Sea, in France, and at Saloniki, their loss culminating in the disaster to four out of the fleet of five that attempted a raid over London but were caught by adverse winds which exhausted their fuel supply so that they were blown out of control, toward the south of France. French anti-aircraft batteries or aeroplanes accounted for three of these, while the fourth, the L-49, was captured intact.Fig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersFig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkL-49.An essential part of the equipment of every form of German military apparatus is a means of destroying it in case of capture. In the case of the big airships, the officers are provided with revolvers loaded with incendiary bullets, which are fired into the gas bag, so that until the L-49 was forced to descend in the south of France by the activities of a battle plane, plus a lack of fuel, no airship of a recent type had ever been captured intact. In this case, the commander fired his pistol at the balloon but missed and was prevented from firing again by a French peasant who "covered" him with a shotgun. The wireless operator succeeded in using a sledge hammer on some of the apparatus of the very completely equipped wireless cabin before he was captured but did not do sufficient damage to prevent reassembly of the parts with little trouble. With the exception of the earlier type of Zeppelin that was forced to descend at Luneville prior to the war, the L-49 was the first that was ever known to have landed undamaged in hostile territory, as practically all the others were destroyed in the air, most of them having been wrecked either by aeroplane or anti-aircraft fire. Fig. 22 shows the L-49 as it rested on a hillside at Bourbon-les-Baines, France, and Fig. 23 shows a close view of the nose of the monster.Standardized Parts.Comparing the L-49 with many of its predecessors led to the conclusion that it was one of the latest types, but an inspection of its construction revealed the use of many parts produced in quantities from standard patterns as well as a lack of the finish that has always characterized airship construction. Appearance and comfort had both been sacrificed with a view to saving the last ounce of superfluous weight in order to carry more fuel and ammunition. Evidently the production of these large airships has been reduced to a manufacturing basis and they are constructed in series in much the same manner as motor cars, though on a reduced scale.General Design.In its general construction the L-49 was along the same lines that have characterized the Zeppelin since its inception, the outer envelope being stretched over a rigid frame of aluminum girders, inclosing a large number of independent balloons inflated with the usual hydrogen gas, no trace being discovered of the non-inflammable gas, the discovery of which had been hailed by the German press. The commander’s cabin was suspended well forward with the wireless room directly behind it, while a V-shaped gangway, recessed in the envelope proper so as to present no additional head resistance, ran back from the latter the whole length of the ship. This and the gun platform on top, mounting two machine guns and reached by a ladder suspended in a well amidships, have been familiar features of all the recent Zeppelins. The main envelope contained nineteen independent gas bags, each of which was made integral with an air balloonet to take care of the expansion and contraction of the hydrogen with varying altitudes and temperatures. Distributed along the lower part of the frame inside the envelope were a series of 50-gallon water-ballast tanks.Power Plant.No less than nine large motors were employed to drive the huge gas bag, the maximum horsepower probably aggregating 1,600 to 2,000. The motors were distributed in five different locations, the largest being suspended just abaft the wireless room. The remainder were placed in self-contained units in the form of gondolas suspended from the sides of the frame, as shown in Fig. 24, the outline being that of a blunt-nosed fish. Each of these gondolas carried two motors placed side by side and coupled up so that either one or both could be employed to drive the single propeller. For cruising speeds one motor in each gondola supplied sufficient power or in some gondolas both motors could remain idle. No accommodation was provided for attendants in the gondolas, any of which could easily be reached by light ladders from the inclosed gangway.To insure greater safety, the fuel supply was divided among sixteen tanks, all of which were interconnected with each other and the engines so that gasoline from any tank or tanks could be diverted to any particular engine. The supply of lubricating oil for each engine was carried in a tank in the gondola itself.Control.Vertical and horizontal stabilizing surfaces of conventional form were built on the sharply tapering rear end of the frame, the elevator and rudder being similar to those used in aeroplane construction, except that the rudder was in two sections, the larger of which was placed on top of the envelope. The control of these surfaces, the operation of all the engines, the control of the water ballast, the air supply to the balloonets, and the fuel supply to the motors were all concentrated at a panel board in the commander’s cabin, the forward end of which bore a close resemblance to the bridge of a man-of-war. By means of thirty-eight push buttons, half red and half white, air could be released from or pumped into the balloonets, while in a similar manner the contents of any one of the water-ballast tanks could be emptied. Elaborate controls were provided for the power plant, it being possible to vary the speed or stop any one or more of the motors from the bridge. The rudder and elevators were operated by means of small hand wheels, similar to a marine steering wheel. One of the most prominent features of the operating cabin was a huge chart frame, capable of carrying a large scale map covering a considerable area, as well as an ample supply of maps. Few instruments were found in the captured ship and it is thought highly probable that everything not fastened in place had been dumped overboard at the last to increase its lifting power.Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Copyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkApart from the use of standardized fittings and parts and the employment of a great deal more power in a slightly different manner than had characterized the earlier types of Zeppelins, the L-49 revealed nothing of unusual importance in airship design and certainly none of the world-beating features that German propaganda had been heralding for some time previous.Destruction of Zeppelins.Mention has already been made of the fact that practically the only use made by Germany of her huge airships has been the bombardment of open cities, and that always at night. From the first of September, 1914, up to the end of 1917, between thirty and forty had met disaster, but only two were captured intact. The first of these was discovered by a Russian cavalry patrol while at anchor and its crew of thirty men were made prisoners. This was at an early period in the war, while the second one to be captured was the L-49, already referred to, which formed one of a squadron of five evidently sent out on a bombing expedition against London. Owing to adverse winds, they never reached their destination and four of them were known to have been put out of action, all except the L-49 being destroyed in the air. Not a few of these big airships have fallen victims to their own weakness and succumbed to the elements, in one instance a high wind tearing the airship loose from its moorings while the crew was not aboard. This was at Kiel, and after traveling a number of miles unguided, the big bag fell into the North Sea. In quite a number of other cases head winds have prevented the return of the raiders to their base and they have either been destroyed by their crews or wrecked at sea in attempting to return. In still other instances the unwieldy monsters have been wrecked by high winds when attempting to land, as was so frequently the case prior to the war.Aeroplane and Anti-Aircraft Fire Effective.Before the war broke out the ability of either the aeroplane or the anti-aircraft gun to overcome the Zeppelin was purely theoretical, but actual experience has demonstrated that much of the theory was well founded. At least three Zeppelins have been destroyed by British aviators in mid-air, all or most of the crews being killed, while probably an equal number have been accounted for by French aviators in open battle. The war had not been under way a month before French anti-aircraft gunners showed their skill by bringing down-a "Zep," while only a week later a Russian battery accomplished the same feat, in this instance killing the entire crew. In 1916, British and French gunners succeeded in either "winging" or setting on fire three or four, while two dropped into the North Sea and one was blown up by its crew, having run out of fuel while raiding Scotch towns.Bombing Raids against Zeppelin Sheds.Not the least of the disadvantages from which such huge and unwieldy craft suffer is the fact that the correspondingly large structures required to house them make exceedingly easy marks for the raiding aviator. Bombing, however, is such an uncertain art that even such large buildings as these cannot be struck from any altitude with a fair degree of accuracy. Consequently, in the number of raids that have been carried out against Zeppelin sheds, success has been due very largely to the temerity of the aviators, who have descended within a few hundred feet of their mark despite the fire directed at them from all quarters. At least three and probably more of the big airships have been destroyed in this manner by British aviators, who have made flights of several hundred miles to reach their destination, while the destruction of as many more has been ascribed by the Germans to the "accidental" explosion of a bomb in the shed. In view of the great precautions taken against accident from the explosion of the bombs carried by the airship itself, it is not considered at all likely that there was anything accidental about the wrecking of these craft.One of the earliest attempts against Zeppelin headquarters at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, which resulted in the destruction of the L-31, is typical of the plan followed in attacks of this kind. Two British aviators flew from their base in France, about 250 miles distant, at a high altitude. They became separated before reaching their destination owing to a mist. This, however, prevented their discovery until they had dropped within a few hundred feet of the surface of the lake, which it was necessary to do to obtain a view of the airship sheds. The first pilot dropped his cargo of bombs from a height of only 100 feet or so over the shed and was rewarded by seeing it catch fire. He had hardly straightened out on his return course before he heard the attack of his companion. The latter was not so fortunate in escaping unscathed, as a bullet pierced his fuel tank and compelled him to descend. In the majority of instances, however, the raiders have succeeded not only in carrying out their task but in escaping undamaged as well.
MILITARY USES OF ZEPPELINSLimitations of Use.Nothing excites the Teutonic imagination so strongly as things military to which the characteristic German adjectivekolossalcan be enthusiastically applied. It was for this reason that, despite its uniform record of tragic disaster for years before the war, the Germans pinned their faith to the Zeppelin as a weapon that could not fail to strike terror to the hearts of the British and French and make them hasten "to sue for peace." However, apart from its reputed employment on the single occasion that the German grand fleet left the security of the Kiel Canal, it is not known to have been used in any purely military operation. The aeroplane has been developed to a point that, in spite of the ability of the Zeppelin to ascend rapidly when hard pressed, would make it suicidal for one of the huge gas bags to sally forth in daylight, unless attended by a large number of battle planes to prevent enemy flying machines from attacking it. No such use of the Zeppelin has been recorded thus far. Consequently, it has been used only in nocturnal bomb-dropping expeditions, chiefly directed against London and only undertaken when weather conditions made detection difficult. In order to carry these out, it has been necessary to establish stations in Belgium, since the fuel consumption of the Zeppelin is so great that, even with its tremendous fuel supply of 3 to 5 tons, a flight to London and return to points well within the German border is impracticable. The first raids of this character were carried out successfully, but subsequent attempts were marked by the loss of one or two airships on each occasion, so that the practice was abandoned as being too expensive for the results attained and aeroplanes were substituted.Number Built.Taking it for granted that the numbering of the German airships has been consecutive, the total number built during the first three and one-half years of the war by the Germans would be between eighty and one hundred. All large German airships have come to be commonly termed Zeppelins, but a number of them were of the Schutte-Lanz type, almost equally large and also characterized by rigid construction, which, however, was of wood with aluminum fittings instead of being all metal, as it was found that the huge metal frame accumulated a static charge of high potential that was responsible for igniting the gas in one or two instances.Weakness of Type.The L-I (Luftschiff, or airship), the first of the German airships designed for purely military purposes, was a Zeppelin 525 feet long by 50 feet in diameter, of 777,000 cubic feet capacity, and 22 tons displacement. Its three sets of motors developed 500 horsepower and it had a speed of 52 miles per hour. It was launched at Friedrichshafen in 1912, and after a number of successful cross-country trips, it was tried in connection with naval maneuvers off Heligoland. Before the trial had proceeded very far, a sudden squall broke the backbone of the huge gas bag and hurled it into the sea, drowning fifteen out of the crew of twenty-two. It is a striking commentary on the frailness of these aerial monsters that every one of the big airships built up to that time had met disaster in an equally sudden manner but from a totally different cause in each instance. The L-II was slightly shorter but had 5 feet longer beam and displaced 27 tons. She was designed particularly for naval use, had four sets of motors developing 900 horsepower, and was fitted with a navigating bridge like that of a ship. It was confidently thought that all possible shortcomings had been remedied and success finally achieved in the L-II, but before there was any opportunity to demonstrate its efficiency, the airship exploded in mid-air, killing its entire crew.Effectiveness Grossly Overrated.Despite this unbroken chain of disasters, the German official press bureau spread broadcast the prowess of the Zeppelin, its magnificent ability, and its remarkable achievements as an engine of war—in theory, since this was a year or two prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Had it not been for the forced descent of the Zeppelin IV at Luneville, where it was taken possession of by the French, these tales might have been accepted at their face value. But the log of the commander of this airship showed that its maximum speed was but 45 miles per hour, the load 10,560 pounds, and the ascensional effort 45,100 pounds. The fuel consumption averaged 297 pounds per hour while the fuel capacity was only sufficient for a flight of seven hours. During its flight, it had reached an altitude of only 6,250 feet, to accomplish which over 3 tons of ballast had to be dropped. It was also shown that the critical flying height of these huge airships is between 3,500 and 4,000 feet, Zeppelin himself declaring that his machines were useless above 5,000 feet. This probably accounts for the fact that the early raids on English towns were carried out at a height but slightly in excess of 2,000 feet. Later types, however, are said to have reached high altitudes.Fig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French AirmanFig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French Airman, Resting on Hillside near Bourbon-Les-BainesCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkShortly before the outbreak of the war the L-5 was completed. This had a capacity of about 1,000,000 cubic feet, motors aggregating 1,000 horsepower or over, and a reputed speed of 65 miles per hour. Just what was the fate of this particular ship did not become known, since information of a military character has not been permitted to leak out of Germany from that time on. But capture or destruction has accounted for many of the intermediate numbers of the series; big German airships have been brought down in England, in the North Sea, in France, and at Saloniki, their loss culminating in the disaster to four out of the fleet of five that attempted a raid over London but were caught by adverse winds which exhausted their fuel supply so that they were blown out of control, toward the south of France. French anti-aircraft batteries or aeroplanes accounted for three of these, while the fourth, the L-49, was captured intact.Fig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersFig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkL-49.An essential part of the equipment of every form of German military apparatus is a means of destroying it in case of capture. In the case of the big airships, the officers are provided with revolvers loaded with incendiary bullets, which are fired into the gas bag, so that until the L-49 was forced to descend in the south of France by the activities of a battle plane, plus a lack of fuel, no airship of a recent type had ever been captured intact. In this case, the commander fired his pistol at the balloon but missed and was prevented from firing again by a French peasant who "covered" him with a shotgun. The wireless operator succeeded in using a sledge hammer on some of the apparatus of the very completely equipped wireless cabin before he was captured but did not do sufficient damage to prevent reassembly of the parts with little trouble. With the exception of the earlier type of Zeppelin that was forced to descend at Luneville prior to the war, the L-49 was the first that was ever known to have landed undamaged in hostile territory, as practically all the others were destroyed in the air, most of them having been wrecked either by aeroplane or anti-aircraft fire. Fig. 22 shows the L-49 as it rested on a hillside at Bourbon-les-Baines, France, and Fig. 23 shows a close view of the nose of the monster.Standardized Parts.Comparing the L-49 with many of its predecessors led to the conclusion that it was one of the latest types, but an inspection of its construction revealed the use of many parts produced in quantities from standard patterns as well as a lack of the finish that has always characterized airship construction. Appearance and comfort had both been sacrificed with a view to saving the last ounce of superfluous weight in order to carry more fuel and ammunition. Evidently the production of these large airships has been reduced to a manufacturing basis and they are constructed in series in much the same manner as motor cars, though on a reduced scale.General Design.In its general construction the L-49 was along the same lines that have characterized the Zeppelin since its inception, the outer envelope being stretched over a rigid frame of aluminum girders, inclosing a large number of independent balloons inflated with the usual hydrogen gas, no trace being discovered of the non-inflammable gas, the discovery of which had been hailed by the German press. The commander’s cabin was suspended well forward with the wireless room directly behind it, while a V-shaped gangway, recessed in the envelope proper so as to present no additional head resistance, ran back from the latter the whole length of the ship. This and the gun platform on top, mounting two machine guns and reached by a ladder suspended in a well amidships, have been familiar features of all the recent Zeppelins. The main envelope contained nineteen independent gas bags, each of which was made integral with an air balloonet to take care of the expansion and contraction of the hydrogen with varying altitudes and temperatures. Distributed along the lower part of the frame inside the envelope were a series of 50-gallon water-ballast tanks.Power Plant.No less than nine large motors were employed to drive the huge gas bag, the maximum horsepower probably aggregating 1,600 to 2,000. The motors were distributed in five different locations, the largest being suspended just abaft the wireless room. The remainder were placed in self-contained units in the form of gondolas suspended from the sides of the frame, as shown in Fig. 24, the outline being that of a blunt-nosed fish. Each of these gondolas carried two motors placed side by side and coupled up so that either one or both could be employed to drive the single propeller. For cruising speeds one motor in each gondola supplied sufficient power or in some gondolas both motors could remain idle. No accommodation was provided for attendants in the gondolas, any of which could easily be reached by light ladders from the inclosed gangway.To insure greater safety, the fuel supply was divided among sixteen tanks, all of which were interconnected with each other and the engines so that gasoline from any tank or tanks could be diverted to any particular engine. The supply of lubricating oil for each engine was carried in a tank in the gondola itself.Control.Vertical and horizontal stabilizing surfaces of conventional form were built on the sharply tapering rear end of the frame, the elevator and rudder being similar to those used in aeroplane construction, except that the rudder was in two sections, the larger of which was placed on top of the envelope. The control of these surfaces, the operation of all the engines, the control of the water ballast, the air supply to the balloonets, and the fuel supply to the motors were all concentrated at a panel board in the commander’s cabin, the forward end of which bore a close resemblance to the bridge of a man-of-war. By means of thirty-eight push buttons, half red and half white, air could be released from or pumped into the balloonets, while in a similar manner the contents of any one of the water-ballast tanks could be emptied. Elaborate controls were provided for the power plant, it being possible to vary the speed or stop any one or more of the motors from the bridge. The rudder and elevators were operated by means of small hand wheels, similar to a marine steering wheel. One of the most prominent features of the operating cabin was a huge chart frame, capable of carrying a large scale map covering a considerable area, as well as an ample supply of maps. Few instruments were found in the captured ship and it is thought highly probable that everything not fastened in place had been dumped overboard at the last to increase its lifting power.Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Copyright by Underwood and Underwood, New YorkApart from the use of standardized fittings and parts and the employment of a great deal more power in a slightly different manner than had characterized the earlier types of Zeppelins, the L-49 revealed nothing of unusual importance in airship design and certainly none of the world-beating features that German propaganda had been heralding for some time previous.Destruction of Zeppelins.Mention has already been made of the fact that practically the only use made by Germany of her huge airships has been the bombardment of open cities, and that always at night. From the first of September, 1914, up to the end of 1917, between thirty and forty had met disaster, but only two were captured intact. The first of these was discovered by a Russian cavalry patrol while at anchor and its crew of thirty men were made prisoners. This was at an early period in the war, while the second one to be captured was the L-49, already referred to, which formed one of a squadron of five evidently sent out on a bombing expedition against London. Owing to adverse winds, they never reached their destination and four of them were known to have been put out of action, all except the L-49 being destroyed in the air. Not a few of these big airships have fallen victims to their own weakness and succumbed to the elements, in one instance a high wind tearing the airship loose from its moorings while the crew was not aboard. This was at Kiel, and after traveling a number of miles unguided, the big bag fell into the North Sea. In quite a number of other cases head winds have prevented the return of the raiders to their base and they have either been destroyed by their crews or wrecked at sea in attempting to return. In still other instances the unwieldy monsters have been wrecked by high winds when attempting to land, as was so frequently the case prior to the war.Aeroplane and Anti-Aircraft Fire Effective.Before the war broke out the ability of either the aeroplane or the anti-aircraft gun to overcome the Zeppelin was purely theoretical, but actual experience has demonstrated that much of the theory was well founded. At least three Zeppelins have been destroyed by British aviators in mid-air, all or most of the crews being killed, while probably an equal number have been accounted for by French aviators in open battle. The war had not been under way a month before French anti-aircraft gunners showed their skill by bringing down-a "Zep," while only a week later a Russian battery accomplished the same feat, in this instance killing the entire crew. In 1916, British and French gunners succeeded in either "winging" or setting on fire three or four, while two dropped into the North Sea and one was blown up by its crew, having run out of fuel while raiding Scotch towns.Bombing Raids against Zeppelin Sheds.Not the least of the disadvantages from which such huge and unwieldy craft suffer is the fact that the correspondingly large structures required to house them make exceedingly easy marks for the raiding aviator. Bombing, however, is such an uncertain art that even such large buildings as these cannot be struck from any altitude with a fair degree of accuracy. Consequently, in the number of raids that have been carried out against Zeppelin sheds, success has been due very largely to the temerity of the aviators, who have descended within a few hundred feet of their mark despite the fire directed at them from all quarters. At least three and probably more of the big airships have been destroyed in this manner by British aviators, who have made flights of several hundred miles to reach their destination, while the destruction of as many more has been ascribed by the Germans to the "accidental" explosion of a bomb in the shed. In view of the great precautions taken against accident from the explosion of the bombs carried by the airship itself, it is not considered at all likely that there was anything accidental about the wrecking of these craft.One of the earliest attempts against Zeppelin headquarters at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, which resulted in the destruction of the L-31, is typical of the plan followed in attacks of this kind. Two British aviators flew from their base in France, about 250 miles distant, at a high altitude. They became separated before reaching their destination owing to a mist. This, however, prevented their discovery until they had dropped within a few hundred feet of the surface of the lake, which it was necessary to do to obtain a view of the airship sheds. The first pilot dropped his cargo of bombs from a height of only 100 feet or so over the shed and was rewarded by seeing it catch fire. He had hardly straightened out on his return course before he heard the attack of his companion. The latter was not so fortunate in escaping unscathed, as a bullet pierced his fuel tank and compelled him to descend. In the majority of instances, however, the raiders have succeeded not only in carrying out their task but in escaping undamaged as well.
Limitations of Use.Nothing excites the Teutonic imagination so strongly as things military to which the characteristic German adjectivekolossalcan be enthusiastically applied. It was for this reason that, despite its uniform record of tragic disaster for years before the war, the Germans pinned their faith to the Zeppelin as a weapon that could not fail to strike terror to the hearts of the British and French and make them hasten "to sue for peace." However, apart from its reputed employment on the single occasion that the German grand fleet left the security of the Kiel Canal, it is not known to have been used in any purely military operation. The aeroplane has been developed to a point that, in spite of the ability of the Zeppelin to ascend rapidly when hard pressed, would make it suicidal for one of the huge gas bags to sally forth in daylight, unless attended by a large number of battle planes to prevent enemy flying machines from attacking it. No such use of the Zeppelin has been recorded thus far. Consequently, it has been used only in nocturnal bomb-dropping expeditions, chiefly directed against London and only undertaken when weather conditions made detection difficult. In order to carry these out, it has been necessary to establish stations in Belgium, since the fuel consumption of the Zeppelin is so great that, even with its tremendous fuel supply of 3 to 5 tons, a flight to London and return to points well within the German border is impracticable. The first raids of this character were carried out successfully, but subsequent attempts were marked by the loss of one or two airships on each occasion, so that the practice was abandoned as being too expensive for the results attained and aeroplanes were substituted.
Number Built.Taking it for granted that the numbering of the German airships has been consecutive, the total number built during the first three and one-half years of the war by the Germans would be between eighty and one hundred. All large German airships have come to be commonly termed Zeppelins, but a number of them were of the Schutte-Lanz type, almost equally large and also characterized by rigid construction, which, however, was of wood with aluminum fittings instead of being all metal, as it was found that the huge metal frame accumulated a static charge of high potential that was responsible for igniting the gas in one or two instances.
Weakness of Type.The L-I (Luftschiff, or airship), the first of the German airships designed for purely military purposes, was a Zeppelin 525 feet long by 50 feet in diameter, of 777,000 cubic feet capacity, and 22 tons displacement. Its three sets of motors developed 500 horsepower and it had a speed of 52 miles per hour. It was launched at Friedrichshafen in 1912, and after a number of successful cross-country trips, it was tried in connection with naval maneuvers off Heligoland. Before the trial had proceeded very far, a sudden squall broke the backbone of the huge gas bag and hurled it into the sea, drowning fifteen out of the crew of twenty-two. It is a striking commentary on the frailness of these aerial monsters that every one of the big airships built up to that time had met disaster in an equally sudden manner but from a totally different cause in each instance. The L-II was slightly shorter but had 5 feet longer beam and displaced 27 tons. She was designed particularly for naval use, had four sets of motors developing 900 horsepower, and was fitted with a navigating bridge like that of a ship. It was confidently thought that all possible shortcomings had been remedied and success finally achieved in the L-II, but before there was any opportunity to demonstrate its efficiency, the airship exploded in mid-air, killing its entire crew.
Effectiveness Grossly Overrated.Despite this unbroken chain of disasters, the German official press bureau spread broadcast the prowess of the Zeppelin, its magnificent ability, and its remarkable achievements as an engine of war—in theory, since this was a year or two prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Had it not been for the forced descent of the Zeppelin IV at Luneville, where it was taken possession of by the French, these tales might have been accepted at their face value. But the log of the commander of this airship showed that its maximum speed was but 45 miles per hour, the load 10,560 pounds, and the ascensional effort 45,100 pounds. The fuel consumption averaged 297 pounds per hour while the fuel capacity was only sufficient for a flight of seven hours. During its flight, it had reached an altitude of only 6,250 feet, to accomplish which over 3 tons of ballast had to be dropped. It was also shown that the critical flying height of these huge airships is between 3,500 and 4,000 feet, Zeppelin himself declaring that his machines were useless above 5,000 feet. This probably accounts for the fact that the early raids on English towns were carried out at a height but slightly in excess of 2,000 feet. Later types, however, are said to have reached high altitudes.
Fig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French AirmanFig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French Airman, Resting on Hillside near Bourbon-Les-BainesCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New York
Fig. 22. Zeppelin L-49 Brought Down Intact by a French Airman, Resting on Hillside near Bourbon-Les-BainesCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New York
Shortly before the outbreak of the war the L-5 was completed. This had a capacity of about 1,000,000 cubic feet, motors aggregating 1,000 horsepower or over, and a reputed speed of 65 miles per hour. Just what was the fate of this particular ship did not become known, since information of a military character has not been permitted to leak out of Germany from that time on. But capture or destruction has accounted for many of the intermediate numbers of the series; big German airships have been brought down in England, in the North Sea, in France, and at Saloniki, their loss culminating in the disaster to four out of the fleet of five that attempted a raid over London but were caught by adverse winds which exhausted their fuel supply so that they were blown out of control, toward the south of France. French anti-aircraft batteries or aeroplanes accounted for three of these, while the fourth, the L-49, was captured intact.
Fig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersFig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New York
Fig. 23. Nose of Giant L-49 and Group of SightseersCopyright by Underwood and Underwood, New York
L-49.An essential part of the equipment of every form of German military apparatus is a means of destroying it in case of capture. In the case of the big airships, the officers are provided with revolvers loaded with incendiary bullets, which are fired into the gas bag, so that until the L-49 was forced to descend in the south of France by the activities of a battle plane, plus a lack of fuel, no airship of a recent type had ever been captured intact. In this case, the commander fired his pistol at the balloon but missed and was prevented from firing again by a French peasant who "covered" him with a shotgun. The wireless operator succeeded in using a sledge hammer on some of the apparatus of the very completely equipped wireless cabin before he was captured but did not do sufficient damage to prevent reassembly of the parts with little trouble. With the exception of the earlier type of Zeppelin that was forced to descend at Luneville prior to the war, the L-49 was the first that was ever known to have landed undamaged in hostile territory, as practically all the others were destroyed in the air, most of them having been wrecked either by aeroplane or anti-aircraft fire. Fig. 22 shows the L-49 as it rested on a hillside at Bourbon-les-Baines, France, and Fig. 23 shows a close view of the nose of the monster.
Standardized Parts.Comparing the L-49 with many of its predecessors led to the conclusion that it was one of the latest types, but an inspection of its construction revealed the use of many parts produced in quantities from standard patterns as well as a lack of the finish that has always characterized airship construction. Appearance and comfort had both been sacrificed with a view to saving the last ounce of superfluous weight in order to carry more fuel and ammunition. Evidently the production of these large airships has been reduced to a manufacturing basis and they are constructed in series in much the same manner as motor cars, though on a reduced scale.
General Design.In its general construction the L-49 was along the same lines that have characterized the Zeppelin since its inception, the outer envelope being stretched over a rigid frame of aluminum girders, inclosing a large number of independent balloons inflated with the usual hydrogen gas, no trace being discovered of the non-inflammable gas, the discovery of which had been hailed by the German press. The commander’s cabin was suspended well forward with the wireless room directly behind it, while a V-shaped gangway, recessed in the envelope proper so as to present no additional head resistance, ran back from the latter the whole length of the ship. This and the gun platform on top, mounting two machine guns and reached by a ladder suspended in a well amidships, have been familiar features of all the recent Zeppelins. The main envelope contained nineteen independent gas bags, each of which was made integral with an air balloonet to take care of the expansion and contraction of the hydrogen with varying altitudes and temperatures. Distributed along the lower part of the frame inside the envelope were a series of 50-gallon water-ballast tanks.
Power Plant.No less than nine large motors were employed to drive the huge gas bag, the maximum horsepower probably aggregating 1,600 to 2,000. The motors were distributed in five different locations, the largest being suspended just abaft the wireless room. The remainder were placed in self-contained units in the form of gondolas suspended from the sides of the frame, as shown in Fig. 24, the outline being that of a blunt-nosed fish. Each of these gondolas carried two motors placed side by side and coupled up so that either one or both could be employed to drive the single propeller. For cruising speeds one motor in each gondola supplied sufficient power or in some gondolas both motors could remain idle. No accommodation was provided for attendants in the gondolas, any of which could easily be reached by light ladders from the inclosed gangway.
To insure greater safety, the fuel supply was divided among sixteen tanks, all of which were interconnected with each other and the engines so that gasoline from any tank or tanks could be diverted to any particular engine. The supply of lubricating oil for each engine was carried in a tank in the gondola itself.
Control.Vertical and horizontal stabilizing surfaces of conventional form were built on the sharply tapering rear end of the frame, the elevator and rudder being similar to those used in aeroplane construction, except that the rudder was in two sections, the larger of which was placed on top of the envelope. The control of these surfaces, the operation of all the engines, the control of the water ballast, the air supply to the balloonets, and the fuel supply to the motors were all concentrated at a panel board in the commander’s cabin, the forward end of which bore a close resemblance to the bridge of a man-of-war. By means of thirty-eight push buttons, half red and half white, air could be released from or pumped into the balloonets, while in a similar manner the contents of any one of the water-ballast tanks could be emptied. Elaborate controls were provided for the power plant, it being possible to vary the speed or stop any one or more of the motors from the bridge. The rudder and elevators were operated by means of small hand wheels, similar to a marine steering wheel. One of the most prominent features of the operating cabin was a huge chart frame, capable of carrying a large scale map covering a considerable area, as well as an ample supply of maps. Few instruments were found in the captured ship and it is thought highly probable that everything not fastened in place had been dumped overboard at the last to increase its lifting power.
Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Copyright by Underwood and Underwood, New York
Fig. 24. One of Six Gondolas, or Power Units of the Zeppelin L-49Copyright by Underwood and Underwood, New York
Apart from the use of standardized fittings and parts and the employment of a great deal more power in a slightly different manner than had characterized the earlier types of Zeppelins, the L-49 revealed nothing of unusual importance in airship design and certainly none of the world-beating features that German propaganda had been heralding for some time previous.
Destruction of Zeppelins.Mention has already been made of the fact that practically the only use made by Germany of her huge airships has been the bombardment of open cities, and that always at night. From the first of September, 1914, up to the end of 1917, between thirty and forty had met disaster, but only two were captured intact. The first of these was discovered by a Russian cavalry patrol while at anchor and its crew of thirty men were made prisoners. This was at an early period in the war, while the second one to be captured was the L-49, already referred to, which formed one of a squadron of five evidently sent out on a bombing expedition against London. Owing to adverse winds, they never reached their destination and four of them were known to have been put out of action, all except the L-49 being destroyed in the air. Not a few of these big airships have fallen victims to their own weakness and succumbed to the elements, in one instance a high wind tearing the airship loose from its moorings while the crew was not aboard. This was at Kiel, and after traveling a number of miles unguided, the big bag fell into the North Sea. In quite a number of other cases head winds have prevented the return of the raiders to their base and they have either been destroyed by their crews or wrecked at sea in attempting to return. In still other instances the unwieldy monsters have been wrecked by high winds when attempting to land, as was so frequently the case prior to the war.
Aeroplane and Anti-Aircraft Fire Effective.Before the war broke out the ability of either the aeroplane or the anti-aircraft gun to overcome the Zeppelin was purely theoretical, but actual experience has demonstrated that much of the theory was well founded. At least three Zeppelins have been destroyed by British aviators in mid-air, all or most of the crews being killed, while probably an equal number have been accounted for by French aviators in open battle. The war had not been under way a month before French anti-aircraft gunners showed their skill by bringing down-a "Zep," while only a week later a Russian battery accomplished the same feat, in this instance killing the entire crew. In 1916, British and French gunners succeeded in either "winging" or setting on fire three or four, while two dropped into the North Sea and one was blown up by its crew, having run out of fuel while raiding Scotch towns.
Bombing Raids against Zeppelin Sheds.Not the least of the disadvantages from which such huge and unwieldy craft suffer is the fact that the correspondingly large structures required to house them make exceedingly easy marks for the raiding aviator. Bombing, however, is such an uncertain art that even such large buildings as these cannot be struck from any altitude with a fair degree of accuracy. Consequently, in the number of raids that have been carried out against Zeppelin sheds, success has been due very largely to the temerity of the aviators, who have descended within a few hundred feet of their mark despite the fire directed at them from all quarters. At least three and probably more of the big airships have been destroyed in this manner by British aviators, who have made flights of several hundred miles to reach their destination, while the destruction of as many more has been ascribed by the Germans to the "accidental" explosion of a bomb in the shed. In view of the great precautions taken against accident from the explosion of the bombs carried by the airship itself, it is not considered at all likely that there was anything accidental about the wrecking of these craft.
One of the earliest attempts against Zeppelin headquarters at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, which resulted in the destruction of the L-31, is typical of the plan followed in attacks of this kind. Two British aviators flew from their base in France, about 250 miles distant, at a high altitude. They became separated before reaching their destination owing to a mist. This, however, prevented their discovery until they had dropped within a few hundred feet of the surface of the lake, which it was necessary to do to obtain a view of the airship sheds. The first pilot dropped his cargo of bombs from a height of only 100 feet or so over the shed and was rewarded by seeing it catch fire. He had hardly straightened out on his return course before he heard the attack of his companion. The latter was not so fortunate in escaping unscathed, as a bullet pierced his fuel tank and compelled him to descend. In the majority of instances, however, the raiders have succeeded not only in carrying out their task but in escaping undamaged as well.