Zeppelin L-15

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David Thompson
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Zeppelin L-15

#1

Post by David Thompson » 21 Dec 2003, 03:52

The caption of this pretty plate reads:
"Zeppelin L-15 Brought Down by Anti-Aircraft Guns Off the Coast of Kent: The crew were rescued by English trawlers and treated as ordinary prisoners of war."
From Abbot, Willis J., The Nations at War (1918 edition); Leslie-Judge Co., New York: 1917, p. 137.
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Zeppelin L-15 1 Apr 1916.jpg
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USAF1986
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#2

Post by USAF1986 » 21 Dec 2003, 05:14

Interesting...thanks for sharing! Of note, the naval airship L 15 (builder's number LZ 48) was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Joachim Breithaupt. On 31 March 1916, Breithaupt took off with six other airships to attack London. While northeast of the city, a British antiaircraft gun scored a direct hit on the L 15 and a fighter aircraft piloted by Second Lieutenant A. de B. Brandon made a determined attack soon afterwards. With his airship badly damaged and rapidly losing altitude, Breithaupt jettisoned his remaining bombs, machineguns, spare parts and radio equipment in an effort to reach Belgium. However, the airship’s overloaded frame broke in two places causing it to plunge into the North Sea off Knock Deep. The British destroyer Vulture rescued Breithaupt and his 16 surviving crewmembers (one died). Although the British attempted to take the floating wreckage of the L 15 under tow, the airship finally broke up and sank the next day.

Breithaupt achieved the rank of Generalmajor in the Luftwaffe during WWII.

Regards,
Shawn

SOURCE: Robinson, Douglas H. The Zeppelin in Combat: A History of the German Naval Airship Division, 1912-1918. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Atglen, Pennsylvania, 1994 printing.


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Peter H
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#3

Post by Peter H » 21 Dec 2003, 13:34

And HMAS Sydney versus L43.

http://www.gwpda.org/naval/sydvszep.htm

From the AWM website:
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