Zeppelin LZ 48

LZ 48 (L 15)
Zeppelin LZ 48 (L 15) in the water
Role	P-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship Type of aircraft
National origin	German Empire
Manufacturer	Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Designer	Ludwig Dürr
First flight	9 September 1915
Status	Shot down by AA fire on 1 April 1916
Primary user	Imperial German Navy
Number built	1

The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 48 (L 15) was a P-class World War I zeppelin.

The Airship took part in eight reconnaissance missions with three attacks on England dropping 5,780 kg (12,740 lb) of bombs.

The Zeppelin was damaged by ground fire from Dartford AA battery^[1] during a raid on London on 1 April 1916. The airship came down at Kentish Knock Deep in the Thames estuary. One crew member was killed; the other 17 were taken prisoner of war after being picked up by ships.^[2] The gunners at Purfleet attempted to claim a prize of £500 offered by the Mayor of London for shooting down the Zeppelin, but the War Office declared them ineligible.^[3] Instead the gunners received a gold medal.

Data from ,^[4] Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship^[2]

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)

Airships made about 51 bombing raids on Britain during the war. These killed 557 and injured another 1,358 people. More than 5,000 bombs were dropped (largely on towns and cities) across Britain, causing £1.5 million (equivalent to £128,500,000 in 2023) in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30 were shot down or lost in accidents.^[5]

Zeppelins shot down over the UK

Shot down Tactical No Production No Shot down by Aircraft Squadron Serial Number Crash location Picture 1 April 1916 L 15 LZ 48 Dartford AA battery Kentish Knock, Thames estuary 3 September 1916 SL 11 Lt Leefe Robinson B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 2693 Cuffley, Hertfordshire 24 September 1916 L 32 LZ 74 2nd Lt Frederick Sowrey B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4112 Great Burstead, Essex 24 September 1916 L 33 LZ 76 Alfred Brandon B.E.2e fighter No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4112 Little Wigborough, Essex 2 October 1916 L 31 LZ 72 2nd Lt Wulfstan J. Tempest B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4557 Potter's Bar, Hertfordshire 27 November 1916 L 34 LZ 78 2nd Lt Ian Pyot B.E.2c No. 36 Home Defence Squadron 2738 Hartlepool, County Durham 28 November 1916 L 21 LZ 61 Flt Lt Egbert 'Bertie' Cadbury B.E.2c RNAS Great Yarmouth 8265 Sea 17 June 1917 L 48 LZ 95 2nd Lt Loudon Pierce Watkins B.E.12 No. 37 Home Defence Squadron 6110 Theberton, East Suffolk

• List of Zeppelins

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LZ 48 / L 15.

• Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (1934). A History of the World War 1914–1918. Faber. ISBN 978-0-304-93653-3.