LZ 76 (L 33)
Imperial German Army Zeppelin LZ 76 brought down near a cottage in Essex
Role R-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship
National origin German Empire
Manufacturer Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Designer Ludwig Dürr
First flight 30 August 1916
Primary user Imperial German Navy
Number built 1

The Imperial German Army Zeppelin LZ 76 (L-m33) was a R-class World War I zeppelin.

Operational history

On 23 September 1916 a bombing raid was planned for London. That night, a Zeppelin group (LZ 72 [L 31], L 32, L 33 and L 34) set out to complete the mission. They succeeded in dropping 3,200 kilograms (7,100 lb) of bombs on London and surrounding counties. On its first mission, anti-aircraft damaged LZ 76 its commander Kapitan-Leutnant Alois Bocker changed its course over Essex. It was here that the airship was attacked by 39 Home Defence Squadron night fighters from Hainault Farm. Alfred Brandon was flying a B.E.2e fighter when he attacked Zeppelin LZ 76, helping to bring the airship down in a field.[1] Even after dropping guns and equipment, Bocker calculated that the ship would not make it safely across the North Sea, and he landed in Little Wigborough, Essex, the morning of 24 September 1916 with no fatalities. Right away, the crew set out to destroy the airship but were only partly successful in burning the hull.[2] British engineers examined the skeleton and later used the plans as a basis for the construction of airships R33 and R34.

Specifications (LZ 76 / Type R zeppelin)

B&W of Zeppelin skeleton
Mrs. Lewis and family photographed with the wreckage of the Zeppelin for a background
B&W of Zeppelin skeleton
One of the huge propellers
B&W of Zeppelin skeleton
Zeppelin skeleton near Little Wigborough, Essex, near New Hall Farm

Data from Zeppelin: rigid airships, 1893–1940[3]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Dirigibles shot down over the UK

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 £108,200,000 in 2021) in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30 were shot down or lost in accidents.[4]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:LZ 76 / L 33.

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Classen 2017, pp. 220–222.
  2. ^ Guttman 2018, p. 70.
  3. ^ Brooks 1992, pp. 95–99.
  4. ^ Liddell Hart 1934, p. 76.

Bibliography

  • Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin: Rigid Airships, 1893–1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-1-56098-228-9.
  • Classen, Adam (2017). Fearless: The Extraordinary Untold Story of New Zealand's Great War Airmen. Massey University Press. ISBN 978-0-9941407-8-4.
  • Guttman, Jon (2018). Zeppelin vs British Home Defence 1915–18. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-2034-1.
  • Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (1934). A History of the World War 1914–1918. Faber. ISBN 978-0-304-93653-3.
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