Zeppelin LZ 31

This article is about the Zeppelin LZ 31 that burnt on 16 September 1916. For the Zeppelin LZ 72 (L 31), see Zeppelin LZ 72.

LZ 31 (L 6)
LZ 31 bombing Royal Navy ships after the Cuxhaven Raid, 1914
Role	M-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship
National origin	German Empire
Manufacturer	Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Designer	Ludwig Dürr
First flight	3 November 1914
Retired	Caught fire and destroyed, 16 September 1916
Primary user	Imperial German Navy
Number built	1

The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 31 (L 6) was an M-class World War I Zeppelin.

Operational history

Throughout the career of the Imperial German Navy Airship LZ 31 took part in 36 reconnaissance missions around the North Sea. This included marking minefields and one raid on the United Kingdom, dropping 700 kg (1,500 lb) of bombs.

Raid on Cuxhaven

Main article: Raid on Cuxhaven

The Raid on Cuxhaven was a British ship-based air-raid on the Imperial German Navy complex at Cuxhaven mounted on Christmas Day, 1914. After the raid Zeppelin LZ 31 set off to find the attacking naval force the aircraft came from. After retrieving the aircraft, the Navy force attempted to return to base but HMS Empress was left behind. High enough that the Royal Navy ship's guns could not harm it, LZ 31 dropped bombs on HMS Empress but none of the airship's bombs hit their mark.[1]

Fire and destruction

On 16 September 1916 the airship was in its hangar at Fuhlsbüttel undergoing inflation when it caught fire and was destroyed with Zeppelin LZ 36. [2]

Specifications (LZ 31 / M2-class Zeppelin)

Data from Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940,[3] The Zeppelin Airships - Part Two: Zeppelins of the Great War 1914–1918[4]

General characteristics

• Crew: 16
• Capacity: 9,200 kg (20,283 lb) typical disposable load
• Length: 158 m (518 ft 4 in)
• Diameter: 14.9 m (48 ft 11 in) maximum
• Fineness ratio: 10.61
• Volume: 22,470 m^3 (794,000 cu ft) in 18 gas cells
• Empty weight: 16,900 kg (37,258 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 4,000 kg (8,818 lb) maximum
• Useful lift: 26,100 kg (57,500 lb)
• Powerplant: 3 × Maybach C-X 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engines, 130 kW (180 hp) each
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers

Performance

• Maximum speed: 84 km/h (52 mph, 45 kn)
• Cruise speed: 80.5 km/h (50.0 mph, 43.5 kn)
• Range: 2,200 km (1,400 mi, 1,200 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 2,800 m (9,200 ft) static

Armament

• Guns: 4x machine-guns

See also

• List of Zeppelins

Notes

1. Massie 2003, p. 370.
2. Robinson 1973, p. 333.
3. Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 72-77. ISBN 1560982284.
4. "The Zeppelin Airships - Part Two: Zeppelins of the Great War 1914–1918". Puget sound airship society. Retrieved 28 January 2011.

References

• Massie, Robert K. (2003). Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 9781588363206.
• Robinson, Douglas Hill (1973). Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295952499.