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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0115.PDF
FEBRUARY 12, 1915. thrown at Antwerp, three at O^tend, five at Ghent, fourteen at Nancy (these airships were of the 19,500 and 22,000 cubic metre type) and let us suppose that there were 30 bombs to two dirigibles over England, and 18 at Warsaw (these must have been naval airships, as the Russians captured 30 men on board). For a raid on Paris or London, the mean distance of which is shorter, this figure of 1,000 kilogs. of explosives would therefore serve as a good basis. " Let us add that the maximum speed of the Zeppelins is about 72 kilometres per hour. The best performanse is that of the Z-VI (19,500 cu. m., 540 h.p.), Brunswick-Leipzig-Brunswick, 320 kilo metres in 4 h. 40 m., which gives 68 kilometres per hour. (16th May. 1914 ) The greater ones are much slower. " There now remains to work out the number of the units which we have dealt with. " Tnere were before the war thirteen Zeppelins, of which one was almogt destroyed—the Z-II, brought down at Thionville ; the other nearing completion, the Z-IX. They were, in the order of construction: Z-II (17,800 cu.m.), Viktoria-Luise (18,700 cu.m.), Z-III (17,500 cu.m.), Hansa (18,700 cu.m.), Z-IV, which came down at Luneville (19,500 cu.m.), Sachsen (19,500 cu.m.), Z-I (Ersatz II) (19,500 cu.m.), Z-V (19,500 cu.m.), Z-VI (19,500 cu.m.), Z-VII (22,000 cu.m.), Z-VTII (22,000 cu.m.), L-3 (27,000 cu.m.), and Z-IX (22,000 cu.m.). The Hansa and Viktoria-Luise were all passenger-carrying airships belonging to the Delag Company, and the Sachsen, their sister ship, had gone over to the navy in May, 1914. L-3 belonged to the navy, the others to the army. " We can here add the Schiitte-Lanz, called SL-2, of 22,000 cu.m. capacity, which had equalled the Zeppelins at the trials. We need not count two dirigibles, M-4 and M-l, and three non-rigid Parsevals, P-4, P-3, P-2. The largest M is 13,000 cu.m. and the biggest Parseval 10,000 cu.m., so that they simply do not exist as regards the cruisers we have in view. " This gives us therefore fourteen units at the declaration of war, of which two (Z-II and Z-UI) were quite out of date ; two others (the Viktoria and the Hansa) were equally unsuitable for the cruise we have in view, and besides very much the worse for wear. Five were of a type that was not suitable for so long a trip, but they may s^rve for bombarding frontier towns (these are Z-IV, Sachsen, Z I, Z-V, and Z-VI), and finally four dirigibles of 22,000 cu.m. capacity (Z-VII, Z VIII, Z-IX and Schiitte-Lanz2), and one of 27,000 cu.m. (L-3). These figures explain the material impossibility of every attack in August. " I can hardly believe that Count Zeppelin, a personal friend of the Kaiser, German-aeronautical-demi-god, will admit the rival Schiitte-Lanz to his squadron. The S-L-2 was already exiled at Liegnitz in Silesia, where it went from Leipzig on May 12th. We can, therefore, without hesitation, eliminate from our calculations l/ycHT] the S-L-2 and its sister ship the S-L-3 of 30,000 cu. m. capacity which was in course of construction at Mannheim in August, and there have been no more of them. " Since then, it is known from an infinity of sources, and on (/lis subject there can be no possible doubt, the Zeppelin works have built a Zeppelin every three weeks. Those who are astonished at this figure should remember that in 1913 eight Zeppelins were con structed (Nos. 15 to 22), which works out at one every six weeks, and that in May, 1914, there were opened at Potsdam works intended to double the output of those at Friedrichshafen. " The Zeppelin works have therefore actually constructed eight or nine dirigibles of new type since the outbreak of war. This makes a grand total of 22 units, of which 13 have a capacity of from 22,000 to 27,000 cu.m., the other nine remaining as above. " How many of them have been destroyed, and of what capacity were those destroyed ? It is possible to ascertain the certain destruction of five Zeppelins : two in Russia (Warsaw and l.tbau), one at Dusseldorf, one at Badonvillers, one at Friedrichshafen. It is possible that five others have also been destroyed : one at Metz, one at Cuxhaven, a second one at Friedrichshafen, and two seen by our aviators stranded in the Ardennes in the month of August. There are besides probable accidents in the interior of Germany. For the rest we have no certainty. " There remain then at the most seventeen Zeppelins, at least ten, and probably twelve to fifteen, and it is not possible to ascertain how many of these can be counted as modern types of 22,000 and 27,000 cu.m, capacity, and 156 to 158 metres in length. "It is possible to state the certain destruction of two of the thirteen indicated above, that at Badonvillers (Z-VIII) and the one in course of construction at Friedrichshafen. The crew of 30 of the first unit destroyed by the Russians indicates a third one as almost certain. There remain then at the most, eleven Zeppelins capable of undertaking the expedition in question, and at least six, say generally speaking eight or nine. We find then that there are in existence and suitable for the raid which formed the object of this study, six to eleven dirigibles of from 22,000 to 27,000 cu.m. capacity and of 156 to 158 m. length, i4"6o m. and l6'58 m. diameter, with four screws grouped in two pairs on two nacelles in the axis of the keel and with central cabin. They have a mean speed of 60 kilos, per hour, and a maximum speed of 72 kilos, per hour, and can travel with a load of 600 to 1,000 kilogs. of explosives at a height of from 1,500 to 2,000 m. according to the weather. Here we have, then, all the figures of the great adventure. " There is nothing very dreadful in it, enpecially if we consider the material impassibility of grouping them from the start for a collective raid, the absolute impossibility for them of arriving together when starting from different points, and the no less absolute impossibility of successive attacks, once the adversary has been warned by the first dropping of bombs." ® ® ® ® AIRCRAFT AND THE WAR. According to a message received in Amsterdam, a hostile aviator passed over Cologne on February 3rd. He was fired at, but not hit, and disappeared in the direction of Dusseldorf. Information to hand from Petrograd reports that an Austrian aviator was recently captured by the Russians in a peculiar way. Catching sight of a body of Austrians about 2,000 strong, marching along, he alighted and was surprised to find, when too late, that they were prisoners. Writing to the Daily Express from the Belgian frontier on February 4th, Mr. Percival Phillips said :— " Late messages to-night state that an Allies'aeroplane dropped bombs over the German depdt at Knocke at one o'clock this morning. The garrison at Knocke consists of the 4th Marine Artil lery Regiment. Four Allies' aeroplanes also made a daringly successful raid northward this afternoon over the portion of the Belgian coast in German occupation. Heavy shrapnel firing by the German anti-aircraft guns met them. One airman was injured, and the others disappeared in an easterly direction at five o'clock. " Information from another source states that the Allies'aero planes were seen above Harbour last night, and dropped a number of bombs on the depfits and docks. Several loud explosions were heard during the night at Sluis, Oostburg, and other Dutch frontier towns. The principal gun-fire appears to have been from the German anti-aicraft batteries and the larger artillery mounted at Duinbergen. The entire garrisons of Zeebrugge and Heyst, as well as other troops quartered in the region of the coast, were under arms all night, fearing an extensive attack by land and sea. The Germans sent up a number of coloured lights, apparently warning signals, at various depots, also star shells illuminating the sky to assist their surveillance against aerial attacks." A Daily Chronicle correspondent, in a description, dated February 5th, of life at the present time in Haze- brouck, said :— "The sound of an explosion makes us all rush out. What is that—Taubes ? Yes, it was a Taube, so now we are in for a real holiday. There are in fact three machines, but so high up that one can hardly distinguish them. Again a bomb falls, and another. We count the explosions and laugh. They seem near the station. Yes, the last one certainly fell near the station. " But they seem to be widening their circles as they soar round. No, they are not coming round again at all. They are heading off north-east. Over our heads come two English airmen in full cry after them. The English, with marvellous promptitude, are after them. " We go down to the siation to find out the number of the victims. There are none—no dead, no wounded. A few houses have been hit and damaged, that is all. The station is intact. The expedition has failed in its object for this time "The precauiions taken by the Dunkirk authorities against the raids of German aeroplanes have had the expected result. The Allies having brought down four German aeroplanes in eight days, the enemy has becume more prudent." News was received in Amsterdam from Northern Holland on Friday that two Zeppelins had been seen over Emden, and that they had subsequently left in a north-easterly direction, evidently taking care to avoid passing over Dutch territory. It is believed that they 115
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