The LZ 61 was a World War IGerman Navy airship, allocated the tactical numbering 'L 21'. It carried out a total of ten raids on England, and 17 reconnaissance missions.[1]
The LZ 61 took part in a total of ten raids on England during 1916. These included:
31 January
It was ordered to attack Liverpool, but problems with night navigation meant that instead it bombed Tipton, Bradley, Wednesbury, and Walsall: killing over 30 people - including Julia Slater, Walsall's Lady Mayoress.[2]
1 April
It attacked Cleethorpes, dropping several bombs on the town just after midnight. One of which landed on the Alexandra Road Baptist Chapel, killing 31 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion the Manchester Regiment, who were billeted there.[3] One of the only British Army units to be directly engaged by enemy action on British soil during World War I.
2 September
It took part in the largest airship attack of the war with 13 other naval airships and also four army airships - 16 in total. During this raid, the crew of the LZ 61 witnessed the downing of the SL 11, the first airship to be shot down over the British mainland.[4]
On 27 November 1916, ten Zeppelins set out in two groups, heading for the Midlands and the North of England. One, the L.21, crossed the English coast at Atwick at 21:20, and then turned north to evade patrolling aircraft before heading to Leeds, where it was driven off by heavy anti-aircraft fire. An effective blackout shielded Barnsley from attack, so the airship headed southwest to the Potteries where it dropped a number of bombs on industrial targets in Stoke, causing some damage, but no casualties. At 01:30, it headed for home, setting a course towards Great Yarmouth. It was spotted by two RNAS aircraft north of Peterborough, but managed to evade them. Over East Dereham, it was spotted by Flight Lieutenant W. R. Gaynor, who was forced to abort his attack after suffering engine failure. However, reports of the L.21's movements had reached Great Yarmouth, so at dawn Egbert Cadbury and Flight Sub Lieutenant Gerard W. R. Fane took off in their B.E.2c fighters to intercept. They were joined by Flight Sub Lieutenant Edward L. Pulling from RNAS Bacton. Cadbury later reported:[7]
I saw the Zeppelin approaching the coast and immediately chased after it. It was flying about 5,000 feet when I first saw it and it immediately climbed to 8,000 feet. I went after it. I approached from the stern about 3,000 feet below and fired four drums of explosive ammunition in to its stern, which immediately started to light. At the same time one of the other pilots was flying over the Zeppelin and to his horror he saw a man in the machine-gun pit run to the other side and leap overboard. Having seen the Zeppelin circle down to the sea in a blazing mass – a most horrible sight – I went back to Yarmouth. I could not say I felt very elated or pleased at this; somehow I was overawed at the spectacle of this Zeppelin and all the people aboard going down into the sea.[7][8]
For unknown reasons, when the SL 11 became the first German airship to be shot down over England, it was described officially and in the press as the Zeppelin L 21 (the LZ 61's tactical number). This misidentification persisted for decades, even though it is clear that the authorities were always aware of its correct identity.
One suggestion for this confusion was a calculation by the authorities that the downing of a hated and feared Zeppelin 'baby killer', would be received better with the public than the destruction of an almost unknown Schütte-Lanz type.[10]
Accordingly, the 1918 film The Last Raid of Zeppelin L-21 told the story of the SL 11's destruction and not that of the LZ 61.[11]
Dirigibles shot down over the UKedit
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.[12]
^Holdstock, David; Holdstock, Amelia (2000). . In Lewis, Andrew; Lewis, Sarah (eds.). A Celebration of Fengate Road. Redhill: FRIEND (Fengate Road Inclusive Entertainment & Neighbourly Development). Archived from the original on 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
^ ab"Zeppelin L 21". Tønder: Zeppelin and Garrison Museum.
^Rimell, Raymond Laurence (1984). Zeppelin!: a battle for air supremacy in World War I. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN978-0-85177-239-4. OCLC 10759648.
^Erickson, Hal. "The Last Raid of Zeppelin L-21". Allmovie.com.
world, german, navy, airship, allocated, tactical, numbering, carried, total, raids, england, reconnaissance, missions, silhouette, 61historygerman, empirenamelz, 61operatorimperial, german, navybuilderluftschiffbau, zeppelinmaiden, voyage10, january, 1916, id. The LZ 61 was a World War I German Navy airship allocated the tactical numbering L 21 It carried out a total of ten raids on England and 17 reconnaissance missions 1 Silhouette of LZ 61HistoryGerman EmpireNameLZ 61OperatorImperial German NavyBuilderLuftschiffbau ZeppelinMaiden voyage10 January 1916 1 IdentificationL 21FateShot down 28 November 1916General characteristicsTypeAirshipLength163 5 m 1 Beam18 7 m o 1 Installed powerFour 240 hp Maybach HSLu engines 1 Speed97 km h 1 Capacity31 900 m Gas Volume 1 LZ 61 in hangar at Nordholz Airbase 1916 Contents 1 Raids on England 2 Destruction of the LZ 61 3 Commanders 4 Operational bases 5 Confusion with SL 11 6 Dirigibles shot down over the UK 7 Citations 8 References 9 External linksRaids on England editThe LZ 61 took part in a total of ten raids on England during 1916 These included 31 JanuaryIt was ordered to attack Liverpool but problems with night navigation meant that instead it bombed Tipton Bradley Wednesbury and Walsall killing over 30 people including Julia Slater Walsall s Lady Mayoress 2 1 AprilIt attacked Cleethorpes dropping several bombs on the town just after midnight One of which landed on the Alexandra Road Baptist Chapel killing 31 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion the Manchester Regiment who were billeted there 3 One of the only British Army units to be directly engaged by enemy action on British soil during World War I 2 SeptemberIt took part in the largest airship attack of the war with 13 other naval airships and also four army airships 16 in total During this raid the crew of the LZ 61 witnessed the downing of the SL 11 the first airship to be shot down over the British mainland 4 25 26 SeptemberIt was unable to find its designated targets of Derby and Nottingham and instead attacked Bolton 5 Lumb Rawtenstall Ewood Bridge Stonefold Haslingden Helmshore Rossendale Ramsbottom and Holcombe 6 Destruction of the LZ 61 editOn 27 November 1916 ten Zeppelins set out in two groups heading for the Midlands and the North of England One the L 21 crossed the English coast at Atwick at 21 20 and then turned north to evade patrolling aircraft before heading to Leeds where it was driven off by heavy anti aircraft fire An effective blackout shielded Barnsley from attack so the airship headed southwest to the Potteries where it dropped a number of bombs on industrial targets in Stoke causing some damage but no casualties At 01 30 it headed for home setting a course towards Great Yarmouth It was spotted by two RNAS aircraft north of Peterborough but managed to evade them Over East Dereham it was spotted by Flight Lieutenant W R Gaynor who was forced to abort his attack after suffering engine failure However reports of the L 21 s movements had reached Great Yarmouth so at dawn Egbert Cadbury and Flight Sub Lieutenant Gerard W R Fane took off in their B E 2c fighters to intercept They were joined by Flight Sub Lieutenant Edward L Pulling from RNAS Bacton Cadbury later reported 7 I saw the Zeppelin approaching the coast and immediately chased after it It was flying about 5 000 feet when I first saw it and it immediately climbed to 8 000 feet I went after it I approached from the stern about 3 000 feet below and fired four drums of explosive ammunition in to its stern which immediately started to light At the same time one of the other pilots was flying over the Zeppelin and to his horror he saw a man in the machine gun pit run to the other side and leap overboard Having seen the Zeppelin circle down to the sea in a blazing mass a most horrible sight I went back to Yarmouth I could not say I felt very elated or pleased at this somehow I was overawed at the spectacle of this Zeppelin and all the people aboard going down into the sea 7 8 Commanders editLZ 61 Commanding Officers 9 From ToKapitanleutnant Max Dietrich 19 January 1916 4 July 1916Hauptmann August Stelling 24 June 1916 Oberleutnant Zee Kurt Frankenberg 15 August 1916 28 November 1916Operational bases editLZ 61 Bases 9 FromNordholz 19 January 1916Seddin 21 February 1916Tonder 5 April 1916Nordholz 16 April 1916Confusion with SL 11 editFor unknown reasons when the SL 11 became the first German airship to be shot down over England it was described officially and in the press as the Zeppelin L 21 the LZ 61 s tactical number This misidentification persisted for decades even though it is clear that the authorities were always aware of its correct identity One suggestion for this confusion was a calculation by the authorities that the downing of a hated and feared Zeppelin baby killer would be received better with the public than the destruction of an almost unknown Schutte Lanz type 10 Accordingly the 1918 film The Last Raid of Zeppelin L 21 told the story of the SL 11 s destruction and not that of the LZ 61 11 Dirigibles shot down over the UK editAirships 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 12 Zeppelins shot down over the UKShot down Tactical No Production No Shot down by Aircraft Squadron Serial Number Crash location Picture1 April 1916 L 15 LZ 48 Dartford AA battery Kentish Knock Thames estuary nbsp 3 September 1916 SL 11 Lt Leefe Robinson B E 2c No 39 Home Defence Squadron 2693 Cuffley Hertfordshire nbsp 24 September 1916 L 32 LZ 74 2nd Lt Frederick Sowrey B E 2c No 39 Home Defence Squadron 4112 Great Burstead Essex nbsp 24 September 1916 L 33 LZ 76 Alfred Brandon B E 2e fighter No 39 Home Defence Squadron 4112 Little Wigborough Essex nbsp 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 nbsp 27 November 1916 L 34 LZ 78 2nd Lt Ian Pyot B E 2c No 36 Home Defence Squadron 2738 Hartlepool County Durham nbsp 28 November 1916 L 21 LZ 61 Flt Lt Egbert Bertie Cadbury B E 2c RNAS Great Yarmouth 8265 Sea nbsp 17 June 1917 L 48 LZ 95 2nd Lt Loudon Pierce Watkins B E 12 No 37 Home Defence Squadron 6110 Theberton East Suffolk nbsp Citations edit a b c d e f g Puget Sound Airship Society 2007 The Zeppelin Airships Part Two Zeppelins of the Great War 1914 1918 Puget Sound Airship Society Morgan Tom 1996 31 January 1916 The Great Zeppelin Raid Brigham Young University World War I Document Archive Cook Vernon 1999 Zeppelin Disaster Casualty List Cleethorpes Lincs 1916 WEST RIDING L Archives Ancestry com James Burbeck ed Dark Autumn The 1916 German Zeppelin Offensive www wtj com The War Times Journal Archived from the original on October 9 1999 Bolton Museum and Archive Service Zeppelin raid on Bolton Bolton Bolton Council Archived from the original on 2010 10 07 Retrieved 2010 07 18 Bramhill william Bramhill Elizabeth Zeppelin Attack on Rossendale www bramhill net Archived from the original on 2011 07 23 Retrieved 2010 07 18 a b Handford 2014 Holdstock David Holdstock Amelia 2000 Chapter 5 Edward Laston Pulling Fengates Hero In Lewis Andrew Lewis Sarah eds A Celebration of Fengate Road Redhill FRIEND Fengate Road Inclusive Entertainment amp Neighbourly Development Archived from the original on 2009 07 16 Retrieved 2010 07 03 a b Zeppelin L 21 Tonder Zeppelin and Garrison Museum Rimell Raymond Laurence 1984 Zeppelin a battle for air supremacy in World War I London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 978 0 85177 239 4 OCLC 10759648 Erickson Hal The Last Raid of Zeppelin L 21 Allmovie com Liddell Hart 1934 p 76 References editHandford Paul 3 July 2014 The story of Egbert Bertie Cadbury and his remarkable achievement during WWI PDF Birmingham Medal Society Archived from the original PDF on 23 November 2016 Retrieved 23 November 2016 Liddell Hart Sir Basil Henry 1934 A History of the World War 1914 1918 Faber ISBN 978 0 304 93653 3 External links editZeppelin Airship L21 over Lancashire Signet Ring Made From W W I Zeppelin L 21 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title LZ 61 L 21 amp oldid 1185523635, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
