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Zeppelin LZ93 L 44
Class : T
First flight : 1 April 1917
8 reconnaissance missions; 4 attacks on England.
The LZ93 was a "Height-Climber" class Zeppelin, which had a lightened structure to improve altitude.
The first attack relying almost exclusively on "height climber" Zeppelins, launched against London itself on 19 October 1917, was dubbed the "Silent Raid." Although 33 Londoners were killed, hardly any of the defenses were able to spot the air invaders, much less fire on them. Yet the result was hardly a one sided German triumph. Weather turned out to be England's savior and the Zeppelin's nemesis.
When the 11 airships that took part that night climbed above 16,000 feet over England, an unexpected gale was blowing. The science of weather prediction aloft was in its infancy, and the Germans were further inhibited because their ability to observe weather conditions precisely and in a timely fashion stopped in "no man's land" on the Western Front. The gale created chaos for the Zeppelin formation, scattering them in all directions. Only L54 recognized the danger, dropped its bombs early from 21,000 feet, and dove to a much lower altitude for the return flight home.
Zeppelin L44 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Franz Stabbert arrived inland on the Norfolk coast at 18:45 near Blakeney and headed south. Thirty minutes later, he dropped a 100kg EO bomb in a field at West Bradenham ( 52°38’29”N 0°50’10”E ). Crossing Essex, L44 dropped four firebombs at 20:08 over Rivenhall ( 51°49’35”N 0°39’09”E ) : two at Park Gates Farm ( 51°50’28”N 0°38’42”E ), one at Rivenhall Hall Farm ( 51°49’51.70”N 0°39’04.50”E ) and one in a field about 800 metres north-east of St. Mary and All Saints Church (+-75m 51°50’06”N 0°39’29”E ). There was no damage. L44 left Essex at 20:25, crossed the Thames estuary and 15 minutes later appeared over Reculver in Kent, where it dropped two HE bombs into the sea and then three ashore, damaging the kitchen ceiling at the King Ethelbert Inn (location 51°22’44.13”N 1°11’53.60”E ). Another fell about 1.6 km south into the Chislet marshes, landing about 270 meters from the railway, followed by two more in Saarland, one in a field at Sarre Court Farm ( 51°20’18”N 1°14’24”E ) and the other in a nearby field damaging crops. The zeppelin left for the sea on Deal at 20:52. Swept across France behind the Allied lines, the L44 almost managed to pass unhindered, but it was shot down by the section of DCA No. 174 ( Ltt Fenouillet and S/Ltt Curie) only 16 kms from the front line. The L 44 crashed in flames at Chenevières near St Clement. There are no survivors.
L44 was driven south to France by the heavy storm, it was shot down over Lunéville by French AA fire and came down in a field near St.Clement on 20 October 1917.
War 1914-1917 The Zeppelin L-44 shot down in flames by the D.C.A. No. 174 (French Army Artillery) near Chenevieres, near St-Clement, district of Luneville (Meurthe-et-Moselle), October 20, 1917, at 6:45 a.m.loaction : +- 2km 48°31’41”N 6°37’05”E
The body of a Kaiserliche Marine Leutnant z. S (possibly Arnim Rothe ) lies propped up against part of the aircraft's steering mechanism.
Translation on above text : On the right and left, two instances of the airship falling in flames. In the upper the section that shot down the Zeppelin. At the bottom, the commander's corpse in front of the debris. The marine superzeppelin "L-44", shot down at 1200 meters from Cheneviers near Luneville, is the first of the series of four dirigeables which, on October 20, saw a tragically end on our soil after the bombing raid undertaken the day before on England. Yet it was the one who seemed to be the least lost in drifting. It had just passed Luneville and was going to join his lines. It was at 5500 meters above sea level which was brave to do for an airship. The demi-fixe section 174 of D.C.A. (defense against aircraft), commanded by Lieutenant Fenouillet and Sous-Lieutenant Curie, soon reached it. A flame, barely perceptible at first and then enormous, revealed the burning carcass of the airship which exploded and came to crash vertically on the ground with its crew. A witness was able to capture two instances of the fall of the balloon that we reproduce here. Here are also the personnel of the section of D.C.A. surrounding Second Lieutenant Curie , who regulated the shooting, and the body of the commander of the "L-44" in front of the debris of his airship.
All crew on board the airship perished in the disaster, and the body of commander Franz Stabbert can be seen next to his ship on the picture taken from the wreck. It is believed that the crew died when they were crushed by the zeppelin when it smashed into the ground, suggesting that the crew was fully aware of their 6 km long descent. The crew were all buried in the city of Gerbéviller . Four other zeppelins who had accompanied LZ 93 on its raid were also shot down above France. Franz Stabbert before was commander of LZ59 till it crashed in Norway near Stavanger.
Literature :
Les victoires aériennes d'un Parc d'Artillerie (Zeppelin, Avion) - Forum PAGES 14-18