Zeppelin LZ21 Z VI

Class : K

First flight : 10 november 1913

Built at Friedrichshafen

Length : 148m

Diam. : 14.86m

Volume : 20870 m3

Empty weight : 15400 kg

Usefull load : 7500 kg

Engines : 3x 180 hp

Speed : 74 km/u

Commander : Hauptmann Masius

Zeppelin 'Z VI Cöln' left Cologne on the evening of 5. August to carry out an air attack on the city of Liege, Belgium. The zeppelin’s mission is considered to be the first bombing raid conducted by a zeppelin during World War I. The bombing lead to the death of nine civilians. It was aborted after the zeppelin lost gas as a result of damage by small arms fire. On its way back the zeppelin did a forced landing in the forest at Schneeberg hill, Bornheim-Walberberg, south-west of Cologne. While the zeppelin was damaged beyond repair the crew suffered no losses.

Zeppelin LZ 21 had been manufactured in November 1913 and acquired by the German army, which gave it the designation Z VI. It was based at Cologne, and its primary duty was reconnaissance. On the afternoon of 6 August, however, its crew loaded it up with bombs. These were improvised from artillery shells, since purpose-made bombs had not yet been developed.

The airship made its way down the Rhine and across to Liége, and dropped its bombs on the city centre. Nine civilians were killed.

A few days later, a German publishing house in Munich (Albert Ebner Kunstanstalt) produced this celebratory postcard to commemorate the attack. ('Lüttich' is the German form of the name Liége.)

However, LZ 21 did not survive its victory over the Belgian civilians. The airship had been forced to fly low due to the weight of the bombs it was carrying, and it was hit several times by ground fire. The gasbags started leaking hydrogen, and by the time the Zeppelin was heading back to base, it had lost too much gas to remain airborne. LZ 21 made a forced landing near Bonn and was destroyed on impact.

Notes : no pictures found of this airship

Literature : They fought for the sky page 68,69