Zeppelin LZ 39

Airship · 23 February 2016, 10:44 AM

In the early hours of 17 May 1915, army Zeppelin LZ 39 was attacked by a number of British pilots and damaged as it returned to Belgium. British intelligence had 'an informant' at Evere where it was forced to make an emergency landing. The informant reported back to London that the body of dead officer was taken off LZ 39 as well as a number of wounded crewmen.

Does anyone know if German records agree that there were casualties on LZ 39?

Many thanks

Ian

Volker_Nemsch · 24 February 2016, 09:19 AM

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I'm not a specialist in this connection, but have a look here. On this website the fate of "LZ 39" is a different one...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Zeppelins
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Airship · 24 February 2016, 10:07 AM

Hi Volker - thanks for the reply.

The incident I am interested in is an earlier one to that in the wikipedia list. In the May 1915 incident LZ 39 was only damaged, then repaired and returned to service. She later went to the Eastern Front and her ultimate fate.

Thanks

Ian

Volker_Nemsch · 24 February 2016, 11:44 AM

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I checked the book "Casualties of the German Air Service" and found no corresponding losses (dead as well as injured soldiers) for that date. So is it possible that there was indeed a forced landing but without casualties?

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Airship · 24 February 2016, 11:55 AM

OK, that is interesting!

LZ 39 was engaged by a pilot who opened fire on the rear gondola with a Lewis gun. He did not claim that he hit anyone and turned away quickly because the Zeppelin crew opened up a heavy return fire. Another pilot dropped bombs on her but these do not seem to have ignited, just passed straight through!

Then in a report the British authorites claim that an informant was at Evere and he certainly gave a detailed report on the extent of the damage suffered by LZ 39, and adds that an officer was killed and some crew injured. But if there is nothing in the list you have...maybe he wasn't such a good informant after all!

Best wishes

Ian

Volker_Nemsch · 24 February 2016, 12:08 PM

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... that the German casualty lists may not be complete. There is no guarantee for that, although I think that wounded or killed crewmen of a Zeppelin would have been mentioned somewhere in some reports so early in the war.

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