L.59
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  |
| Manufacturer | Luftschiffbau Zeppelin |
| Maiden flight | 1917-10-30 |
| Fate | April 1918 crashed, reportedly shot down |
| General characteristics | |
| Length | 226.5 metres (743 ft) |
| Diameter | 23.9 metres (78 ft) |
| Gas type | Hydrogen |
| Gas capacity | 68,500 cubic metres (2,420,000 cu ft) |
| Disposable lift | 51,900 pounds (23,500 kg) |
| Power plant | 5 Maybach Motors each 240 horsepower (180 kW) |
| Max speed | 103 kilometres per hour (64 mph) |
L.59, or LZ 104, nicknamed the Africa Ship, was a German zeppelin during World War I, notable for attempting a long-distance resupply of the beleaguered garrison of Germany's East Africa colony.
The L.59 was a naval airship ordered to prepare for the resupply of Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck’s troops, after L.57 (LZ 102), her sister ship and the primary airship for the mission, was destroyed during a trial flight. L.59 subsequently underwent the same 30 meter expansion in length (for a total of 228) and in gas capacity (to 68,500 cubic metres) that the ill fated L.57 had. In early November 1917, piloted by its designer, Hugo Eckener,[citation needed] the airship set out for Yamboli, Bulgaria the last available airbase on the way to German East Africa. There it picked up Hedwig Bockholt, who would be the commander for the mission, code named "China Snow".
Because it would be impossible to resupply the airship with hydrogen gas upon its arrival in Africa, it was assumed that no return trip would be made. Instead, it was planned that every part of the ship be cannibalized for use by von Lettow's bush army. The outer envelope would be used for tents, muslin linings would be bandages, duralumin framework would be a wireless tower, and so on. In addition to its own structure, L.59 carried tons[1] of supplies. These primarily included machine guns plus spares and ammunition, medical supplies, and medical and linguistic experts.
L.59's two initial attempts at starting the journey were foiled by weather in the Mediterranean, but on November 21 her third was successful. However, due to electrical storms over Crete, her radio was put temporarily out of action. She crossed over the Libyan coast at 0515 on the 22nd. That afternoon, an engine malfunctioned, and very early the next morning she nearly crashed as cooling reduced the buoyancy of her gas. She was saved when ammunition was jettisoned. Despite these technical difficulties, she continued on over Sudan, only to be turned back when her radio again became operational and she received an "abort" message. It was later claimed by the chief of British intelligence in the area, Richard Meinertzhagen, that this message was a British plant. However, it appears that the German Colonial Office believed (incorrectly) that von Lettow had in fact been overrun and advised the Navy to recall the ship. Whatever the true source of the message, it was effective: the ship turned back and returned to Bulgaria after averting another potential loss of buoyancy disaster over Turkey. She returned to base the morning of November 25, having traveled over 4,200 miles (6,800 km), a new record.
The airship was now refitted for bombing missions, of which only one was fully carried out. The target was Naples on 11-12 March 1918, and the mission was unsuccessful as the bombs missed their industrial targets and killed some 16 civilians. Further missions for Port Said and Suda Bay were scrapped by weather. Finally, on April 7, L.59 took off to bomb Malta. According to the reports of an observing submarine, UB 53, she was shot down over her target. However, her destruction was not claimed by the Allies, and her loss was officially attributed to accident, and unofficially suspected of friendly fire from the U-boat. None of the 21 crew survived the crash.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Sources differ on what quantity the ship carried. Miller suggests 50 (p. 288), while Bennighof says 16
[edit] References
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This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations. |
- Bennighof, Mike. The Long, Strange Journey of L.59. [1] Accessed November 11, 2007.
- Miller, Charles. Battle of the Bundu: The First World War in East Africa. New York: McMillian Publishing. 1974.
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