Zeppelin LZ 86

Zeppelin LZ 80 / L 35 - Imperial German Army Airship
LZ 86 / L 39
The wreckage of Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 86 (L 39) after being shot down on March 17 1917
Role R-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship
Type of aircraft
National origin German Empire
Manufacturer Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Designer Ludwig Dürr
First flight 11 December 1916
Retired Decommissioned in September 1918.
Primary user Imperial German Army
Number built 1
B&W photo of men in uniform
L 39's crew with Robert Koch in the middle

The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 86 (L-39) was a R-class World War I zeppelin.[1]

Operational history

Two reconnaissance missions around the North Sea; one attack on England dropping 300 kg bombs.

Destruction

Returning to Imperial German airspace the airship was destroyed by French flak near Compiègne on 17 March 1917.[2]

Specifications (LZ 80 / Type R zeppelin)

Data from Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893–1940 [1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 17-19
  • Capacity: 32,400 kg (71,430 lb) typical disposable load
  • Length: 198 m (649 ft 7 in)
  • Diameter: 23.9 m (78 ft 5 in) maximum
  • Fineness ratio: 8.24
  • Volume: 55,200 m3 (1,950,000 cu ft) in 19 gas cells
  • Empty weight: 31,400 kg (69,225 lb)
  • Gross weight: 32,908 kg (72,550 lb)
  • Fuel capacity: 6,250 kg (13,779 lb)
  • Useful lift: 63,800 kg (140,700 lb)
  • Powerplant: 5 × Maybach HS Lu 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engines, 180 kW (240 hp) each
  • Propellers: 4-bladed Lorenzen fixed-pitch propellers

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 103 km/h (64 mph, 56 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 81 km/h (50 mph, 44 kn)
  • Range: 7,400 km (4,600 mi, 4,000 nmi) at 81 km/h (50 mph; 44 kn)
  • Service ceiling: 3,900 m (12,800 ft) static
  • Rate of climb: 10 m/s (2,000 ft/min) maximum permitted (r-class)

Armament

  • Guns: machine-guns in hull-top positions and gondolas
  • Bombs: up to 60 bombs to a total of 5,000 kg (11,023 lb)


See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LZ 86 / L 39.
  • List of Zeppelins

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ^ a b Brooks 1992, pp. 95–99.
  2. ^ Robinson 1971, p. 389.

References

  • Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893–1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 95–99. ISBN 9781560982289.
  • Robinson, Douglas Hill (1971). The Zeppelin in Combat: A History of the German Naval Airship Division, 1912-1918. Foulis. ISBN 9780854291304. - Total pages: 417
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Zeppelin aircraft
Lighter-than-air
(airships)
Manufacturer
hull
numbers
A Class
  • LZ 1
B Class
  • LZ 2
  • LZ 3
C Class
  • LZ 4
  • LZ 5
D Class
  • LZ 6
E Class
  • LZ 7
  • LZ 8
F Class
  • LZ 9
  • LZ 10
  • LZ 12
G Class
  • LZ 11
  • LZ 13
H Class
I Class
  • LZ 18
J Class
  • skipped
K Class
  • LZ 21
L Class
M Class
N Class
  • LZ 26
O Class
P Class
Q Class
R Class
S Class
  • LZ 91
  • LZ 92
T Class
  • LZ 93
  • LZ 94
U Class
  • LZ 95
  • LZ 96
  • LZ 97
  • LZ 98
  • LZ 99
V Class
  • LZ 100
  • LZ 101
  • LZ 103
  • LZ 105
  • LZ 106
  • LZ 107
  • LZ 108
  • LZ 109
  • LZ 110
  • LZ 111
W Class
X Class
Post-war
Unbuilt
  • LZ 70
  • LZ 115–LZ 119
  • LZ 122–LZ 125
  • LZ 128
  • LZ 131–LZ 132
Operator's
identification
Names
  • Bodensee
  • Deutschland
  • Deutschland II
  • Dixmude
  • Esperia
  • Graf Zeppelin
  • Graf Zeppelin II
  • Hindenburg
  • Hansa
  • USS Los Angeles
  • Méditerranée
  • Nordstern
  • Sachsen
  • Schwaben
  • Viktoria Luise
Army Z
designations1
  • Z I
  • Ersatz Z I
  • Ersatz Z I (2)
  • Z II
  • Ersatz Z II
  • Z III
  • Z IV
  • Z V
  • Z VI
  • Z VII
  • Z VIII
  • Z IX
  • Z X
  • Z XI
  • Z XII
Army LZ
designations2
Navy L
designations
Heavier-than-air
(aeroplanes)
Zeppelin-Staaken
Zeppelin-Lindau
Zeppelin Flugzeugebau
Other
1Early Army designations, used pre-war. 2Wartime Army LZ designations were not always matched to Zeppelin's LZ hull number.