Schütte-Lanz SL 11

The Schütte-Lanz SL 11 was a German military dirigible built in 1916 by Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz. It was the first German airship to be shot down while bombing England.

Operational history


The SL 11 was based at Spich and commanded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Schramm. In the early hours of 3 September 1916, after jettisoning bombs over Essendon, Hertfordshire, destroying several houses, damaging a church, and killing two sisters aged 26 & 12, it was attacked over Hertfordshire by Lt. William Leefe Robinson flying a BE 2C using incendiary ammunition. It crashed at Cuffley, killing the entire crew, who were buried at Potters Bar Cemetery; they were re-interred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery in 1962. Robinson was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Specifications

 * First Flight: 1 August 1916
 * Length: 174 m
 * Diameter: 20.1 m
 * Gas Capacity: 38780 m3
 * Performance: 91.8 km/h
 * Payload: 21 t
 * Engines: 4x Maybach HS-Lu 6-cyl in-line engines:960 hp total