Zeppelin LZ 53

German World War I-era zeppelin

LZ 53 (L 17)

Zeppelin LZ 53 (L 17)
Role	P-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airshipType of aircraft
National origin	German Empire
Manufacturer	Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Designer	Ludwig Dürr
First flight	20 October 1915
Status	Burned in its hangar when LZ 69 caught on fire and the fire spread to the hangar
Primary user	Imperial German Navy
Number built	1

The Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ 53 (L 17) was a P-class World War I zeppelin.

Operational history

The Imperial German Navy first launched it on 20 October 1915 and throughout its career took part in 27 reconnaissance missions; nine attacks on England dropping 10,724 kg (23,642 lb) bombs.

Destruction

Destroyed in its hangar at Tondern on 28 December 1916 when LZ 69 (L 24) caught fire.

Specifications

Data from , Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship

General characteristics

Crew: 18-19 (Executive Officer, Commander, Navigator, Sailmaker (responsible for gasbags), Chief Engineer, 2 altitude coxswains, 2 steering coxswains, 8 engineers)
Capacity: 16,200 kg (35,715 lb) typical disposable load
Length: 163.5 m (536 ft 5 in)
Diameter: 18.7 m (61 ft 4 in) maximum
Fineness ratio: 8.68
Volume: 31,900 m (1,130,000 cu ft)
Empty weight: 20,800 kg (45,856 lb)
Fuel capacity: 4,800 kg (10,582 lb) maximum
Useful lift: 37,000 kg (82,000 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Maybach C-X 6-cylinder water-cooled inline piston engine, 160 kW (210 hp) each
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers

Performance

Maximum speed: 96.1 km/h (59.7 mph, 51.9 kn)
Cruise speed: 90 km/h (56 mph, 49 kn)
Range: 4,300 km (2,700 mi, 2,300 nmi)
Service ceiling: 2,800 m (9,200 ft) static

Armament

Guns: 7 or 8 machine guns: naval airships generally using the water-cooled MG 08, army ships the air-cooled Parabellum MG 14
Bombs: 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) bombs (a greater load could be carried with reduced fuel load)

Bibliography

Notes

Robinson 1973, p. 334.
Topping 2001, p. 253.
Brooks, Peter W. (1992). Zeppelin : rigid airships, 1893-1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 91–95. ISBN 1560982284.
Robinson 1973.

References

Robinson, Douglas Hill (1973). Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295952499.
Topping, Alanson Dale (2001). When Giants Roamed the Sky: Karl Arnstein and the Rise of Airships from Zeppelin to Goodyear. University of Akron Press. ISBN 9781884836695. - Total pages: 276

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	LZ 14 LZ 15 LZ 16 LZ 17 LZ 19 LZ 20
I Class	LZ 18
J Class	skipped
K Class	LZ 21
L Class	LZ 22 LZ 23
M Class	LZ 24 LZ 25 LZ 27 LZ 28 LZ 29 LZ 30 LZ 31 LZ 32 LZ 33 LZ 34 LZ 35 LZ 37
N Class	LZ 26
O Class	LZ 36 LZ 39
P Class	LZ 38 LZ 40 LZ 41 LZ 42 LZ 43 LZ 44 LZ 45 LZ 46 LZ 47 LZ 48 LZ 49 LZ 50 LZ 51 LZ 52 LZ 53 LZ 54 LZ 55 LZ 56 LZ 57 LZ 58 LZ 60 LZ 63
Q Class	LZ 59 LZ 61 LZ 64 LZ 65 LZ 66 LZ 67 LZ 68 LZ 69 LZ 71 LZ 73 LZ 77 LZ 81
R Class	LZ 62 LZ 72 LZ 74 LZ 75 LZ 76 LZ 78 LZ 79 LZ 80 LZ 82 LZ 83 LZ 84 LZ 85 LZ 86 LZ 87 LZ 88 LZ 89 LZ 90
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	LZ 102 LZ 104
X Class	LZ 112 LZ 113 LZ 114
Post-war	LZ 120 LZ 121 LZ 126 LZ 127 LZ 129 LZ 130
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 designations	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 designations	LZ 34 LZ 35 LZ 37 LZ 38 LZ 39 LZ 72 LZ 74 LZ 77 LZ 79 LZ 81 LZ 85 LZ 86 LZ 87 LZ 88 LZ 90 LZ 93 LZ 95 LZ 97 LZ 98 LZ 101 LZ 103 LZ 107 LZ 111 LZ 113 LZ 120
Navy L designations	L 1 L 2 L 3 L 4 L 5 L 6 L 7 L 8 L 9 L 10 L 11 L 12 L 13 L 14 L 15 L 16 L 17 L 18 L 19 L 20 L 21 L 22 L 23 L 24 L 30 L 31 L 32 L 33 L 34 L 35 L 36 L 37 L 38 L 39 L 40 L 41 L 42 L 43 L 44 L 45 L 46 L 47 L 48 L 49 L 50 L 51 L 52 L 53 L 54 L 55 L 56 L 57 L 58 L 59 L 60 L 61 L 62 L 63 L 64 L 65 L 70 L 71 L 72

Heavier-than-air
(aeroplanes)

Zeppelin-Staaken	L 8301 VGO.I VGO.II VGO.III R.IV R.V R.VI R.VII R.XIV R.XV R.XVI E.4/20
Zeppelin-Lindau	CL.I CL.II CS.I D.I Rs.I Rs.II Rs.III Rs.IV V1
Zeppelin Flugzeugebau	C.I C.II C.IV
Other	L 1 Rammer Fliegende Panzerfaust ZMe 323 ZMe 423 ZSO 523

Early Army designations, used pre-war. Wartime Army LZ designations were not always matched to Zeppelin's LZ hull number.

Categories:

Misplaced Pages

Operational history

Destruction

Specifications

See also

Bibliography

Further reading