Boreenatra Posted 4 July , 2005 Share Posted 4 July , 2005 Another remarkably modern looking pic of the wreckage of the downed Zep at Cuffley 3rd Sept. 1916. Regards Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 4 July , 2005 Share Posted 4 July , 2005 Steve A great photo - thanks very much for sharing it with us. One minor point though, the airship shot down by Lt W L Robinson on 2/3 September wasn't a Zeppelin, but the wooden framed Schütte-Lanz SL11 of the German Army, commanded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Schramm. Unfortunately, the SL11 was mistaken for the German Navy Zeppelin L21 at the time, and the confusion has been carried on over the years. Regards Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boreenatra Posted 4 July , 2005 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2005 Gareth, I think we've been here before!!!! Last time you put me on to Ray Rimell's book. Why did they seem to make such a fundamental mistake and then perpetuate it. Was there any official correction of this eror.Did William Leafe Robinson get the V.C. erroneously? Regards Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 5 July , 2005 Share Posted 5 July , 2005 Steve I can't find an explanation for the error. Perhaps the letter 'L' and the number '1' were identifiable on a piece of recovered wreckage and the reasonable deduction was made that it must have been from the Navy's L21; the Army airships were nowhere near as prominent, so it's not impossible that they weren't considered. L21, captained by Oberleutnant zur See Kurt Frankenberg, was involved in the 2/3 September raid, leaving Nordholz at 1400 on 2 September and returning at 1652 on 3 September after bombing in the Harwich area. It made a heavy landing and was damaged enough to be out of service for six days. As for Lt Robinson's VC, I think that public pressure would have made it impossible not to award the decoration to the man who had brought down the first of the monsters that were causing major disruptions to life and the war effort on the Home Front, especially as the spectacular deed took place in front of a massive audience. Regards Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boreenatra Posted 5 July , 2005 Author Share Posted 5 July , 2005 Thanks for that Gareth. I have posted this before I think, but is the caption on this pic wrong? It supposedly comes from L32. Is the date right ? Regards Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boreenatra Posted 5 July , 2005 Author Share Posted 5 July , 2005 Also on the subject of W.L.Robinson V.C. he must of had a front room full of presentations. Here's a couple. Regards Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigantian Posted 5 July , 2005 Share Posted 5 July , 2005 Steve The date is correct for the L-32. It was shot down by 2Lt Frederick Sowrey and crashed at Snails Hall Farm, South Green, Billericay with the loss of all hands. Regards Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boreenatra Posted 5 July , 2005 Author Share Posted 5 July , 2005 Thanks Mark.In the pic above I think Sowery is the one on the right.This was Sat. 14th October 1916. Sowery was by this time Lieut Sowery D.S.O. The other silver cup was to be presented to Lieut W.J. Tempest D.S.O., credited with bringing down L31 who was away on duty on that day. This represented a hat-trick for Hornchurch as all three men were from B.Flight of 739 Squadron Hornchurch. Regards Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 5 July , 2005 Share Posted 5 July , 2005 You may be interested in this lot which went through my local saleroom last week - a wonderful find but I did not get it, bidding went too high for me. A fantastic set of souvenirs which I believe was put together during the war. For some reason the caption of the Zeppelin is wrong, it should of course be L31 that crashed at Potters Bar under Commander Mathy (also misspelled). Sorry, just realised the auction description and inner label cannot be seen - the pieces are referred to as being from L33 and Commander Mathey. Included was a piece of his coat, melted pieces of the wreckage, pieces of envelope, a rifle cartridge and two pieces of German bread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 5 July , 2005 Share Posted 5 July , 2005 Giles - just our of interest, what did the collection go for in the end? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 5 July , 2005 Share Posted 5 July , 2005 Tom, Glad you saw this - when I saw the lot in the catalogue last week the article on your site was a great help. To be honest I was gutted I did not get it, I pulled out at at £190 (+ 15%) but figured on keeping it at £150 and ebaying it if I got it for £200. I believe two big zep collectors could push it to £400+ on-line. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 5 July , 2005 Share Posted 5 July , 2005 I wouldn't like to say, Giles. It's certainly a unique little collection. I've seen bits of the L31 on offer before, but never seen a piece of Mathy's coat. If the provenance is sound then I can easily see real, serious collectors being prepared to go large for it. I couldn't have afforded to buy it, but I would have like the chance to have a look at it. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 5 July , 2005 Share Posted 5 July , 2005 Tom, Agreed - I was very happy with it having had three viewings and studied it very carefully. Unfortunately at the present time I cannot take a risk on projecting the spending habits of big-time Zep collectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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