zeppelin

[TOOTH]

I'm looking for information about a zeppelin that was lost on june 6 1915 over ghent belgium.It is referred to in martin gilbert's book ,The First World War pg 171.It was shot down by sub lt rex warneford.According to the book the only survivor out of a crew of 10 survived a fall of 8000 feet in the zeppelin gondola.His name was coxswain Alfred Muhler. I believe that the gondola than crashed into a convent killing two nuns and two other people.Also does any one know of any books or websites concering the zeppelins during the first world war.

Thanks

[Marco]

Hello Lew,

Interesting. I visted Gent (Ghent) city cemetery last month and saw a memorial there to Zeppelin LZ37. I meant to ask on the forum what the memorial was for but I guess you answered that question. Below a picture of the memorial.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~aur/Cemeteries/GENT.htm

Kind regards,

Marco

[centurion]

'Shot down' is not strictly accurate as Warnford did not use a gun. He dropped a number of anti Zeppelin bombs on the airship. The first few did not appear to have any effect and it was only the last that appeared to blow up the craft. I suspect that the first bombs did in fact explode rupturing the gas cells but did not cause any greater explosion or fire as the hydrogen had not mixed sufficienlty with air and it was the last one that set off the, by then, lethal gas/air mix. The shock wave inverted Warnfords Morane Parasol and he was forced to land behind enemy lines and make emergency repairs before restating his engine and flying home. Unfortunately he was killed in a flying accident not long after.

The survivor was not in the gondola when it landed on the convent. he fell through an attic roof and landed in a bed, suffering only minor, physical, injuries.

I have a number of books that provide details - in the morning I'll make a list

[Marco]

Thanks for that info Centurion.

Regards,

Marco

[centurion]

The Zeppelin Fighters by Arch Whitehouse (pub 1968) has some 10 pages on the demise of LZ 37

The Crowded Sky (an anthology) ed Neville Duke (pub 1959) has 3 pages on this

The Windsock booklet on the Morane Sauliner L gives some useful details on Warneford's aircraft.

BEWARE of Zepplins of WW1 by Wilbur Cross which gives a totally spurious account in which Warneford used a mix of Buckingham and tracer rounds (his aircraft did not carry a gun and this load was not introduced until 1916) and failed to make any impact on the airship much less bring it down. This is not a book in which I would place a lot of trust (for example it records reactions amongst Zepplin crews in actions were there were no survivors and therefore no eye witnesses!)

[Marco]

(for example it records reactions amongst Zepplin crews in actions were there were no survivors and therefore no eye witnesses!)

Wedgie board?

Again, thanks for the info.

Regards,

Marco

[Jempie]

Hello!

Regarding the LZ 37 memorial at Gent-Westerbegraafplaats...

It's to be accepted (so good as 100 % certitude) that under the terracefloor of this memorial (frontside) the two Oberleutnants Otto van der Haeg(h)en and Kurt Ackermann are still buried! The problem is that at Ghent-West administration or nowhere a trace is to find from these "umbeddings!"It's so they are now buried under this terracefloor indeed and old photo's seem to show the original grave('s) of one of at least one of these Oblt's at a place furtheer away from this memorial as we accept is the place than where it should be today!

The grave memorial was placed by the Family of Ackermann and is in fact a "private grave memorial" (with eternal permisssion) to which the City of Ghent council members on request of the Family Ackermann sold a piece of land on the side of the former German Friedhoff!the council members did refuse the money for the city, they had it to pay for "good works", so the council memmbers were so smart to avoid they could be brought before justice after the war as "collaborators"!

There was a crew of 9 on this Zeppelin from which indeed one crewmember ,when it touched the roof of the convent , was catapulted out of the gondola and did fall through the roof into a nuns bed!

He could escape through the burning building, however two nuns and one or more orphans were the civil victims of this crash!

On a Dutch forum some original photos from the burial and memorial were published into a thread on this subject.

(www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl under secftion "Luchtoorlog"! in Dutch, but the photos are there indeed!)

On the wall of this convent is placed a "bas-relief" (stone plate) with the picture of Warnefords head on it , but unfortunately mentioning he downed "L.Z. 36 instead of L.Z. 37!!

The VDK moved into the 1950's (about 1956-1957) the ramains of the other crew buried at Ghent-W...to Vladslo!(West-Flanders...however one of the crew was on request of the family , after a week or so, 'unbedded' and moved to Bonn.)

So at Vladslo are buried today,only the other remaining 5 crewmembers.

All buried Germans of the former " West-Flanders German Friedhofen" are in West-Flanders centralised buried today on 4 remaining Friedhofen only...so to see also these buried from East-Flanders too?

On the VDK website you won't find the two Oblt's names and grave location seen they were not responsible for this two and they didn't "umbettet" them , seen they were buried into a "private grave"!

Hope this enlightens a bit more the situation...

vbr

Jempie