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Zeppelin LZ 53

German World War I-era zeppelin

LZ 53 (L 17)
Zeppelin LZ 53 (L 17)
Role	P-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship Type 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[edit]

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[edit]

Destroyed in its hangar at Tondern on 28 December 1916 when LZ 69 (L 24) caught fire.^{[1] [2]}

Specifications[edit]

Data from ,^[3] Giants in the Sky: A History of the Rigid Airship^[4]

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 m³ (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)

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LZ 53 / L 17.

• List of Zeppelins

Bibliography[edit]

Notes

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

Further reading[edit]

• "Super Zeppelins". Flight. VIII (No.35) (401): 739–741. 31 August 1916.