LZ 37
Artist's impression of the destruction of German Zeppelin LZ 37 by Sub-Lieutenant Reginald Warneford on 7 June 1915.
General information
Type	M-Class Zeppelin
National origin	German Empire
Manufacturer	Luftschiffbau Zeppelin at Friedrichshafen
Owners	Imperial German Navy
Number built	77
Construction number	LZ 37
Flights	14
History
First flight	4 March 1915
In service	4 March 1915 – 7 June 1915
Fate	Shot down, 7 June 1915

The airship LZ 37 was a World War I Zeppelin of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). It was the first Zeppelin to be brought down during the war by an enemy plane, on the night of 6 to 7 June 1915, near Sint-Amandsberg, Belgium.^[1]

In 1915 Zeppelins were first used by Germany for strategic bombing.^[2]

LZ 37 was part of a raid with Zeppelins LZ 38 and LZ 39. While returning, she was intercepted in the air by Reginald Warneford in his Morane Parasol during its first raid on Calais, on 7 June 1915.^[3][4] Warneford dropped six 20-pound (9 kg) Hales bombs on the zeppelin, which caught fire and crashed into the convent school of Sint-Amandsberg, next to Ghent, Belgium (51°3′43.2″N 3°44′54.7″E / 51.062000°N 3.748528°E / 51.062000; 3.748528), killing two nuns. The commander of LZ 37, Oberleutnant Otto van der Haegen [de], and seven members of the crew were killed. One crew member, Steuermann Alfred Mühler, survived with only superficial burns and bruises when he was precipitated from the forward gondola, landing in a bed.^[5] It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible.^[1] Warneford was awarded the Victoria Cross for his achievement.

LZ 37 was based in Gontrode [fr; nl], Belgium (airport location: 50°58′54.6″N 3°47′17.1″E / 50.981833°N 3.788083°E / 50.981833; 3.788083), where also other heavy bombers Gotha G IV were based.^[6][7]

Data from "The Zeppelin Airships - Part Two: Zeppelins of the Great War 1914–1918". Puget sound airship society. Retrieved 28 January 2011.

General characteristics

• Crew: 28
• Length: 163.37 m (536 ft 0 in)
• Diameter: 18.7 m (61 ft 4 in)
• Volume: 33,780 m³ (1,126,000 cu ft)
• Empty weight: 17,588 kg (38,775 lb)
• Useful lift: 8,520 kg (18,780 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Maybach MC-X , 155 kW (210 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 96 km/h (60 mph, 52 kn)

Armament

• Four machine-guns

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• Brooks, Peter (1992). Zeppelin: Rigid Airships, 1893-1940. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-1-56098-228-9.
• Faulkner, Neil (2008). In Search of the Zeppelin war: The archaeology of the First Blitz. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-4182-5.
• Stephenson, Charles (2004). Zeppelins: German Airships 1900–40. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-692-5.
• "Puget Sound Airship Society: Zeppelin Airships 1900–1917". pugetairship.org. 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2013.

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• Whitehouse, Arch (2012). "Zeppelin Raiders - History of British Pilots who Shot Down German Airships in WW1". acepilots.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
• "Bekijk onderwerp - LZ 37 Monument Westerbegraafplaats". forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl. 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
• "Vliegveld te Lemberge / Gontrode". forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl. 2007. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
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• "De val van de Zeppelin". nieuwsblad.be (in Dutch). 8 May 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
• Colon, Raul (2007). "The Zeppelin is Down". aviation-history.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013.