Silhouette of SL 11
History
German Empire
Name	SL 11
Operator	German Army
Builder	Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz
Launched	1 August 1916
Homeport	Spich
Fate	Shot down, September 3, 1916
General characteristics
Type	Airship
Tonnage	21 tonnes
Displacement	38 780 m³ of hydrogen
Length	174 metres
Beam	20.1 metres
Installed power	4 Maybach 960 hp/716 kW total
Speed	91.8 km/h
Complement	16

The Schütte-Lanz SL 11 was a German military dirigible built in 1916 by Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz. It was the first German airship to be shot down while bombing England.

The SL 11 was based at Spich and commanded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Schramm. In the early hours of 3 September 1916, after jettisoning bombs over Essendon, Hertfordshire, destroying several houses, damaging a church, and killing two sisters aged 26 and 12,^[1][2] it was then shot down over nearby Cuffley by Lt. William Leefe Robinson flying a BE 2C using incendiary ammunition. It crashed at Cuffley, killing the entire crew, who were buried at Potters Bar Cemetery; they were re-interred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery in 1962.^[3] Robinson was awarded the Victoria Cross.

• First Flight: 1 August 1916
• Length: 174 m (571 ft)
• Diameter: 20.1 m (66 ft)
• Gas Capacity: 38,780 m³ (1,370,000 cu ft)
• Performance: 91.8 km/h (57.0 mph; 49.6 kn)
• Payload: 21 t (21,000 kg; 46,000 lb)
• Engines: 4x Maybach HS-Lu 6-cyl in-line engines:960 hp (970 PS; 720 kW) total

Airships made about 51 bombing raids on Britain during the war. These killed 557 and injured another 1,358 people. More than 5,000 bombs were dropped (largely on towns and cities) across Britain, causing £1.5 million (equivalent to £128,500,000 in 2023) in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30 were shot down or lost in accidents.^[4]

Zeppelins shot down over the UK

Shot down Tactical No Production No Shot down by Aircraft Squadron Serial Number Crash location Picture 1 April 1916 L 15 LZ 48 Dartford AA battery Kentish Knock, Thames estuary 3 September 1916 SL 11 Lt Leefe Robinson B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 2693 Cuffley, Hertfordshire 24 September 1916 L 32 LZ 74 2nd Lt Frederick Sowrey B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4112 Great Burstead, Essex 24 September 1916 L 33 LZ 76 Alfred Brandon B.E.2e fighter No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4112 Little Wigborough, Essex 2 October 1916 L 31 LZ 72 2nd Lt Wulfstan J. Tempest B.E.2c No. 39 Home Defence Squadron 4557 Potter's Bar, Hertfordshire 27 November 1916 L 34 LZ 78 2nd Lt Ian Pyot B.E.2c No. 36 Home Defence Squadron 2738 Hartlepool, County Durham 28 November 1916 L 21 LZ 61 Flt Lt Egbert 'Bertie' Cadbury B.E.2c RNAS Great Yarmouth 8265 Sea 17 June 1917 L 48 LZ 95 2nd Lt Loudon Pierce Watkins B.E.12 No. 37 Home Defence Squadron 6110 Theberton, East Suffolk

• List of Schütte-Lanz airships

• Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (1934). A History of the World War 1914–1918. Faber. ISBN 978-0-304-93653-3.