On this day 1 May - German Airship SL3 Stranded

On 1 May 1916, the German naval airship SL3, suffering from a degraded structure due to atmospheric exposure, was stranded near Riga, off the northern coast of Latvia. Built by the Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz company, SL3 was part of a series of rigid airships. During her career, she flew thirty reconnaissance missions, and one bombing mission over England. Her most notable flight was her attack of HMS E4 on 24 September 1915. HMS E4 was a British E class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness.

Schütte-Lanz 2 - Similar, but Smaller to SL3

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Size Comparison Chart of Several Schütte-Lanz

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HMS E4

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Location of Riga

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"On 1 May 1916, the German naval airship SL3, suffering from a degraded structure due to atmospheric exposure, . . " I love this story, these guys were made with laminated wood girders and rings which over time and temperature changes became de-laminated! Amazing! Only Von Zeppelin's duraluminum structures would prove up to the forces of temperature, humidity and latitude - just do not touch them when they are frosty! Several crew died from freezing to the structures and falling asleep at high altitudes!

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Originally Posted by clipper1801

Only Von Zeppelin's duraluminum structures would prove up to the forces of temperature, humidity and latitude

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Excluding the 1/3 of the Zeppelin force lost to weather during WW1.... >;)

Yes Chris it makes fascinating statistics!
Even British Naval Coastal Airships did not fare much better. It's amazing how many of them only made four or five flights before disaster struck. Usually either bad weather or mooring incidents. They really were not cost effective. At least the Zep activity tied down a lot of aircraft and AA equipment, but even so they must have been an immense drain on resources.
Rob.

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Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte

Yes Chris it makes fascinating statistics!

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The truly weird part: The Zep stats are almost exactly 1/3 each "survived", "destroyed by enemy action", and "destroyed by noncombat action" (some of the instances can be a bit confusing to score)....

Interesting. I am in the middle of building a Drachen style balloon, got the measurements from a shapeways listing. Can you tell me how large the Zeppelin craft were? Is there anyone that uses a model in their games? Think it would make an impressive looking game with a zep cruising the table and swarms of aircraft swooping in to attempt destruction.

Several of us over here have Clipper built Zeps William.
If you want to see Skafloc's in action at a show look here.

http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sho...6962-VAPNARTAK

Rob.

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Originally Posted by prymus

Interesting. I am in the middle of building a Drachen style balloon, got the measurements from a shapeways listing. Can you tell me how large the Zeppelin craft were? Is there anyone that uses a model in their games? Think it would make an impressive looking game with a zep cruising the table and swarms of aircraft swooping in to attempt destruction.

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Yes William, you really need to come down to Phoenix and meet Terry (Hunter) and me. We have a few toys to share and show. The Zeppelins were in the 500'-630' length which translates to 40"-60"+ See my "Clipper's List" section on the the For Sale/Trade Thread for some pictures . . . plan on a long day of sharing! Dave

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ps84243d7b.jpg

Zeppelin Outings:

World Championships (Derby 2013): http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/album.php?albumid=2581

Vapnartak (York 2014): http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/album.php?albumid=2792

WMMS (Wolverhampton 2014): http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/album.php?albumid=2863

Carronade (Falkirk 2014): http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/album.php?albumid=2954

Proposed Outings:

Claymore: (Edinburgh 2014)
Border Reiver (Newcastle 2014)
Aerodrome Weekend (Doncaster 2014)
World Championships (Derby 2014)

The player characters in my Fate Core "Two-Fisted Pilot Tales" game have spent more time on Schütte-Lanz airships than in airplanes.

Speaking of airships, Clipper, I'm still in the market for one, if you have any for sale.

David, dang dude, you need help!! Would love to come down south for a visit. I'll have to wear my "shopping" trench coat, no matter its 100+ degrees out(kidding of course). How the heck did I miss your sale/trade post?! Thanks for pointing out the way.
Thanks everybody for sharing the posts/pictures... Very cool indeed. Definitely a way to add EPIC to the game.