Zeppelin One-class

Royal Isen Navy

The **Zeppelin One-class** was a type of rigid airship developed by Huhn Schwerindustrie in 1913 for use by the Kaiserlich Marine and the Himmlischearmee for protection of bombers and attack procedures. Introduced in May 1913 at a time when Knoss airplanes were becoming increasingly capable, several were lost in the first months of operation, leading the Aerahwuts to reconsider their technical requirements and eventually to develop airships capable of taking more hits and having more firepower from a much greater height, leading to the creation of the Two-Class.

## Background

Work on the One-Class started on February 1913, when the Kaiserlich Marine asked Huhn Schwerindustrie to prepare studies for a new class of airships that would be similar in size to the Zero-Class. The proposals were rejected by the Aviation Ministry, and a decision was made to design 50 Zeppelins that were larger than the Zero Class. Zeppelin sheds in Laagschaat and Vilsill were extended in size to support these new zeppelins and over twenty more new hangars would be constructed, four of them at a new Airbase in Waldemar.

## Design and Development

The hull shape was more streamlined than the preceding Zero-Class, although traditionalists in the company insisted that a portion of the hull should be parallel-sided to prevent instability. The structure consisted of side armor to stabilize the zeppelin better than any previous, and added weight to the bow and stern to equalize the rest of the airship. Extra additions of light armor made through aluminum were placed around the propellers powering the vessel.

As in the preceding Zero-Class, the forward control car contained a single engine driving a pusher propeller and an aft engine car contained three engines, one driving a pusher propeller at the rear of the car and the other two driving propellers mounted on brackets on either side of the hull via driveshafts: these were reversible. Unlike the previous design, which had the three engines mounted inline, the engines driving the hull were propellers at the stern of the zeppelin. The new engine placements had definitely confused Knoss fighter pilots but were also a new revolutionary design.

The previous zeppelin Zero had also a bomb-load in which she would drop 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) bombs down below onto their enemies. The trouble was they couldn't carry very many due to weight issues. Huhn Schwerindustrie decided to remove the bombs completely and only focus on just the protection of Bombers or even attacking procedures.

Following the loss of many One-Class Zeppelins during attacks in Knoss territory, a decision was made to enhance the One-Class airships and to make them capable of operating at greater altitude and greater firepower with higher protection, and most of the remaining One-Class were left alone continuing their service as normal; only to cancel the rest in production to move toward the Two-Class.

#### **General characteristics**

* **Crew:** 32
* **Length:** 204 m (669 ft 3 in)
* **Diameter:** 23.90 m (78 ft 5 in)
* **Volume:** 55,210 m3 (1,950,000 cu ft)
* **Powerplant:** 5 × Kublanov CC-06 diesel engines, 890 kW (1,190 hp) each

**Performance**

* **Maximum speed:** 116.5 km/h (72 mph; 63 kn) (top speed was achieved during trials of LZ-97.)
* **Endurance:** 42 hours

**Armament**

* **Guns:**
	+ 4 × 7.92 mm (Machine guns)
	+ 1 × 37 mm (Automaton Cannon)