From:NHerts

Name/TitleFragments of airship

About this objectU-shaped channel with one strut remaining as others torn out. From the airship Schütte-Lanze 11, which bombed St Albans as part of the largest air raid of the war. Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson shot it down, earning him the Victoria Cross. Pieces of the vessel were popular souvenirs.

Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson shot it down over the village of Cuffley, between Cheshunt and Potters Bar, on the night of 2-3 September 1916. Using incendiary bullets and attacking the airship from underneath, Leefe Robinson was the first to destroy an airship.

In the attack and subsequent fiery crash, Hauptmann Wilhelm Schramm the commander of the airship and his crew of fifteen were killed. This action marked a turning point in the First World War and earnt Leefe Robinson the Victoria Cross. Using incendiary bullets and attacking the airships like Leefe Robinson, British air forces were able to down the previously invulnerable airships, with more five more falling in three months.

For his action in ending the terror of airship bombings, Leefe Robinson became an overnight celebrity. Prints showing its crash and pieces of the vessel were popular souvenirs.

During the first Coronavirus lockdown of 2020 North Hertfordshire Museum Visitor Services Assistant Joelle Van Giap researched and gave her opinion on this object.

What is the most interesting thing about this object?
The Airship Schütte Lanz 11 bombed St Albans as part of the largest air raid of the war. Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson shot it down earning him the Victoria cross.


Further information
Professor Johann Schütte, together with his students, decided to design an airship from scratch. After Zeppelin LZ4 was destroyed when high winds tore it from its mooring during repair work. Dr. Karl Lanz, a manufacturer of wooden products backed them financially and they formed the Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz on April 22, 1909.

The company introduced a series of new ideas including a more streamlined shape and internal keels to reduce drag, cross-shaped fins with rudders, elevators and a unibody construction. The weakness of these airships was that Schütte favoured wood for their construction rather than aluminium. When operating in humid environments, the glue used in the joints would breakdown and the ships fell apart under stress. This obviously led to their demise.

In total Schütte-Lanz built 22 airships that flew and another 6 that never made it off the ground. One that did however was Shütte-Lanz 11, It was Launched on 1 August 1916 was 174 meters in length and weighed 21 Tonnes. It was powered by 4 Maybach 960HP(716KW) engines and could move at a speed of 91.8Km per Hour. It was operated by the German Army and had 16 Crew. The Schutte-Lanz 11 was Captained by Wilhelm Schramm. It was based at Spich, North Rhine Westphalia, Germany.

On 2 September 1916 the Germans sent SL11 and 15 other airships out to launch the largest and heaviest raid of the first world war. The SL11 bombed St Albans at 2 am and it was then that Lt William Leffe Robinson spotted it. He chased it through anti-aircraft fire but as William's aircraft was slow it took him almost an hour to climb the 1000 meters to reach the airship. The special incendiary bullets in William's machine gun seemed to have no effect on the airship so William concentrated his fire on one place until a small fire broke out this fire spread until the whole airship burst into flames and fell to the ground near Cuffley Hertfordshire. The 16 German crew on board were all killed. They were buried in graves in Potters Bar, But in the 1960’s They were re interred in the German War Cemetery in Cannock Chase Staffordshire.

Thousands of Londoners came out onto the streets as search lights from the ground had illuminated William's plane as it pursued the airship. The following day hundreds travelled to see the wreckage at Cuffley. The pieces of SL11 were gathered up and sold by The Red Cross to raise money for the wounded soldiers.

For Unknown reasons after the destruction of SL11 the press officially described it as Zeppelin L21. This misidentification persisted for decades, even tough it is clear that the authorities were aware of SL11’s correct identity. It has been suggested that the reason for this confusion was a decision by the authorities that the destruction of a feared Zeppelin “baby Killer” airship would be a better PR exercise than the downing of an unknown Schütte Lanz type. The loss of the SL11 ended the German Army’s interest in raids on Britain.

Lt William Leefe Robinson became a national hero and within 48 hours was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts. Born in Karnataka, India on 14 Jul 1895 William was at Sandhurst in August 1914 and became an officer in the Worcestershire regiment, he later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. Later in the war he was shot down over enemy lines and was taken prisoner. He made several attempts to escape but remained in captivity until the Armistice. Sadly, he died on the 31 Dec 1918 in Stanmore Middlesex in the Influenza epidemic. He was not married but was engaged to Joan Whipple, the widow of a captain who had been killed in action. Lt William Leefe Robinson was buried in All Saints Churchyard Harrow Weald, England. The Inscription on his grave reads (left) “One who never turned his back but marched breast forward, Never doubted clouds would break, Never dream’d though right were worsted, wrong would triumph, Held we fall to rise, one baffled to fight better to sleep to wake. Browning (from Epilogue to Asolando” (centre)”God quickened the dead and calleth those be not as though they were” (romans,1V:17 and (right)”He was the first airman to attack a Zeppelin at night. After a most daring single-handed fight, he brought down L21, a flaming wreck at Cuffley. On 3rd September 1916. He led the way against the German Zeppelin peril threatening England".

There is a Harvester restaurant named Leefe Robinson V.C just east of the graveyard and a memorial was erected at Cuffley.

MakerSchütte-Lanze

Maker RoleManufacturer

Date Made1916

Period20th Century (1901-2000)

Place MadeGermany

Medium and MaterialsMetal| aluminium or duralumin

Measurementswhole length 231mm whole width 145mm (approx)

Named CollectionHitchin Museum

Object Typeairship part

Object number1105

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved