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Airship Number L57 (LZ102)

The airships of the Zeppelin Company were cigar-shaped, with the maximum diameter being reached at one-eighth of the overall length. The diameter stays constant to about the last one-eighth of the ship’s length, where it reduces to the tail.  The ship is a “rigid airship” in that it has an aluminum, or duralumin, skeleton and a keel along the bottom, from which all of the ship’s weight was carried – crew, gondolas, ordnance, ballast, fuel, radio, etc.

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Airship NumberL57 (LZ102)
ManufacturerZeppelin Company
Military BranchNavy
Assigned Base(s)Jütterbog
Beginning Service DateSeptember 26, 1917
Last Service DateOctober 8, 1917
Postal MarkingM KJOMMANDO
Dispatch TypePersonal
Value$$$$

Notes

This is the original “Afrika Fahrt” ship, specially lengthened by Zeppelin to provide the needed range.  It was destroyed upon entering the Jutterbog hangar, so a second ship, the L-59, was quickly readied. Mierke was a regular letter writer, so his covers are known from other ships.

This cover is unusual; it was probably due to a paper shortage in Germany caused by the British blockade. This envelope was hand-crafted from a music score!

Because of its very short service life, very few L57 covers have come to light.

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