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Airship Number L58 (LZ105)

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 NumberL58 (LZ105)
ManufacturerZeppelin Company
Military BranchNavy
Assigned Base(s)Wittmundhaven, Nordholz
Beginning Service DateOctober 29, 1917
Last Service DateJanuary 5, 1918
Postal MarkingPM “KOMMANDO L 58”  Easier to read under magnification.  “L58” also in text
Dispatch TypePersonal
Value$$

Notes

Very short service life; covers may be limited. First ship with new high-altitude engine (MB IVa)  . Destroyed in Nordholz explosion 05/01/18. 

Friedrichshafen Datestamp 11/11/17, prior to first flight or turnover.   Probably by crew member sent to Friedrichshafen to train on and pick up ship

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