The Schütte-Lanz SL 11 was a military dirigible airship built in Germany during 1916.

Operational history

The SL 11 was built by Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz and thus, was not classeD as a Zeppelin

Zeppelin

A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...

. Based at Spich and commanded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Schramm, on the early night of September 3, 1916, after having bombed Saint Albans, it was attacked over Hertfordshire by Lt. William Leefe Robinson in a BE 2C

Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2

The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine two-seat biplane which was in service with the Royal Flying Corps from 1912 until the end of World War I. The "Bleriot" in its designation refers to the fact that, like the Bleriot types it was of tractor configuration, with the...

, using incendiary ammunition

Incendiary ammunition

-World War I:One of the first uses of incendiary ammunition occurred in World War I. At the time, phosphorus—the primary ingredient in the incendiary charge—ignited upon firing, leaving a trail of blue smoke. They were also known as 'smoke tracer' for this reason. The effective range of...

. It crashed at Cuffley

Cuffley

Cuffley is a village in the Welwyn Hatfield district of south-east Hertfordshire located between Cheshunt and Potters Bar. It has a population of just over 4,000 people. Politically, Cuffley is part of Broxbourne Constituency in the House of Commons, and sends a Councillor to Hertfordshire County...

, with the loss of the entire crew, who were buried at Potters Bar

Potters Bar

Potters Bar is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England, located north of Central London. In 2001 it had a population of 21,618....

 Cemetery and re-interred at Cannock Chase German war cemetery

Cannock Chase German war cemetery

The Cannock Chase German war cemetery is on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, England.On 16 October 1959, the governments of the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany made an agreement about the future care of German military personnel and German civilian internees of both World wars...

 during 1962.

Confusion with LZ 61

For unknown reasons, when the SL 11 became the first German airship to be shot down over England, it was described officially and in the press as Zeppelin L 21 (LZ 61's tactical number). This misidentification persisted for decades, even though it is clear that the authorities were always aware of SL 11's correct identity.

It has been suggested by Ray Rimell that the reason for this confusion was a calculation by the authorities that the downing of a hated and feared Zeppelin 'baby killer', would play better with the public than the destruction of an almost unknown Schütte-Lanz

Schütte-Lanz

Schütte-Lanz is the name of a series of rigid airships designed and built by the Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz company from 1909 until the last LS22 was delivered in 1917. One research and four passenger airships were planned for post-war use, but were never built...

 type.

Accordingly, the 1918 drama-documentary film The Last Raid of Zeppelin L-21 told the story of SL 11's destruction and not that of LZ 61.