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AUTHENTIC L32 ZEPPELIN WRECKAGE WIRE MOUNTED ON TIE-PIN
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AUTHENTIC L32 ZEPPELIN WRECKAGE WIRE MOUNTED ON TIE-PIN
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Up for Auction 100% GENUINE L32 ZEPPELIN WIRE MOUNTED ON A QUALITY TIE-PIN This wire, which was recovered from the wreckage of the German ZEPPELIN L-32 (shot down 24/09/1916), is mounted on a quality tie-pin as shown in the photos. The wire itself appears to have been part of a support wire from the interior of the zeppelin, perhaps to hold the hydrogen gas cells in place. The wire is hollow but spiralled. Such a design made the wire light yet strong - criteria which were essential to the overall weight-reducing design of the new " Super- Zeppelins" (L-30, L-31, L-32, L-33 and L-34). These "Super-Zeppelins" were required to fly at a higher altitude than their predecessors in order to avoid being shot down by the British. TIE-PIN measures 5.4 cm x 1.2 cm. ZEPPELIN WIRE measures 3.2 cm x 0.3 cm. The wire itself is in excellent condition. I'm not sure what metal it is made from. It is almost hypnotising to watch the spiral design spinning on the tie-pin. It is held in place between two slightly discoloured artificial pearls. The tie-pin itself is also in excellent condition and perfect working order. This tie-pin would make an excellent CONVERSATION PIECE. What follows is some information which I have gatd on the L-32: Three raids were carried out during the first "Raiding Period" of Autumn, 1916. The third raiding period began when 12 navy airships headed for England late in the afternoon of September 23. The new L-30 class ships, led by Heinrich Mathy in the L-31, worked their way southward and crossed the southern English coast. This route assured a strong tail-wind and speedy flight past the most dangerous anti-aircraft areas over London. L-32 had come onshore after circling for about an hour. Captain Werner Peterson's last radio message received was garbled, but it is possible that L-32 had engine trouble and circled until repairs were made. Up to that point, he and Mathy's ship had been cruising together. When L-32 broke out of the cloud cover over the Thames River, she was spotted almost immediately and pinned in the searchlight beams of the city's eastern defenses. Peterson may have realized his danger, because L-32 dropped her bombs in rapid succession and turned toward the sea while attempting to gain altitude. First Lieutenant Frederick Sowery was in the air that night and nosed his British built BE2c 4112 biplane toward the zeppelin which was so dazzlingly illuminated by the searchlights. After firing two drums of Brock-Pomeroy ammunition at the airship, he made a third pass, firing into the side of the zeppelin until he saw flames on its outer fabric. L-32 quickly caught fire and with her hydrogen burning off like a blowtorch, she dropped slowly to the ground near Snail's Hall farm, Billericay, killing all on board. After "firing" the zeppelin, Sowery dropped a red Verys Light (flare) and then landed at Sutton's farm. Officers of the Naval Intelligence Division were first on the scene and despite the heat, they raced through as much of the wreckage as possible. They were rewarded with a copy of the German Navy Cipher Book, which Peterson had allowed on board the L-32 against regulations. It will never be known why he allowed it, if he even knew that it was on board. Its capture was a boon to the Royal Navy code breakers. Zeppelin L32 was shot down by Frederick Sowrey RFC, aged 23, and crashed near Snails Farm, South Green, Great Burstead, near Billericay. Its target was London, but because of an anti-aircraft barrage it dropped its bombs near Purfleet and began to make its was back to Germany when it was intercepted by Sowrey who was on routine night patrol. The airship was picked out in the night sky by searchlights and Sowrey launched his attack. Firing three drums of incendiary ammunition into the body of the airship she caught alight and plummeted to the ground at sometime after 1 a.m. All 22 of the crew were killed. One witness described how in the night sky he saw a pink glare which turned to coppery red, then a ball of flame emerged which changed it shape to ...
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