SL11

An unusual hand showing on the base 'Zeppelin L21 Cuffley Sept 3rd 1916'. The SL11 - which was the first German airship to be brought down on English soil - was originally described as a Zeppelin (L21) by the British officials. Due to the hype of the Zeppelins at the time, it was useful to provide propaganda by miss information. The airship was in fact a Schutte-Lanz airship. The framework of the Schutte-Lanz airships were made from wood and therefore not much was left of the SL11 after she was brought down.

As the SL11 was made from wood, it begs the question as to what this hand has been made from. Perhaps some parts of the airship were made of some sort of alloy, or perhaps it has been melted down from one of the engines? The hand is not as light as I would of expected having been cast from an airship.

  Photograph of Luftschiff troops - remembering their coleagues who lost their lives in the Shutte-Lanz airship SL11?