720-03 P-CLASS AIRSHIP ZEPPELIN LZ45/LZ58 `NAVAL RAIDERS`

Zeppelin type P (or: class P) is a term for a class of German airships from the First World War. The flight of the prototype of airships of this class took place in May 1915. In the course of production, 22 aircraft of this type were created. The drive - in the first units - was provided by four Maybach 3M CX engines with 210 HP each. The airship was 163.5 meters long, and its crew consisted of 19 people. The deck armament consisted of 7 to 8 7.92 mm machine guns. The machine could also carry bomb loads of up to 2,000 kilograms. The Zeppelin type P was a type of airship produced for the needs of both the German army and navy. The main objectives of airships of this type were patrol missions over the Baltic and North Seas and the performance of bomb raids over Great Britain in the period 1915-1916. Army airships also served on the Western, Eastern and Southeast Front. Zeppelins of this type were created as a modernization of the M-type airships, and the main change was to increase their size and extend the flight range. In later versions of airships of this type, new engines with more power were used as propulsion. At the end of 1915, P-class airships were supplemented and replaced in line by the Q-model, which was even larger in size and capable of reaching a higher altitude.