LZ 38

LZ 38 was a Zeppelin of the P class, built for the German Imperial Army and first flown on 3 May 1915. It was the first of the new P class, of which 21 were built for the army and navy by the end of 1915; at 163.5 metres the ships were the longest Zeppelins to date and carried four engines. LZ 38 served first on the Eastern Front and was then moved to Dusseldorf and Brussels-Evere for operations in the west. It made five raids on England and on 31 May 1915 became the first airship to bomb London, dropping about 1,400 kilograms of bombs on an eastern suburb and killing seven people. The raid led England to restrict newspaper reports of where bombs fell. LZ 38 was destroyed on 7 June 1915 when its shed at Evere was bombed.