Zeppelin LZ 16

Zeppelin LZ 16, known in German Army service as Z IV, was a rigid airship built by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin at Friedrichshafen for military purposes. It made its maiden flight on 14 March 1913. On 3 April 1913, while carrying a military acceptance commission, it was pushed off course by fog and easterly winds and landed at Lunéville in France, where the airship and its officers were briefly detained before it was released and returned to Germany, landing at Metz. At the start of the First World War it flew reconnaissance missions on the Eastern Front, and on the night of 24 to 25 September 1914 it bombed Warsaw and was heavily damaged by ground fire. Aging of its framework led to its withdrawal from the front in February 1915 as a training airship, and after 419 flights it was dismantled following its final flight on 20 October 1916.