2nd Lieutenant Wulstan Tempest achieved instant fame by shooting down a German Zeppelin near London in October 1916. He later created this trophy by mounting his photograph to fragments of his plane's propeller and pieces of the German airship. By 1916, British aircraft mounted standing patrols at high altitudes along likely Zeppelin attack routes, and carried tracer and incendiary bullets in addition to regular rounds. Tempest engaged his target at over 14,000 feet (4,267 metres) after it had been illuminated by ground searchlights. Thousands watched from the ground the destruction of one of Germany's largest and newest airships, L31, flown by Heinrich Mathy, Germany's most experienced Zeppelin commander. It crashed into a farmer's field, where Tempest visited the wreckage the following day.
Propeller Fragment
CWM 19650080-001
Canada and the First World War
