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{{other uses|L5 (disambiguation){{!}}L5}}
{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
 |name = LZ 28 (L 5)
 |image = <!-- Add image file name here, e.g., L5_Zeppelin.jpg -->
 |caption =
 |alt = <!-- Alt text for image -->
}}{{Infobox aircraft type
 |type = M-class reconnaissance-bomber rigid airship
 |national origin = [[German Empire]]
 |manufacturer = [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin]]
 |design group = 
 |designer = [[Ludwig Dürr]]
 |builder = 
 |first flight = 22 September 1914
 |introduction = 
 |introduced = 1914
 |retired = 7 August 1915 (dismantled after being damaged by Russian anti-aircraft fire)
 |status = 
 |primary user = [[Imperial German Navy]]
 |more users = 
 |produced = 
 |number built = 
 |program cost = 
 |unit cost = 
 |developed from = <!-- Not applicable -->
 |variants with their own articles = 
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}}
|}
'''L 5''' (factory number '''LZ 28''') was a [[Zeppelin M-class|M-class]] [[Zeppelin]] built by [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin]] in [[Friedrichshafen]] for the [[Imperial German Navy]]. It was the 28th airship built by [[Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin]] and the fifth airship operated by the [[Imperial German Navy]].

== History ==
LZ 28 made its first flight on 22 September 1914. It was taken over by the Navy and designated as '''L&nbsp;5'''. Initially, L 5 was used for reconnaissance missions over the North Sea. As early as 19 October 1914, the airship was near the English coast, approximately 60 kilometers off [[Great Yarmouth|Yarmouth]]. During the British naval raid off the German North Sea coast on 25 December 1914 ([[Christmas Raid]]), L 5 bombed the British submarine ''E11''. The submarine escaped by executing an emergency dive.<ref>Frank Omeda: ''Die deutschen Flugzeugträger''. 2017, pp. 92–93.</ref>

During the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]] on 24 January 1915, between British and German naval forces, L&nbsp;5 patrolled above the battle area. It was fired upon by British warships but transmitted reconnaissance data via radio to the German naval command.<ref name=Meyer />

L 5 was particularly effective in detecting enemy minefields. If a naval airship detected a single [[naval mine]], it was destroyed with machine gun fire. If a minefield was discovered, the airship dropped small buoys with colored flags around the perimeter and radioed the coordinates to the appropriate minesweeper flotilla. Occasionally, the Zeppelin would land next to a minesweeper and take an officer aboard so that the minesweeping officer could inspect the minefield from the air.<ref>[[Ernst A. Lehmann]]: ''Auf Luftpatrouille und Weltfahrt''. Wegweiser-Verlag, Berlin 1936, p. 97.</ref>

In June 1915, L 5 was transferred to the Baltic Sea and stationed at the [[Seddin Airship Station]] beginning on 15 June 1915. From there, L&nbsp;5 conducted reconnaissance missions and bombing raids against Russian targets.<ref name=Meyer />

=== Fate ===
On 7 August 1915, the airship was severely damaged by Russian anti-aircraft fire during a mission and had to be dismantled.<ref name=Meyer>Peter Meyer: ''Luftschiffe – Die Geschichte der deutschen Zeppeline.'' Wehr & Wissen, Koblenz/Bonn 1980.</ref>

== Technical Specifications ==
* Gas volume: 22,500 m³ of [[hydrogen]]
* Length: 158.0 m
* Diameter: 14.90 m
* Payload: 9.2 t
* Propulsion: Three [[Maybach]] engines, each producing 210 kW
* Speed: 22.5 m/s (81 km/h)

== See also ==
* [[List of Zeppelins]]

== References ==
<references />

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[[Category:Airships of Germany]]
[[Category:Hydrogen airships]]
[[Category:Zeppelins]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1914]]
[[Category:Military airships of World War I]]
[[Category:1915 endings]]