German Flechette (aerial dart) from Zeppelin L32 : Great Burstead, Essex 24 September 1916

German flechette (aerial dart). The flechette has four fins which taper down to a thin shaft. Attached the to shaft is a wider, torpedo shaped dart head. The head is stamped 'DRGM' [Deutsches Reich Gebrauchsmuster - German Reich Registered Design].

German flechette (aerial dart) found among the remains of Zeppelin L32. The L32 was the first genuine German Zeppelin shot down over England during the First World War, early on the morning of 24 September 1916. A few weeks earlier, on 3 September, the very first German airship was shot down over London, the Schutte-Lanz SL11 (although it was not a Zeppelin, it was commonly referred to as one). L32 was shot down by Second Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey and crashed in flames at Great Burstead, near Billericay in Essex. All 22 members of the crew of were killed. Most died due to the flames, but some, including the airship's commander, Werner Peterson, chose to jump to their deaths.

The crew was initially buried at Great Burstead until their remains were moved, together with those of the crews of SL11, L31 and L48, to be reinterred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery in Staffordshire in the 1960s. Minutes after the L32 crashed, the Zeppelin L33 crash landed at New Hall Farm, Little Wigborough, also in Essex. The crew of L33 survived and became prisoners of war.

Items from airships, especially Zeppelins, were a very popular souvenir in England. People travelled considerable distances to view the crash sites and purchase, or scavenge for, pieces of the wreckages. At the site of the crash of SL11 pieces of the wreckage were sold by the Red Cross to raise money for wounded soldiers. At the site of L32 soldiers tried to prevent the public from going near the site, but people still managed to collect thousands of pieces of the wreck which had fallen in nearby fields.

Flechettes, or aerial darts, are essentially short steel rods with a sharp point at one end, and fins at the other. Originally invented by the Italians in 1911-1912, during the First World War they were first said to have been used by the French in 1914, although they were also later used by the British and Germans. The Germans took the opportunity to make a point about the development of the use of flechettes by stamping some of their flechettes (that were the same in style to the French ones), 'INVENTION FRANCAIS, FABRICATION ALLEMANDE' [French invention, German made] in French for their enemy to read.

Flechettes were dropped from aeroplanes or airships in great numbers, each canister holding between twenty and 250 flechettes. One French airman in March 1915 dropped 18,000 in one day over the German lines. The idea was that by dropping them at great heights they would acquire sufficient momentum (like a bullet) to allow them to pierce the heads, or bodies of enemy soldiers or civilians. The canisters were attached under the fuselage. A wire was pulled to open the bottom of the canister, which released the flechettes.

They were also used by the British to try and down German airships by dropping them from aircraft flying above. This failed to work, much in the same way firing normal ammunition at airships failed to work - they may have been able to penetrate the envelope of the airship, but did not cause much damage. Incendiary weapons were generally more successful. Against troops and civilians their success was variable. There are accounts of men being killed by flechettes, which were recorded as making thin, but deep wounds. Flechettes were primarily used early in the war, although some were still being used in January 1917. The British found them to be unsatisfactory - to work they had to score a direct hit, but there was no opportunity to direct them once they had been unleashed from the aircraft. They were regarded as less formidable or effective than a bomb dropped by aircraft, which could inflict a broader range of damage.

• Rings made from pieces of Zeppelin L32 : Great Burstead, Essex 24 September 1916
• Hat pins made from pieces of Zeppelin L32 : Great Burstead, Essex 24 September 1916