Description
Historic Aviators cover dedicated to Great War fighter ace William Leefe Robinson VC signed by German great war Zeppelin captain Wernher Vermehren
On April 1, 1909, he joined the Imperial Navy as a midshipman and completed his naval training on the large protected cruiser SMS Hansa (1898). After successfully attending the naval school, where he was promoted to the rank of ensign, he came aboard the battleship SMS Heligoland (Schiff, 1909) where he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1913/1914 he was a radio technical officer (FTO) on SMS Zieten. During the First World War he initially served, again as a radio technical officer, on the cruiser SMS Pillau.
In October 1916 he transferred to the airship fleet. He was a watch officer on the airships L14 and L30 (= LZ62). In April 1917 he became commander on L30 and then on the airships L35, L42 and L65. At the end of World War I he became commander of the minesweeper M40 and by mid-1919 he was Intelligence Officer at the Naval Station of the Baltic Sea.
