German Naval Airship L15 was hit by anti-aircraft fire on the night of 31 March 1916. This machine gun from the airship was jettisoned over South Hanningfield in Essex shortly afterwards. However, the damage proved too debilitating and with four of its gas cells destroyed, the Zeppelin crashed into the sea near Margate, Kent. The airship was taken in tow but sank off Westgate; all but one of the crew survived.

These two pieces of L15's envelope (the outer skin of linen that covered the whole Zeppelin structure) were recovered from the wreck by Staff-Surgeon L Greig, RN of HMS Attentive.