Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of
rigid airship
A rigid airship is a type of airship (or dirigible) in which the envelope is supported by an internal framework rather than by being kept in shape by the pressure of the lifting gas within the envelope, as in blimps (also called pressure airsh ...
s, commonly referred to as ''Zeppelins'' due to the company's prominence. The name 'Luftschiffbau' is a German word meaning ''building of airships''.
The company was founded by
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (german: Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin; 8 July 1838 – 8 March 1917) was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. His name soon became synonymous with airships a ...
in 1908 as a formal entity to continue advancing his pioneering research into rigid airships. ''Luftschiffbau Zeppelin'' became the leading manufacturer in the field of large lighter-than-air vehicles; its products were used in both military and civilian capacities. The firm founded
DELAG
DELAG, acronym for ''Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft'' (German for "German Airship Travel Corporation"), was the List of airlines by foundation, world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service. It operated a fleet of zepp ...
, the
world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service, in 1909 on the back of public interest and using its own airships. During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Zeppelins were employed as the first
long distance strategic bombers, launching numerous raids upon
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Following Count von Zeppelin's death in 1917, control of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin fell to Dr.
Hugo Eckener
Hugo Eckener (10 August 1868 – 14 August 1954) SchwensenThomas Adam. p. 289 ostsee.de was the manager of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin during the inter-war years, and also the commander of the famous '' Graf Zeppelin'' for most of its record-sett ...
, an enthusiastic proponent of the civil value of airships. However, Germany's zeppelins were claimed by the Allies as
war reparations
War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war.
History
Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history.
R ...
.
The company continued to innovate during the
Interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
, constructing the largest rigid airship in history, the
LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'',
lead ship
The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels.
Large ships are very complex and may ...
of the
''Hindenburg'' class. However, the company's fortunes soured during the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
era, particularly following the high-profile
''Hindenburg'' disaster. Its airships were grounded and scrapped in 1940 to produce fixed-wing combat aircraft for
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's war machine. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the company became involved in the manufacture of the
V2 rocket
The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed ...
; its facilities were hit by Allied bombing raids and it all but ceased to exist in the final months of the conflict. During the 1980s, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH was revived from its residual assets. It has since become a major shareholder in the company ''ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH'', which developed and produces the
Zeppelin NT
The Zeppelin NT (''"Neue Technologie"'', German for ''new technology'') is a class of helium-filled airships being manufactured since the 1990s by the German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT) in Friedrichshafen. The initial model i ...
, a next generation airship.
History
Formative years
During 1900, Count von Zeppelin's first airship performed its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
. Initially, his research was being financed by the count himself, as well as by private donations, and even a
lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
; public interest in Zeppelin's activities grew with the success of each flight. In 1908, the
Zeppelin LZ 4
The Zeppelin ''LZ 4'' was a German experimental airship constructed under the direction of Ferdinand von Zeppelin. First flown on 20 June 1908, it made a series of successful flights including a 12-hour flight over Switzerland. It was destroyed ...
was destroyed during a high-profile test flight. However, this apparent setback proved fortunate in the long run since its loss caused a flood of public support; the ensuing donation campaign collected over six million German marks, which was used to set up both 'Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH' as well as the
Zeppelin Foundation The Zeppelin Foundation is an institution founded by Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Originally founded to support development of zeppelins and other airships, it now owns a number of large businesses in full or in part and uses its income for philanthropic ...
.
Luftschiffbau Zeppelin proceeded to design and manufacture a range of
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
airships, which found use within both the civilian and military sectors. The company played a leading role in the field of large lighter-than-air vehicles, establishing numerous firsts and innovations over the following decades. One such innovation was the founding of
DELAG
DELAG, acronym for ''Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft'' (German for "German Airship Travel Corporation"), was the List of airlines by foundation, world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service. It operated a fleet of zepp ...
in 1909, the
world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service. At the time, orders from the German Army were not immediately forthcoming, thus Alfred Colsman, Zeppelin Luftschiffbau's business manager, suggested harnessing the German public's enthusiasm for airships via the establishment of a commercial passenger-carrying company.
[Robinson 1973, p. 52.] By July 1914, DELAG's Zeppelins had transported 34,028 passengers on 1,588 commercial flights; the fleet had flown 172,535 kilometres in 3,176 hours.
World War One
During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
,
Imperial Germany
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
decided to deploy Zeppelins as long-distance bombers, launching
numerous attacks upon Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. While the direct military effect of these zeppelin raids has been seen as limited, their novelty generated widespread alarm and caused substantial resources to be diverted from the
Western Front to address them. At the time, the impact of such raids was overestimated in terms of both the material and psychological effects of the bombing of cities. One inadvertent consequence was the launch of a parliamentary inquiry under
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
, whose report led to the creation of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) on 1 April 1918.
Zeppelin technology improved considerably as a result of the conflict. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin came under government control and new personnel were recruited to cope with the increased demand, including the aerodynamicist
Paul Jaray
Paul Jaray ( Hungarian: ''Járay Pál''; 11 March 1889 – 22 September 1974) was an engineer, designer, and a pioneer of automotive streamlining.
Life
Jaray, of Hungarian-Jewish descent, was born in Vienna. Jaray studied at ''Maschinenbauschul ...
and the stress engineer
Karl Arnstein
Karl Arnstein (March 24, 1887, Prague – December 12, 1974, Bryan, Ohio) was one of the most important 20th century airship engineers and designers in Germany and the United States of America. He was born in Prague, Bohemia (now the Czech Repub ...
. Many technological advances originated from the firm's competitor, the
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
-based Schütte-Lanz company. While their dirigibles were never as successful, Professor Schütte's more scientific approach to airship design led to innovations such as a streamlined hull shape, simpler cruciform fins (replacing the more complicated box-like arrangements of older Zeppelins), individual direct-drive engine cars, anti-aircraft machine-gun positions, and gas ventilation shafts that transferred vented hydrogen to the top of the airship. New production facilities were set up to assemble Zeppelins from components fabricated in Friedrichshafen.
In 1917, Count von Zeppelin died; control of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin fell to Dr.
Hugo Eckener
Hugo Eckener (10 August 1868 – 14 August 1954) SchwensenThomas Adam. p. 289 ostsee.de was the manager of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin during the inter-war years, and also the commander of the famous '' Graf Zeppelin'' for most of its record-sett ...
, who had long envisioned dirigibles as vessels of peace rather than of war and hoped to quickly resume civilian flights. Despite considerable difficulties, they completed two small passenger airships:
LZ 120 ''Bodensee'' (Scrapped July 1928), which first flew in August 1919 and in the following months transported passengers between Friedrichshafen and Berlin, and sister ship ''LZ 121 Nordstern'' (Scrapped September 1926), which was intended for use on a regular route to
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.
However, in 1921, the Allied Powers demanded that these airships should be handed over as
war reparations
War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war.
History
Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history.
R ...
as compensation for the dirigibles destroyed by their crews in 1919. Germany was not allowed to construct military aircraft and only airships of less than were permitted. This brought a halt to Zeppelin's plans for airship development, and the company temporarily resorted to the manufacture of aluminium cooking utensils.
Interwar and Second World War
Between the mid 1920s and 1940, the company worked closely with the
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...
to manufacture a pair of Zeppelins in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
; to cement this relationship, a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
company, the
Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, was created to handle such activities. The first airship to be produced under this initiative, the
LZ 126, performed its first flight on 27 August 1924. However, the Goodyear-Zeppelin partnership was terminated following the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Despite this, the American company continued to produce
blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...
s for several decades under the Goodyear name.
During 1926, restrictions on airship construction were relaxed by the
Locarno treaties
The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, during 5 to 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 1 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of Central an ...
, but acquiring the necessary funds for Luftschiffbau Zeppelin's next project proved problematic in the difficult economic situation of post–First World War Germany, requiring two years of lobbying and publicity work to secure the realization of
''Graf Zeppelin'', christened in honour of the firm's founder. On 18 September 1928, when the completed ''Graf Zeppelin'' flew for the first time. In the following years, it was not only commenced
transatlantic
Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to:
Film
* Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950
* Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s
* ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...
commercial passenger flights but performed several record-breaking flights, including a successful
circumnavigation
Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
The first recorded circ ...
of the globe. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin was keen to continue advancing the capabilities of its airships and begun design work on an even larger airship during the late 1920s.
Perhaps the single most famous airship was the LZ 129 ''
Hindenburg'', the first of two airships of the
''Hindenburg'' class. It was a large commercial passenger-carrying
rigid airship
A rigid airship is a type of airship (or dirigible) in which the envelope is supported by an internal framework rather than by being kept in shape by the pressure of the lifting gas within the envelope, as in blimps (also called pressure airsh ...
, being the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume.
["Hindenburg Statistics."](_blank)
airships.net, 2009. Retrieved: 22 July 2017. ''Hindenburg'' was constructed by the company between 1931 and 1936, and performed its maiden test flight from the Zeppelin dockyards at Friedrichshafen on 4 March 1936, with 87 passengers and crew aboard. It subsequently performed propaganda flight around Germany in conjunction with other airships, in addition to transatlantic commercial passenger flights to destinations in both
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
.
The company's fortunes were greatly influenced by the rise of the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
to power in Germany during 1933. On the whole,
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
placed a greater value on 'heavier than air' aircraft over that of zeppelins due to their military superiority. Despite this, zeppelins were prominently used by the nation for a number of major
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
campaigns, allegedly to great effect. As a consequence of accepting 11 million marks from
Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
' Ministry of Propaganda and
Göring's Air Ministry, the company was effectively divided, with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin making the airships and the
Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei
Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei (), abbreviated DZR, is a German limited-liability company that operates commercial passenger zeppelin flights. The current incarnation of the DZR was founded in 2001 and is based in Friedrichshafen. It is a subsidiary ...
company (affiliated with
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
) operating them. Officially,
Hugo Eckener
Hugo Eckener (10 August 1868 – 14 August 1954) SchwensenThomas Adam. p. 289 ostsee.de was the manager of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin during the inter-war years, and also the commander of the famous '' Graf Zeppelin'' for most of its record-sett ...
was the head of both entities but, in practice,
Ernst Lehmann
Captain Ernst August Lehmann (12 May 1886 – 7 May 1937) was a German Zeppelin captain. He was one of the most famous and experienced figures in German airship travel. The ''Pittsburgh Press'' called Lehmann the best airship pilot in the world ...
, who was less opposed to the Nazi regime, ran the latter. As a result of Eckener's criticism of the Nazi regime, Goebbels had ordered his censoring across all forms of public media in 1936.
However, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin lost much of its favour amongst political circles following the high-profile
Hindenburg disaster
The ''Hindenburg'' disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' caught fire and was destroyed during its attemp ...
in 1937; the event compelled the firm to terminate Zeppelin manufacturing in 1938, while all operations of existing airships was ceased by 1940. In August 1939, the
''Graf Zeppelin II'' conducted a reconnaissance flight along
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
's coastline in an attempt to determine whether the 100 metre towers erected from
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
to
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
were used for aircraft radio location. The frames of
''Graf Zeppelin'' and ''Graf Zeppelin II'', along with scrap material from ''Hindenburg'', were subsequently scrapped that same year for their materials, which were used to fulfil wartime demands for fixed-wing military aircraft for the ''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
''.
During the autumn of 1941, the company accepted contracts to produce elements of the
V-2 rocket
The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed ...
, specifically propellant tanks and fuselage sections.
By 17 August 1942, the Allies had suspected that the Zeppelin Works in
Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...
(as well as the Henschel
Raxwerke
Raxwerke or Rax-Werke was a facility of the Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik at Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria. During World War II, the company also produced lamps for Panzer tanks and anti-aircraft guns. Two Raxwerke plants employed several ...
) were involved in the supply chain of the V-2,
and on 25 July 1943, British
MP Duncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys (; 24 January 1908 – 26 November 1987), was a British politician and minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a son-in-law of Winston Churchill and played a key ro ...
reported that Friedrichshafen photos depicted rocket firing sites like
Test Stand VII
, partof = Army Research Center Peenemünde,Nazi Germany
, location = Usedom island
, coordinates =
, image = Peenemunde-165515.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = 23 June 1943 RAF reconnaissance ...
at
Peenemünde
Peenemünde (, en, "Peene iverMouth") is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the ''Amt'' (collective municipality) of Usedom-Nord. The communi ...
. During the previous month, Allied bombing during
Operation Bellicose
Operation Bellicose was an attack by Avro Lancaster bombers of the Royal Air Force on a German radar factory housed in the former Zeppelin Works at Friedrichshafen and the Italian naval base at La Spezia. It was the first shuttle bombing rai ...
had hit the Zeppelin V-2 facility, leading to production being subsequently relocated to the
Mittelwerk
Mittelwerk (; German for "Central Works") was a German World War II factory built underground in the Kohnstein to avoid Allied bombing. It used slave labor from the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp to produce V-2 ballistic missiles, V-1 flyin ...
. During the final months of the conflict, the company effectively ceased to exist, disappearing sometime around 1945.
Re-emergence
Almost 50 years following its disappearance, the company was regenerated from its residual assets. During 1993, the parent group company of the current Zeppelin maker was re-established, while the operating company producing the current Zeppelins was created in 2001.
The modern development and construction that is embodied by the Zeppelin NT had been financed by a long-standing endowment, which had been initially funded with money left over from the earlier Zeppelin company, that had been under the trusteeship of the Mayor of
Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...
. A stipulation had been placed upon the endowment that limited the use of its funds to the field of airships. Over the many years, the investment value of the endowment grew to a point where it had become viable for the funds to be put to use for the purpose of designing, developing, and constructing of a new generation of Zeppelins. In 1988, the first considerations into the technological and economic feasibility of reviving the Zeppelin industry began; this included examinations of historic Zeppelin documentation as well as current designs for airships.
["History: From first concept, to series production."](_blank)
''Zeppelin NT'', Retrieved: 7 July 2016. In December 1990, a feasibility study and accompanying market research program found an initial sales potential for around 80 Zeppelin airships for purposes such as tourism, advertising, and scientific research. In mid 1991, the newly formed development team filed several patents on various technologies that would be later used on the subsequent airship, these included propeller arrangements, structure and girder design, and
ballonet
A ballonet is an air bag inside the outer envelope of an airship which, when inflated, reduces the volume available for the lifting gas, making it more dense. Because air is also denser than the lifting gas, inflating the ballonet reduces the over ...
implementation.
In March 1991, a flyable remote control
proof of concept
Proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle with the aim of verifying that some concept or theory has prac ...
model was demonstrated, which is claimed to have revealed excellent flight characteristics from the onset.
In September 1993, the Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT) was founded in Friedrichshafen as a corporate spin-off of the original Zeppelin company to pursue development and production of the new generation of Zeppelins, later known as the Zeppelin NT (New Technology). By spring 1994, preparatory studies for a full-sized prototype were underway.
In 1995, the
Luftfahrt-Bundesamt
The ''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt'' (LBA, "Federal Aviation Office") is the national civil aviation authority of Germany headquartered in Braunschweig.[civil aviation authority
A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register.
Role
Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...]
, officially recognized ZLT as a design organisation, and approved new construction regulations for airships. In November 1995, final assembly of the first airship prototype commenced, it was promoted as being the first rigid airship to be produced by the firm since the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In July 1996, the under-construction prototype of the Zeppelin NT 07 was presented to the public and the media.
In September 1997, the prototype performed its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
at Friedrichshafen; piloted by US test pilot Scott Danneker, it flew for a total of 40 minutes.
On 3 May 2011, Goodyear confirmed their intentions to reinstate their historic partnership with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. Accordingly, Goodyear placed an order for three Zeppelin NT LZ N07-101 models with plans to commence operation in January 2014.
The Zeppelin NT is the successor to Goodyear's non-rigid airship, the
GZ-20
The Goodyear GZ-20/20A was a class of non-rigid airship or blimp introduced in 1969 by The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in the United States as its signature promotional aircraft, the Goodyear Blimp. The design is based on the previous G ...
in Goodyear airship advertising. The first of these airships, referred to as ''Wingfoot One'', was introduced during mid-2014.
Fixed-wing aircraft
World War I, primarily for the ''
Luftstreitkräfte
The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...
'')
*
Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeuge
The Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeuge () were a series of very large bomber aircraft - ''Riesenflugzeuge'' ("giant aircraft"), usually powered by four or more engines, designed and built in Germany from 1915 to 1919.Haddow, G.W. & Grosz, Peter M. ...
*
Zeppelin-Friedrichshafen C.I & C.II
*
Zeppelin-Lindau D.I
*
Zeppelin-Lindau CL.I & CL.II
*
Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I
*
Zeppelin-Lindau V.I
World War 2
*
Fliegende Panzerfaust
The ''Fliegende Panzerfaust'', meaning 'Flying Bazooka' (literally 'Flying Armor Fist') in the German language, was a project for a Third Reich very-short-range interceptor designed by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.
The ''Fliegende Panzerfaust'' project ...
*
Zeppelin Rammer
The Zeppelin Rammer (german: Rammjäger) was a design proposal by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin intended to use aerial ramming against the allied bombers attacking Nazi Germany during World War II.
Description
A rocket-powered small aircraft with strai ...
See also
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List of Zeppelins
This is a complete list of Zeppelins constructed by the German Zeppelin companies from 1900 until 1938. Other rigid airships that are also sometimes referred to as zeppelins but not built by Zeppelin are not included.
The Zeppelin company base ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Haddow, G.W. and Peter M. Grosz. ''The German Giants: The German R-Planes, 1914–1918.'' London: Putnam, 1962; London: Conway Maritime, 1988 (3rd ed.)
* Mooney, Michael Macdonald. ''The Hindenburg''. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1972. .
* Lehmann, Ernst. ''Zeppelin: The Story of Lighter-than-air Craft''. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1937.
* Robinson, Douglas H. ''Giants in the Sky: History of the Rigid Airship.'' Henley-on-Thames, UK: Foulis, 1973. .
* Swinfield, J. ''Airship: Design, Development and Disaster''. London: Conway, 2012. .
External links
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Operation Bellicose map from Newsweek 1943The Zeppelin museumin
Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...
Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH— The original company, now developing the ''Zeppelin NT''
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{{Coord, 47, 40, 27, N, 9, 30, 26, E, type:landmark_region:DE, display=title
Aircraft manufacturers of Germany
Companies based in Friedrichshafen
Zeppelins
1908 establishments in Germany