The LZ 121 was a civilian

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

from the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

, a Y-Class zeppelin with a total length of . It received the nickname ''Nordstern'' while in German service, before it was given to France as war reparations on 13 June 1921. In France she was renamed the ''Méditerranée'' and operated as a civilian air transport for a year. She was transferred to the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

and served in the Mediterranean for four years. She was decommissioned and broken up in August1926.

Construction

The LZ 121 was built by

Luftschiffbau Zeppelin 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 airships, commonly referred to as ''Zeppelins'' due to the company's prominence. The name ...

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 ...

, Germany after 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 ...

as a sister ship of LZ 120. It was built to transport passengers on regular flights from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

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 ...

. The ship was completed as a Y-Class zeppelin in January 1920 and had a total length of . It had a diameter of and a 22,500 m³ gas volume contained in 13 gas cells. The ship could reach a top speed of 130 km/h, with four Maybach Mb IVa, 245 hp 6-cylinder inline engines driving three propellers. The ship had accommodations for 16 crew members and 20 passengers in the four gondolas.

War reparations

''Nordstern'' was designed to carry about 25 passengers on a Friedrichshafen - Berlin - Stockholm route but this route was never opened. The older sister ship LZ 120 ''Bodensee'' did run a regular passenger service between Friedrichshafen and Berlin in late 1919. The LZ 120 and LZ 121 were not allowed to enter service as the Allies had forbidden Germany to make any more

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 ...

s at the end of 1919. The German government had hoped that it was only a temporary measure, so the

Spa Conference of 1920 The Spa Conference was a meeting between the Supreme War Council and the government of the Weimar Republic in Spa, Belgium on 5–16 July 1920. The main topics were German disarmament, coal shipments to the Allies and war reparations. Attendees ...

was held to address the issue in July 1920 at Spa, Belgium. The Commission Chairman General E. A. Masterman decided on 9August 1920 that the two airships be given to France and Italy as war reparations. The two ships were confiscated under protest by the German government. LZ 121 was awarded to France, which in May 1921 constructed an airship hangar for the zeppelin in

Saint-Cyr-l'École Saint-Cyr-l'École () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It used to host the training school for officers of the French army, the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM), which wa ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. LZ 121 set out for its maiden voyage to France on 13 June 1921 at 11:30am. About 10,000 people went to

to get a last glimpse of the airship before it departed German airspace. It reached

on the evening of the same day.

Career in France

LZ 121 was put under the command of the French airline Société Anonyme de Navigation Aérienne (Sana), where it was renamed ''Méditerranée'' and operated as a Zeppelin air transport between southern France and

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Military career

In April 1922 the ''Méditerranée'' was handed over to the French Navy and based at Cuers-Pierrefou, Toulon. The airship was used for training. New gas cells were installed, with the work finished in early 1923. In 1923, the ''Méditerranée'' participated in French naval maneuvers in the Mediterranean. From December 1923 the airship was limited to short-range flights, before being decommissioned and disassembled in August 1926. In September 1926 the framework of LZ 121 was tested under increasing loads until destruction.

References

{{LZ Navbox Airships of Germany Airships of France Hydrogen airships Airships Rigid airships Zeppelins Aircraft first flown in 1921