Zeppelins are hard-sided airships with individual gas compartments, named after Ferdinand von Zeppelin who founded the first airship company in 1908. The Zeppelin Company built 21 airships from 1900 to 1914, but many were lost to accidents. During World War I, zeppelins were used for bomb-dropping and surveillance, but fixed-wing aircraft made them impractical. After Germany lost the war, the Treaty of Versailles mandated that every existing Zeppelin be transferred to Allied forces and required Germany to cease production of airships. The Hindenburg disaster in 1936 changed the course of commercial airship history. Today, the Zeppelin company invests in smaller hybrid airships used for advertising, pleasure travel, and observation platforms.
A zeppelin is a gas-filled floating airship named after pioneer Ferdinand von Zeppelin (July 8, 1838 – March 8, 1917). He founded the first airship company, Luftschiffbau (Airship) Zeppelin, in 1908 after several prototypes had already flown successfully, starting with the LZ1 in 1900. His hard-sided airship design was so successful that the name became a informal term for any hard-sided airship.
A zeppelin differs from an airship in that the latter is essentially a large gas-filled bag with a loose skin. The body structure of the zeppelin is not only rigid, but also contains cells for individual gas compartments. The rigid structure allowed it to be much larger than any airship and to carry heavier payloads.
From 1900 to 1914, the Zeppelin Company built as many as 21 airships, but many were lost to accidents due to weather or mishaps. The airship showed great promise, however, and the world’s first commercial airline, Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), began using zeppelins for commercial air travel. With the advent of World War I in 1914, the German military took control of the existing vessels for military use. The zeppelin’s payload and range made it attractive for bomb-dropping and surveillance, but fixed-wing aircraft ultimately made it impractical for bomb-dropping, as they proved too easy to shoot down. Instead zeppelins worked in the Baltic and North Seas, yielding Allied shipping positions to German shipping.
When Germany lost the war in 1918, the Treaty of Versailles mandated that every existing Zeppelin be transferred to Allied forces and required Germany to cease production of airships. Ferdinand von Zeppelin died shortly before the end of the war, leaving the reins of the company to Dr. Hugo Eckener. Eckener had no taste for warfare and was eager to re-establish a relationship with DELAG airlines to resurrect positive public opinion of the airship. Eckener had trouble circumventing the provisions of the treaty, but in 1921 the United States hired the company to build LZ126 later designated USS Los Angeles (ZR-3). This initiated friendly relations between the German Zeppelin Company and the United States that would prove both fruitful and disastrous.
While Luftschiffbau Zeppelin progressed over the next decade with a highly successful line of airships, their largest flagship, the Hindenburg, exploded while visiting the United States on a transatlantic flight in 1936. The spectacular disaster, captured live by the media, made headlines around the world and changed the course of commercial airship history. To this day, the Hindenburg remains the largest ship to ever take to the skies, roughly comparable in size to the Titanic.
In the United States, airships take the place of zeppelins, although the USS Los Angeles served faithfully as a commercial airship for eight years until 1932. In the midst of the Great Depression her service ended and the zeppelin was subsequently broken up. Today, the Zeppelin company Luftschifftechnik GmbH continues to invest in smaller hybrid airships used primarily for advertising, pleasure travel and observation platforms. They can also be contracted for environmental studies.
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