Of all the world's airships, arguably the most famous (until the Hindenburg disaster) was the Graf Zeppelin. Built in 1927-28 in large part from private subscription, the Graf Zeppelin proved to the entire world that airships as both a safe and economically sound means of travel could be a reality. Under the guiding hand of Dr. Hugo Eckener, Germany's leading airship expert, and outspoken proponent of lighter-than-air travel, the Graf Zeppelin became a goodwill symbol to millions around the world during her nine year career.
The LZ-129 was a remarkable technological achievement as well as
being the largest and most modern airship in the world. Her duralumin girders
surrounded enormous gas bags made of goldbeaters skin (the stomach lining of sheep) with a
total capacity or more than seven million cubic feet of "blaugas" (a mixture of
propylene, methane and hydrogen). The entire structure was then covered in fine
cloth painted with layers of "aluminized" dope.
One of five Maybach diesel engines on LZ-129
She was powered by 5 powerful 530hp Maybach VL-2 V12 diesel
engines capable of driving the ship at more than 78 mph, and she could easily carry a
compliment of 20-24 passengers and a crew of 36 over distances no airplane could hope to
match.
View of the gondola of the LZ-129
The service and passenger spaces were contained in the gondola
which was suspended from the ships girders which ran along her keel. Inside this
long housing (98 ft by 20 ft) for control and radio rooms (equipped with a main 140-watt
transmitter & smaller 70-watt emergency transmitter, as well as a radio direction
finder) space was provided for a fully-equipped albeit small galley, a spacious
lounge/dining room (16.5 ft by 16.5 ft), and ten two-berth staterooms each with a window, sofa, closet,
table and folding canvas stool (washrooms & toilet were located at the rear of the
gondola). Crews quarters were located inside the frame of the ship proper.
Electrical power for the galley and radios was supplied by a wind generator while the rest
was supplied by the diesel/generator sets.
Control car interior
Dining Room/Lounge of the LZ-129
In the control station at the forward section of the gondola, the captain, watch
officers and other crewmen flew the ship from various stations. The most important
instruments for flight included: a magnetic compass for the rudder man; a gyro-compass,
altimeter, variometer, statoscope, inclinometers, and air & gas thermometers for the
elevator man.
During nine years of service the Graf Zeppelin logged more than 17,178 flight hours on 590 flights making 144 ocean crossings and traveling more than 1 million miles without a single accident! This was at a time when the average airplane was spending more time on the ground than in the air.
From the first day of her maiden flight on September 18, 1928, during which she flew the rough air over the North Sea and far northern English coast during 34 hours of flawless operation, the Graf Zeppelin served as Germany's good will ambassador. The ship participated in numerous public events, and was seen over many cities in Europe and the United States during her travels. She also participated in several world-record flights including a flights around the arctic circle, a number of trans-Atlantic flights between Germany and Brazil (across the vast South Atlantic to prove the viability of regular service between the two countries). But, the most famous of her flights was surely her adventurous "Round-the-World" flight in 1929; only the second time such a flight had been undertaken. A U.S. Army flight of the Douglas DWC's in 1924 had taken weeks to accomplish a similar flight. No airship garnered more headlines nor appeared in the news more times than did the Graf Zeppelin.
Round-the-World Flight
In the summer of 1929, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst agreed to sponsor Dr. Eckener's plans to fly the airship around the world as a means of demonstrating airship travel as safe and reliable. Eckener hoped that the flight would show how routine such a journey would be. Hearst's money, as well that of stamp collectors around the world (quite a sizeable number of postage collectibles were carried aboard the famous airship) provided necessary funds for the journey with the stipulation that the flight must begin and end at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey in the United States. Accordingly, on August 7, the Graf Zeppelin departed for Germany arriving at Friedrichshaven 55 hours later. The great flight had begun.
Graf Zeppelin arriving at Friedrichshaven
After taking on 20 new passengers (and their allowable 50 lbs of luggage each), and 41 crew members the airship departed Friedrichshafen at 4:35am. After flying over the Danube, Berlin and East Prussia, at which time a lunch of salmon, venison, fruit and wine was served, the flight continued eastwards so that by 6pm the Soviet border was crossed. Before them lay the vast stretches of forests which dominated that portion of Russia.
At 4am on August 16, the Graf had reached the northern region of
Russia where passengers were treated to the sight of Russian "City of
Churches"--Vologda. Forty churches, most of the famous Eastern
"onion-dome" design, could be taken in from the vantage point of the airship's
observation lounge. As the airship typically flew at altitudes of less than 1,000
feet, passengers were treated to beautiful vistas throughout the journey.
Graf Zeppelin over desolate Russian landscape
By noon, the Ural mountains were being crossed, and the forests gave way to vast stretches of blowing grasslands, and Asia! This part of the flight proved to be the most sobering for many on board. The landscape below was devoid of human life, and navigators relied solely on dead-reckoning with major rivers as their only occasional guides.
By sunset of the same day they had reached the great Steppes plateau, but only after having made a turn to the north along the Yenisei River to locate a settlement in order to fix their position. The arrival of the airship over the hamlet of Verkhne Imbatskoye caused great havoc among the inhabitants who fled inside in terror. That night and the next morning the temperature inside the cabin was so cold that passengers wore heavy fur coats and hats for breakfast.
On August 18, the Graf flew low over the town of Yakutsk and
dropped a wreath to honor the many German POW's who died in camps there during the first
world war. The crew also dropped a mail bag as well. Later that same day the
ship approached the dangerous Stanovoi mountain range whose peaks were recorded as
reaching 6,500 feet. The Graf located a pass through the range at the 5,000 foot
level. During the difficult flight through the pass both sides of the narrow defile
were as close as 250 feet on either side, and at one point the airship was forced to climb
to 6,000 with still barley 150 feet beneath the keel! Finally, the range was
cleared and the Sea of Okhotsk appeared before them and eventually the Pacific
Ocean. They began the transverse flight down the east coast of Siberia.
Souvenir card showing Graf Zeppelin near Mt Fuji
On August 19 the Graf was flying over Tokyo & Yokahoma where huge crowds had gathered in awe and admiration of the airship's passing. This Japanese, of all the various nations which witnessed the ship's passing, seem to have been deeply affected by its presence. Indeed years after, many fondly recalled with continued wonder, the ship's flight over their respective city. By evening the ship landed at Kasumiguara Naval Air Station where yet another crowd of 250,000 people gathered (including 500 Japanese sailors who were on hand to "land" the ship). The airship was docked in a "re-erected" German airship hangar which had been dismantled and shipped to Japan for the occasion. The first leg of the round-the-world flight had been completed. 7,030 miles had been flown in 101 hours 49 minutes at an average speed of 69mph, a journey which would have taken two weeks by train, or one month by steamer!
Following a four-day layover, during which the passengers and crew
were fêted and entertained by numerous officials all the while sweltering in oppressive
100 degree heat--in the shade, the Graf once again continued her journey east. On
August 23 the crew set course across the northern Pacific ocean. After an uneventful
67 hours of flying, during which passengers were able to observe whales and ships beneath
them, the airship arrived off the coast of California. Having gained one day because
of the international dateline, they made a dramatic late afternoon appearance over San
Francisco bay on August 25 (Dr. Eckener had ordered the ship slowed earlier in the day in
order to achieve his dramatic appearance). With squadrons of U.S. Army airplanes,
and a host of different naval ships as escort, the Graf flew low over the city while
thousands lined the harbor cheering madly.
LZ-129 at portable mast on Mines Field, Los Angeles 1929
Eckener then ordered the Graf to head down the coast to Los
Angeles where she arrived during the night. At 5am on August 26, the Graf Zeppelin
touched down at Mines Field 79 hours 3 mins after departing Tokyo. A very tense
moment occurred later that evening as the giant airship attempted to depart. Owing to
an atmospheric inversion, the ship failed to rise on takeoff and it looked like she would
not clear a high-tension power line at the end of the airfield. Only after a
dramatic maneuver by a skilled elevator man in which the ship was "vaulted" over
the obstacle using her elevators with engines at high speed was a potential disaster
averted!
Graf Zeppelin in Lakehurst Hangar
The Graf then proceeded across the United States to arrive in
Lakehurst on August 29. She had completed the transcontinental flight of 3,015 miles
in just over 52 hours. Thus the round-the-world flight officially ended. The
entire journey had taken 12 days (flight time) and covered 20,500 miles. Eckener and
his crew received a ticker-tape parade up Broadway in New York City, and a visit to the
White House where Dr. Eckener met president Herbert Hoover.
Graf Zeppelin arriving back at Friedrichhaven
After several more days of festivities the crew flew the Graf back across the Atlantic where they arrived in Friedrichshaven on September after a flight of 67 hours 31 minutes at an average speed of 77.8mph. This added distance put the flight in the record books for having flown 21,376 miles without a single accident or serious mechanical failure during the entire voyage!
It had been Dr. Eckener's dream that the success of his flight
would encourage American investment and interest in developing a joint transatlantic
airship service, but the October stock market crash put an end to any such partnership.
Map showing the entire route flown in the 1929 flight
The Graf Zeppelin went on serving as a passenger airship for many more years until 1938 when she was deflated and laid up following the Hindenburg disaster. She had proven time and again that airships could be operated safely and efficiently. But as war began in 1939 she was scrapped by Reischmarshal Herman Goering to make parts for his Luftwaffe, thus ending a glorious chapter in airship travel forever.
