LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin
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 The bow of LZ 130 in the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  |
| Designer | Ludwig Dürr |
| Manufacturer | Luftschiffbau Zeppelin |
| Manufactured | 1936 to 1938 |
| Maiden flight | 1938-09-14 |
| Fate | 1940-04-27 dismantled by order of Hermann Göring |
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 40 on 1938-09-25 45 on 1939-08-02 |
| Passengers | 74 crew + passengers on 1938-09-14 85 crew + passengers on 1938-09-18 34 on 1938-09-25 28 on 1939-08-02 |
| Length | 244 metres (800 ft) |
| Diameter | 41.2 metres (135 ft) |
| Gas type | Hydrogen |
| Gas capacity | 200,000 cubic metres (7,100,000 cu ft) |
| Disposable lift | 10000 kg |
| Power plant | 4 x Daimler-Benz 16-cylinder diesel, each 735 kW (985 hp) |
| Max speed | 131 kilometres per hour (81 mph) |
The Graf Zeppelin (LZ 130) was the last of the great Zeppelins built by the Zeppelin Luftschiffbau during the period between the World Wars. She was the second ship to carry the designation "Graf Zeppelin" (after the LZ 127), and thus she is often referred to as Graf Zeppelin II.
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[edit] Design and Construction
LZ-130 was the sister ship of the Hindenburg (LZ-129). Her design and construction were nearly identical to her predecessor: at 245 meters in length, these two ships remain the largest flying craft in history.
The design of LZ-130 incorporated a few improvements over the design of the Hindenburg. Most visibly, the engine pods were completely redesigned, using diesel engines powering tractor propellers (the aft port engine was the only one to have a three bladed prop). The engines had a water recovery system which captured the exhaust of the engines to minimize weight lost during flight. The passenger decks were also completely redesigned; the restaurant was moved to the middle of the quarters and the promenade windows were half a panel lower. The 16 gas cells were lightened and one was made of lightweight silk instead of cotton. The doping compound for the outer fabric covering was also changed, bronze and graphite were added to prevent flammability and also improved the outer covering's electrical conductivity. With these improvements, LZ-130 can be regarded as the most technologically advanced rigid airship ever flown.
The Graf Zeppelin II was originally designed to use hydrogen as lifting gas. After the Hindenburg disaster, however, Hugo Eckener vowed never to use hydrogen in a passenger airship again. Instead, he planned to use helium (which had also originally been planned as the lifting gas for the Hindenburg). The only source of helium in large enough quantities was in the United States, so Eckener went to Washington, D.C. to lobby for helium for his airships. He visited President Roosevelt himself, who promised to supply helium, but only for peaceful purposes. After the annexation of Austria in March 1938, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes refused to supply helium, and the Graf Zeppelin was ultimately inflated with hydrogen.
The keel of LZ-130 was laid on June 23, 1936, and the cells were inflated with hydrogen on August 15, 1938.
[edit] Flights
By the time the Graf Zeppelin II was completed, it was obvious that the ship would never serve its intended purpose as a passenger liner; the lack of a supply of inert helium was one cause. The ship was christened and made her first flight on September 14, 1938, making a circuit from Friedrichshafen to München, Augsburg, Ulm, and back. The total distance covered was 925 km (575 miles).
The Graf Zeppelin made a total of thirty flights, many of them for the Luftwaffe and some to investigate the Chain Home antennas Britain was building on her coastline. She touched down from her last flight at 9:38 p.m. on August 20, 1939, ending the age of rigid airships. This was just 12 days before Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, triggering the start of the Second World War.
[edit] Graf Zeppelin In Color
With the exception of photographs of the Hindenburg's burning wreckage, the Graf Zeppelin is the only zeppelin that has been filmed in color. Several color photographs of the airship survive [1], as well as color footage shot by Harold G. Dick of the ship over Friedrichshafen. The latter was shown in the 2001 documentary Hindenburg Disaster: Probable Cause, but was mistaken for colour footage of the Hindenburg.
[edit] The End of the Airships
In April 1940, Hermann Göring issued the order to scrap both Graf Zeppelins and the unfinished framework of LZ 131, since the metal was needed for other aircraft. By April 27, work crews had finished cutting up the airships. On May 6, the enormous airship hangars in Frankfurt were leveled by explosives, three years to the day after the destruction of the Hindenburg.
[edit] Specifications
- Length: 245 m (804 ft)
- Max. diameter: 41.2 m (135 ft)
- Volume: 200,000 m³ (7,000,000 ft³)
- Lifting gas: hydrogen
- Powerplant: 4 x Daimler-Benz 16-cylinder diesel
- Normal power: 558 kW (748 hp)
- Full power: 735 kW (985 hp)
- Maximum speed: 131 km/h (81 mph)
[edit] See also
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