LZ 10, a DELAG zeppelin

DELAG, Deutsche Luftschifffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft (German: acronym for "German Aeronautics Corporation") was the world's first airline. It was founded on November 16, 1909 with government assistance, and operated airships from the Zeppelin Corporation. Its headquarters were in Frankfurt. A Boeing 747-400 of Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the UKs largest airlines. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... LZ127 Graf Zeppelin, one of the two zeppelins that carried passengers from Germany to the United States. ... Skyline of Frankfurt at night is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. ...

Beginnings

Alfred Colsman served as the airline's first general director. Also involved at the early stages were Dr. Hugo Eckener and the mayor of Frankfurt, Dr. Franz Adickes. The founding capital amounted to three million German Marks, of which the majority (DM 2,600,000) came from the cities of Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. The remaining DM 400,000 came in the form of airships from the Zeppelin plant in Friedrichshafen. Hugo Eckener (May 10, 1868 - August 14, 1954) was the old man of the Zeppelin airship company. ... The Deutsche Mark (DEM, DM) or German mark was the official currency of West and, from 1990 onwards, unified Germany. ... Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and (together with Cologne and the Ruhr Area) the economic center of Western Germany. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship is a buoyant aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... Friedrichshafen is a town on the northern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria. ...

Passenger service aboard the airship LZ 7 began in 1910 with routes from Frankfurt to Baden-Baden and Düsseldorf. This vessel, known as the "Deutschland," was destroyed just nine days after its maiden voyage, when it crashed into the Teutoburger forest on June 28, 1910. One year later a steward was introduced aboard the new airship LZ 10 "Schwaben" to be responsible for the well-being of the passengers. 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Baden-Baden is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... June 28 is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 186 days remaining. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

By 1913 DELAG had established a route network between Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Baden-Oos, Berlin-Johannisthal, Gotha, Hamburg, Dresden and Leipzig. World War I prevented the planned expansion to other european capitals. 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Gotha may refer to: A district in the German state of Thuringia A town in the District of Gotha (its capital) A former Thuringian Dukedom, see Sachsen-Gotha the Gothaer Waggonfabrik Company. ... Hamburgs motto: May the posterity endeavour with dignity to conserve the freedom, which the forefathers acquired. ... Dresden (Sorbian: Drježdźany; etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest) is the capital city of the German Federal State of Saxony and situated in a valley on the River Elbe. ... [] (Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the Federal State (Bundesland) of Saxony in Germany. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire French Empire Italy Russian Empire Kingdom of Serbia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria German Empire Ottoman Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Ferdinand Foch Nikolay II Nikolay Yudenich Radomir Putnik Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Reinhard Scheer Franz Josef I Oskar...

By July of 1914, one month before the start of the war, DELAG's Zeppelins had transported 34,028 passengers on 1,588 commercial flights. The fleet had flown 172,535 km over 3,176 total hours. (Source: "Zeppelin-Wegbereiter des Weltluftverkehrs", 1966) 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

Impact of War

The airships LZ 11, LZ 13, and LZ 17 were pressed into service for the German army. After the war, however, DELAG's LZ 120 "Bodensee" and LZ 121 "Nordstern" helped reconnect the cities of Europe. LZ 120 already flew between Friedrichshafen and Berlin-Staaken with a stopover in Munich, but both ships were surrendered as post-war reparations in 1921: LZ 120 went to Italy and was re-christened "Esperia," while LZ 121 became France's "Méditerranée" before it ever entered service for DELAG. Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern). ... Reparations refers to two distinct ideas: Reparations for slavery of groups or individuals War reparations: Payments from one country to another as compensation for starting a war under a peace treaty, such as those made by Germany to France under the Treaty of Versailles. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Transatlantic Service

In September 1928 DELAG began operating the successful rigid airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin. This craft made regular, nonstop, transatlantic possible before airplanes were up to the task. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Construction of the USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), 1923, showing the framework of a rigid airship. ... Graf Zeppelin, filled with abundant hydrogen, circumnavigated the globe. ... Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ...

Evolution

The Graf Zeppelin was the final airship employed by DELAG. In 1935 the state-sponsored Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei (DZR) was founded. Its fleet included the LZ 129 Hindenburg. 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German zeppelin that was destroyed by fire while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey on May 6, 1937. ...

In 2001 a modern firm also by the name Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei was established as a subsidy of Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT). It conducts the present business of the Zeppelin ships. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

DELAG's Airships

Prior to World War I: Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire French Empire Italy Russian Empire Kingdom of Serbia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria German Empire Ottoman Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Ferdinand Foch Nikolay II Nikolay Yudenich Radomir Putnik Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Reinhard Scheer Franz Josef I Oskar...

• LZ 6
• LZ 7 "Deutschland"
• LZ 8 "Deutschland" (replaced LZ 7)
• LZ 10 "Schwaben"
• LZ 11 "Viktoria Luise"
• LZ 13 "Hansa"
• LZ 17 "Sachsen"

Following World War I:

• LZ 120 "Bodensee"
• LZ 121 "Nordstern" (North Star)
• LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin"

Graf Zeppelin, filled with abundant hydrogen, circumnavigated the globe. ...

External links

• The Early Years of German Commercial Aviation

References

This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.