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

Another view of LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin.

The LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" was a large rigid airship (or dirigible) in the early 20th century. It was named after the German pioneer of airships, Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin. It flew for the first time on September 18, 1928 and, with a total length of 236.6 m (776 ft) and volume of 105,000 m³ (3,708,040 ft³), was the largest airship up to that time. The Zeppelin near the ground The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... The Zeppelin near the ground The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Image File history File links LTA8G10_by_centennialofflight-gov. ... Image File history File links LTA8G10_by_centennialofflight-gov. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, 2 November 1931 An airship is a buoyant aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Graf (from the Latin Grafio scribe from the Greek) is a German noble title equal in rank to a count (derived from the Latin Comes, with a history of its own) or a British earl (an original Anglo-Saxon title). ... Zeppelin Ferdinand von Zeppelin This page is about the German aviation pioneer, for other meanings, see Graf Zeppelin (disambiguation). ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Initially it was to be used for experimental and demonstration purposes to prepare the way for regular airship traveling, but also carried passengers and mail to cover the costs. In October 1928 the first long-range voyage led the craft to Lakehurst, New Jersey, and the crew was welcomed enthusiastically with confetti parades in New York and invitations to the White House. Later Graf Zeppelin toured in Germany and visited Italy, Palestine and Spain. A second trip to the United States was aborted in France due to engine failure in May 1929. Airmail (or air mail) is mail that is transported by aircraft. ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lakehurst is a borough located in Ocean County, New Jersey. ... Official language(s) None defined, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 47th 22,608 km² 110 km 240 km 14. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... The southern side of the White House The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States of America. ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Look up May in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In August 1929, LZ 127 departed for another daring enterprise: a complete circumnavigation of the globe. The growing popularity of the "giant of the air" made it easy for Zeppelin company chief Dr. Hugo Eckener to find sponsors. One of these was the American press tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who requested the tour to officially start in Lakehurst. Starting there on August 8, Graf Zeppelin flew across the Atlantic back to Friedrichshafen. She stopped there to refuel before continuing across vast Siberia to another stop in Tokyo. Dr. Eckener believed that some of the lands they crossed in Siberia had never before been seen by modern explorers. From Japan, the Graf Zeppelin continued across the Pacific to San Francisco, before heading south to stop at Los Angeles. This was the first ever nonstop flight of any aircraft across the Pacific Ocean. The ship continued thence across the United States, over Chicago and back to Lakehurst on August 29. The entire voyage took 21 days, 5 hours and 31 minutes. Including the initial and final trips Friedrichshafen to Lakehurst and back, the dirigible travelled 49,618 km (30,831 miles). The distance travelled between departure from Lakehurst and return to Lakehurst was 31,400 km (19,500 miles). August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Hugo Eckener (May 10, 1868 - August 14, 1954) was the old man of the Zeppelin airship company. ... William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper magnate, born in San Francisco, California. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... Friedrichshafen is a town on the northern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria. ... Siberia Siberia (Russian: , common English transliterations: Sibir’, Sibir; from the Tatar for “sleeping land”) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... View of Tokyos Shibuya district Tokyo ) (help· info), literally eastern capital, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and includes the highly urbanized downtown area formerly known as the city of Tokyo which is the heart of the Greater Tokyo Area. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Nickname: City of Angels Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ...

US postage stamp, issued 1930 for air mail

In the following year, Graf Zeppelin undertook a number of trips around Europe, and following a successful tour to South America in May 1930, it was decided to open the first regular transatlantic airship line. The ship pursued another spectacular destination in July 1931 with a research trip to the Arctic; this had already been a dream of Count Zeppelin twenty years earlier, which could not, however, be realized at the time due to the outbreak of war. In October of 1933, the Graf Zeppelin made an appearance at the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago. Despite the beginning of the Great Depression and growing competition by fixed-wing aircraft, LZ 127 would transport an increasing amount of passengers and mail across the ocean every year until 1936. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x561, 199 KB) Scan of United States 64c airmail Zeppelin stamp of 1930, made by User:Stan Shebs File links The following pages link to this file: Postage stamps and postal history of the United States Zeppelin mail LZ 127 Graf... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x561, 199 KB) Scan of United States 64c airmail Zeppelin stamp of 1930, made by User:Stan Shebs File links The following pages link to this file: Postage stamps and postal history of the United States Zeppelin mail LZ 127 Graf... Airmail (or air mail) is mail that is transported by aircraft. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Look up May in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... For the similarly named rock band, see TransAtlantic. ... Look up July in Wiktionary, the free dictionary July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border The Arctic is the u area around the Earths North Pole. ... A 1933 Century of Progress worlds fair poster The Century of Progress Exposition was a worlds fair held in Chicago, Illinois from 1933-1934 to celebrate Chicagos centennial. ... Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven children, age thirty-two, in Nipomo, California, March 1936. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Eckener intended to supplement the successful craft by another, similar Zeppelin, projected as LZ 128. However the disastrous accident of the British passenger airship R 101 in 1931 led the Zeppelin company to reconsider the safety of hydrogen-filled vessels, and the design was abandoned in favor of a new project. LZ 129, which was to eventually be named the Hindenburg, would advance Zeppelin technology considerably and was intended to be filled with helium. The embargo by the United States because of the looming war prevented German access to the large quantities of helium, and the Hindenburg was fatefully converted to a hydrogen design. The R101 Airship was a newly-built British airship that crashed on October 5, 1930 in France with 48 casualties. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... On May 6, 1937, at 1825 local time, the German zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire while approaching a mooring mast at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. ... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ... This article is about the economic term. ...

After the Hindenburg disaster, public faith in the security of dirigibles was shattered, and flying passengers in hydrogen-filled vessels became intolerable. LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin was retired one month past the disaster and turned into a museum. The end for the Graf Zeppelin came with the outbreak of World War II. In March 1940, Nazi Hermann Göring, the German Air minister (Reichsluftfahrtminister), ordered the destruction of the remaining dirigibles, and the aluminium parts were fed into the German war industry. On May 6, 1937, at 1825 local time, the German zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire while approaching a mooring mast at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. ... Combatants Allies: • Soviet Union, • UK & Commonwealth, • USA, • France/Free France, • China, • Poland, • ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Japan, • Italy, • ...and others Commanders Strength Casualties Full list Full list World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a large scale military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ... Look up March in Wiktionary, the free dictionary March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Nazism. ... Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (also Goering in English) (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946) was an early member of the Nazi party, leader of the Gestapo, and one of the main leaders of Nazi Germany. ...

See also

• Zeppelin
• List of Zeppelins
• List of airships of the United States Navy

LZ127 Graf Zeppelin, the most travelled airship in history A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship (or dirigible) pioneered by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century based on an earlier design by David Schwarz. ... This is a complete list of Zeppelins constructed by the original German Zeppelin companies from 1900 until 1938. ... This is a list of airships of the United States Navy, listed both by hull number and by name. ...

References

• Eckener, Hugo, et al., "The First Airship Around the World," National Geographic Magazine, June, 1930.

The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ...

External links

• Photographs of Graf Zeppelin over Chicago's Century of Progress world's fair