Alone on an ice floe with a tattoo belted around his waist. Khramtsov Yuri Alexandrovich

Part III. LZ 127 "Count Zeppelin".

LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" ( Graf Zeppelin) was the most successful of the entire German-built LZ series (short for German Luftschiffbau Zeppelin- Zeppelin airship). During its continuous operation from 1928 to 1938, the airship spent about 17,200 hours in the air, covered 1,690,000 kilometers, made 590 flights in different countries world, carried 13,110 passengers and about 70 tons of cargo and mail, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean 143 times and the Pacific Ocean once. In just one year, 1930, he made 155 flights to America, transported 6,278 passengers, 2,200 postal parcels and 547 tons of various cargo, impeccably adhering to the schedule in German. He made a round-the-world flight with three stops and an Arctic flight over the territory of the USSR. During all nine years of operation, the Graf Zeppelin did not have a single accident.
1. Zeppelin named after Zeppelin.

The airship got its name in honor of Ferdinand Zeppelin ( Ferdinand Zeppelin), German airship designer. He was born on July 8, 1838 in Konstanz (Baden), graduated in 1854 military academy in Ludwigsburg, in 1857 he became an officer in the German army. He took part in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871. In 1891, he retired with the rank of brigadier general and began developing and testing airships. On July 2, 1900, the first successful flight of his LZ-1 apparatus took place. Count Ferdinand Zeppelin died in Charlottenburg on March 8, 1917. Zeppelin military airships were used in the First World War; in total, about 130 airships were assembled at Zeppelin shipyards between 1900 and 1938.
2. Technical characteristics.

(click to enlarge)

The rigid airship LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" was built in 1928, its length was 236.6 meters, maximum diameter 30.5 meters, 5 Maybach VL II engines with 530 horsepower each (for comparison, LZ built 8 years later 129 "Hindenburg" had a length of 245 meters with a maximum diameter of 41.2 meters and 4 Daimler-Benz LOF-6 engines). The airship's payload was about 25 tons (when filling containers intended for blau gas with hydrogen - about 55 tons), maximum speed - 128 km/h, cruising speed - about 115 km/h. Flight range is more than 10,000 km. The crew consisted of 40-45 people.
3. Design.
Looking at old photographs, you understand that the process of assembling an airship is a truly majestic spectacle and arouses real admiration.

For mounting frame LZ-127The Graf Zeppelin had to use fire telescopic ladders on which workers worked.

The LZ-127 frame was made of duralumin and consisted of transverse and longitudinal trusses. The transverse truss-frames had the form of a 28-sided polygon, were divided into main and intermediate, the frames were braced with steel cables located in the plane of the frames themselves.

The longitudinal trusses-stringers, which ran along the entire airship from bow to stern, were also divided into main and intermediate and connected to frames at their tops; they ended in a domed bow and a conical stern. Thus, the frames and stringers formed approximately rectangular panels on the surface of the frame, which were braced crosswise with cables. An auxiliary system of brace cables, which looked like a network, ran along inner surface frame and served to perceive gas pressure from filled gas cylinders.

The nose and rear of the fuselage were mounted separately and only then assembled into a single body.

Installation of the main and motor nacelles of the airship.

External cladding installation work.

Airship LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" Passenger zeppelin LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" (German: Graf Zeppelin) was built in Germany in 1928 and was at that time the largest and most advanced ... Wikipedia

Check information. It is necessary to check the accuracy of the facts and reliability of the information presented in this article. There should be an explanation on the talk page... Wikipedia

Rigid airship of the US Navy ZRS‑5 Macon (1933) Rigid airship is a type of airship, the main feature of which was the distribution of the carrier gas into separate closed compartments located inside a fabric-covered metal (less commonly ... ... Wikipedia

Zeppelin: Zeppelin, Ferdinand von German Count, pioneer of rigid airships. Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship manufactured by the German company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH. Graf Zeppelin airship "Graf Zeppelin" (LZ 127) type... ... Wikipedia

The German passenger zeppelin LZ 129 "Hindenburg" (German: Hindenburg) was built in 1936 and became the largest airship in the world created up to that time (in volume it was slightly inferior to the last classic zeppelin LZ 130, 1938).... ... Wikipedia

Zeppelin Ferdinand Encyclopedia "Aviation"

Zeppelin Ferdinand- F. Zeppelin Zeppelin Ferdinand (Zeppelin) (18381917) German airship designer, general, count. Graduated from the Military Academy in Ludwigsburg (1854). Organized in 1898 the Joint Stock Society for the Promotion of Aeronautics and on his own... ... Encyclopedia "Aviation"

- (1838 1917) German airship designer, general, count. Graduated from the Military Academy in Ludwigsburg (1854). In 1898 he organized the Joint Stock Company for the Promotion of Aeronautics and, at his own expense, built small workshops and a floating boathouse for... ... Encyclopedia of technology

Zeppelin Ferdinand (8/7/1838, Konstanz, ‒ 8/3/1917, Charlottenburg, near Berlin), count, German airship designer. In 1854 he graduated from the military academy in Ludwigsburg. Participated as a volunteer in the American Civil War 1861–65 (on… … Big Soviet encyclopedia

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• It's okay, I'm falling! Uneven fight, Barenberg A.. V past life he was a combat pilot who "retired" from the Air Force after the collapse of the USSR. In this one, he became a “hit”, thrown not even into the past, but into the unknown Antiworld, where the force of gravity is three times less...
• It's okay, I'm falling! Uneven fight, Barenberg, Alexander. In a past life, he was a combat pilot, “retired” from the Air Force after the collapse of the USSR. In this one, he became a “hit”, thrown not even into the past, but into the unknown Anti-World, where the force of gravity is three times less...

Ferdinand Zeppelin - captain of the dragoon regiment

On the Girsberg estate

Count Zeppelin was not the creator of the very first controlled balloon, which, in fact, is an airship.

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Portrait 1908

At that time, Ferdinand Zeppelin was 15 years old, and he didn’t even think about experiments with airships, carefree spending time on his father’s estate Giersberg, a former nunnery, on an island in Lake Constance.

At that time, it still had the appearance of a monastery with buildings and a courtyard enclosed by a wall. This estate is part of my very first memories.” Ferdinand was left without a mother at the age of 14. She died far from home, in France, where she was undergoing treatment.

“I still remember, Zeppelin wrote decades later, how beyond my understanding this was. My brother and I shed many bitter tears mourning the loss of our mother - the best and kindest of all mothers."

A home teacher was hired to teach the children. They were also engaged in crafts: bookbinding and carpentry.

“We were allowed noisy games in the garden, field, forest and lake,” the count recalled. “I was a good swimmer and an excellent diver.” He wrote that as a child he loved war games and always played the role of commander in them.

Introduction to aeronautics

Already at a young age, Ferdinand Zeppelin was distinguished by determination, endurance and great willpower. It is not surprising that he chose a military career, at the age of 17 he became a cadet at the academy in Ludwigsburg.

Three years later he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He had the opportunity to serve in the infantry, cavalry, and engineering troops. He was engaged in topography and the development of military control. The duty station had to be changed frequently.

In 1863, Zeppelin took a long vacation and went to the USA, where at that time there was Civil War. He wanted to learn from her experience.

In New York, Zeppelin was received by President Abraham Lincoln and received written permission from him to move freely throughout all combat areas. It is unclear where exactly the future airship designer visited, but it is known that in conclusion he, in the company of two Russian explorers, accompanied by Indian guides, made a journey to the sources of the Mississippi River, experiencing many hardships and dangers. Here in the USA, an event took place that was of considerable importance to the count. On August 19, 1863, in the city of Saint Paul (Minnesota), he first took to the skies hot-air balloon, and, perhaps, it was in this flight that he developed an enduring interest in aeronautics.

With the rank of captain, the Count was appointed adjutant to the King of Württemberg (a kingdom that soon became part of the North German Confederation and then the German Empire) and took part in the short Austro-Prussian War.

An important change also occurred in Zeppelin's personal life. In Berlin he met Baroness Isabella von Wolf. They became husband and wife.

Three types of airships

The count proved his courage as a dashing cavalryman during the Franco-Prussian War. Then he became famous for his bold raid with a detachment of dragoons to the rear of the French troops.

After this campaign, at the beginning of 1874 in Strasbourg, Major Zeppelin became acquainted with an extremely interesting report from the local postal minister, General Stefan. The report was devoted to the use of airships for mail delivery.

True, at that time one could only dream about this. Airships were not yet truly controllable. But in Zeppelin the inventor and the designer spoke.

He believed that the problem could be solved, that it was worth working on. Since then, this confidence has never left Zeppelin, and in his diary entries The words “airship”, “carrying gas”, “propellers” appeared more and more often. He thought about what such a ship should be like, what size it should be, and how to control it.

The Count closely followed all the new developments in the field of aeronautics and received with great interest the message that the French Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs had built an airship with an electric motor and on August 9, 1884, made the first flight in the world on a closed path.

Types of airships were gradually developed. There were three main ones: with a soft shell, semi-rigid (the soft shell was reinforced from below with a truss) and hard. The body of the latter consisted of an openwork metal frame covered with fabric. The hydrogen-carrying gas was contained in soft cylinders placed inside the housing.

Boathouse on Lake Constance

Reflecting on the successes and failures of their predecessors. Zeppelin comes to the conclusion that only rigid-type airships can be large, even huge, and therefore capable of carrying loads and being fast.

Meanwhile, he continued to serve and had already reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also had a chance to serve in the diplomatic service. He visited Russia more than once.

In March 1881, in St. Petersburg, he attended the funeral of Emperor Alexander II, who was killed by the Narodnaya Volya, and in May 1883, in Moscow, at the coronation of the new Russian monarch Alexander III.

Zeppelin's military career came to an end. He turned 52 years old. With the rank of lieutenant general, he resigned and it was accepted. Now he could devote himself entirely to aeronautics and start building an unprecedented airship.

By 1887, Zeppelin substantiated his idea in detail and presented it to the King of Württemberg in the form of a special memorandum. Of course, there were many critics, especially among the military, but the count’s will turned out to be much stronger. A joint-stock company called the “Society for the Promotion of Aeronautics” was organized, with an authorized capital of one million marks (more than half of this amount was Zeppelin’s own funds) and began the design and construction of the first airship I.Z-1.

The count's plan found the support of the Württemberg King Wilhelm II. The latter provided Zeppelin with free use a large plot of land on the shores of Lake Constance and a significant part of the water area of ​​the reservoir itself. A boathouse was built on the water for assembly and storage of the airship.

Giants of the air

The airship was designed as a warship. It was the largest of all those created before - almost 130 m long and about 12 m in diameter. The ship could hold over 11 thousand cubic meters of hydrogen and could lift up to three tons of payload.

On July 2, 1900, a crowd of thousands gathered on the shores of Lake Constance watched with excitement as a small steamer brought out a giant cigar - the airship LZ-1 - from a floating boathouse. In the middle of the lake, the crew of four people, including Count Zeppelin, took their places in the gondolas of the airship. To the enthusiastic screams of the spectators, the ship took off from the water and rose into the air.

The first flight will not last long, about 20 minutes. During landing, the airship received minor damage. Later he made a couple more flights. And again an accident occurred during landing.

It was considered advisable to dismantle the damaged airship. To build a new zeppelin, a lot of money was required. They were obtained using a lottery device. With the funds raised, the airship LZ-2 was built, exactly the same dimensions as the first, but with an improved design.

The airship turned out to be unlucky. When he was being taken out of the boathouse, on November 30, 1905, he, caught by a gust of wind, buried his nose in the water. The hull was damaged. It took more than a month to repair.

Finally, the airship took off, but during the flight the front rudder suddenly failed. Then one of the engines stopped. Zeppelin (he was on the ship) decided to land on land. The landing was successful, and at night a hurricane struck the airship and completely destroyed it.

Two failures in a row were a heavy blow for Zeppelin, but they did not break the will of the stubborn count. He firmly believed that he was on the right path and success would come.

Death of LZ-4

The search for funds to build a third zeppelin began again. It was ready by the fall of 1906 and soon took off. Finally, the luck that Zeppelin dreamed of came. The LZ-3 airship was able to stay in the air for eight hours without landing. Its speed reached 50 kilometers per hour.

Seeing such excellent results, the German government acquires an airship and orders Zeppelin another one, capable of flying without landing for a whole day, landing both on land and on water.

The fourth zeppelin was noticeably larger than the previous ones, with a volume of 15 thousand cubic meters.

In the wheelhouse of a German military zeppelin LZ-38

On way back due to strong headwinds, the crew was forced to change course. In addition, one of the engines failed. We had to make an emergency landing.

The Hindenburg over Lakehurst Airport

IN short term Over six million marks were collected throughout the empire. Ferdinand Zeppelin becomes one of the most famous Lyuli, a real national hero.

Strikes in London

Starting work on his airships, the count, first of all, tried to find a use for them in military affairs. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the largest number of Zeppelins were built during the First World War - 61.

In total, of the 119 zeppelins created in Germany over the years, 101 were military - army and naval. They were used for reconnaissance and bombing.

On the night of January 19-20, 1915, the first Zeppelin air raid on England was carried out. On May 31st the bombing of London began. Zeppelins improved and became larger. Their flight altitude increased to 6-7 thousand meters, the speed exceeded 100 kilometers per hour, and the load capacity reached 10 tons or more. The old count (on July 8, 1913, his 75th birthday was solemnly celebrated) was able to see this flowering of airship construction with his own eyes.

But an insidious disease was already eroding his once powerful body. At the end of February 1917, he went to Berlin on business and felt unwell.

The doctors insisted on surgery. It was done, but, unfortunately, did not lead to recovery. On the contrary, the count’s health deteriorated even more, and on March 8 he died in one of the Berlin hospitals.

After Count Zeppelin

The funeral took place in Stuttgart, in the cemetery where the ashes of Ferdinand Zeppelin's father had rested for more than 30 years. IN last way More than 20 thousand people saw off the creator of airships. Fob Zeppelin's guard of honor was the lancers of the regiment in which he happened to serve. Airships and planes circled over the cemetery, saluting the great conqueror of the air...

After the end of World War I, German companies that built airships found themselves in a difficult situation. Defeated Germany was prohibited from building zeppelins with a volume of more than 20 thousand cubic meters.

Two relatively small airships were built as reparations for Italy and France. A larger one, with a volume of 70 thousand cubic meters (it was called “Los Angeles”), was built by Germany for the USA.

All advanced countries have begun to acquire airships. The British copied their first Zeppelin from a German one captured during the war. Four years later, the famous English company Vickers built the R-34 airship. This zeppelin became famous for being the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in July 1919.

The American rigid airship Shenandoah (which means “daughter of the stars” in the Indian language) took to the skies in 1923. It was the first zeppelin filled not with hydrogen, but with safe, non-flammable helium

German airship designers finally breathed freely when, at a conference of ambassadors in Paris in the spring of 1926, all restrictions on the construction of giant zeppelins in Germany were lifted.

And almost immediately work began on the creation of the LZ-127 airship with a volume of over 100 thousand cubic meters - the largest and most advanced zeppelin.

Tragic chronicle

Its construction took about four years. And so on July 8, 1928, Countess Elsie von Brandepstein-Zeppelin named the new airship after her famous father Ferdinand Zeppelin.

This wonderful ship later made almost 600 flights, covering a total distance of 1,700 thousand km. Regular passenger flights by air from Europe to Northern and South America. In 1929, “Graf Zeppelin” made a trip around the world with three intermediate landings, and in 1931 he went on an Arctic expedition.

Successes and achievements, unfortunately, were interspersed with accidents and disasters. Of all the zeppelins built, more than half were lost. About 500 people died.

Like airplanes, airships suffered disasters from fires, destruction in the air, and pilot errors. Your worst enemy large airships had wind. It was he who destroyed the airship LZ-5 in April 1910, when the ship made an emergency landing.

The most famous and terrible was the death of the Zeppelin Hindenburg. The dimensions of this giant airship were amazing: the hull was 250 m long, more than 40 m in diameter, and had a volume of 200 thousand cubic meters.

He was a pride and a symbol Nazi Germany. The Hindenburg was supposed to make a passenger flight across the Atlantic. He took off from Frankfurt am Main late in the evening of May 3, 1937. The flight proceeded normally.

The passengers enjoyed the comfort, and time passed unnoticed. By the evening of May 6, the airship reached its final destination, Lakehurst Airport, near New York. A large crowd of people and a mooring crew of 230 people were waiting for him.

As the ship approached the mooring tower, a bright flash flashed above its stern. There was a deafening explosion, and a huge fireball appeared above the airship. Hot flames quickly devoured the recently beautiful and majestic ship.

Most of the passengers ended up in the bow of the airship, high above the ground. People in despair jumped out of windows and hatches without any hope of staying alive. Others, who were at the opposite end of the ship, managed to jump out of the fiery inferno when the stern touched the ground.

As a result of the disaster, 36 people died. Many received burns and injuries. It later turned out that the fire was the result of a terrorist attack by a German anti-fascist who planted a bomb in the aft compartment of the ship. The death of the Hindenburg played a fatal role for airship construction.

Faith in giant airships was seriously undermined. The last was the airship LZ-130, Graf Zeppelin 2 - as huge as the burned-out Hindenburg. His fate turned out to be sad.

After three dozen test flights, it was dismantled in 1940 on the orders of Nazi Aviation Minister Hermann Goering, who hated airships. But the idea of ​​rigid airships has not been forgotten.

IN last decades Many projects of similar airships appeared, including those with nuclear engines, airships of unprecedented payload, speed and flight range. These will be new generation zeppelins.

The history of the Graf Zeppelin LZ 127 (German: Graf Zeppelin), one of the largest and most advanced airships in the world, began in 1928. The airship was named after the German pioneer of rigid airships, Count Zeppelin. It suffered the happiest fate of all rigid airships that existed. For nine years, this ship was used for its intended purpose, spent about 17,200 hours in the air, made 590 flights to different countries of the world, covered almost 1.7 million km, transported 13,110 passengers and about 70 tons of cargo and mail; At the same time, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean 143 times and the Pacific Ocean 1 time. "Graf Zeppelin" 1927: Workers on scaffolding work on a huge steel structure.
The length of the airship was 236.6 m, the maximum diameter was 30.5 m, the volume was 105,000 m³, the carrier gas (hydrogen) was located in 17 compartments. Power point consisted of 5 Maybach VL II engines with a power of 530 hp. every. "Graf Zeppelin" 1927: Zeppelin front gondola.
It differed from other airships in that to operate the engines, along with liquid, gaseous fuel (blau gas) was also used, which had a density close to air, and the calorific value was significantly higher than that of gasoline. This advantageous solution helped to increase the flight range and eliminated the need to weigh down the airship as it ran out of fuel (airships were weighed down by releasing part of the carrier gas, which created a number of economic and flight inconveniences). In addition, it is natural that the use of this gas led to less load on the frame, in contrast to that which occurred when installing numerous tanks of gasoline. 1928: construction of the airship. "Graf Zeppelin" 1930: main gondola. Blau gas was located in 12 compartments in the lower third of the airship frame, the volume of which could be increased to 30,000 m³ (in this case, 105,000 m³ - 30,000 m³ = 75,000 m³ remained for hydrogen). Gasoline was taken on board as additional fuel. The airship's payload was about 25 tons (when bags intended for blau gas are filled with hydrogen - about 55 tons), maximum speed - 128 km/h, cruising speed - about 115 km/h. Flight range is more than 10,000 km. The crew numbered 40-45 people. Steel frame of the airship. In the front part, from below, a front gondola was attached to the body of the airship, the length of which was 40 m, width - 6 m and maximum height - 2.25 m (the largest gondola in the history of airship construction). Construction of a giant airship gondola. The airships were controlled from the control room, which was located in the front part of the gondola, followed by service rooms and then passenger rooms. In terms of comfort, the LZ 127 was significantly superior to the then (and in some respects modern) aircraft. Using the outer covering of the airship. Passengers were accommodated in 10 double equipped cabins with sleeping berths. Cabin interior.
A spacious cabin with an area of ​​25 m² was located in the front part of the passenger compartment and could accommodate 28 people at a time. The sloping windows of the cabins and salon provided fairly good visibility and lighting. There was also a kitchen that could serve more than 50 people for several days. In addition, there was a post office, washrooms, etc. Flight over Hamburg, 1928.
In the fall of 1925, on the initiative of Hugo Eckener, one of the pioneers of controlled aeronautics and comrade-in-arms of Count Zeppelin, a nationwide fundraiser was organized in Germany for the creation of a new large experimental transport zeppelin. It was possible to collect 2.3 million marks, which served as the basis for the construction of the airship LZ 127. A canvas is stretched over the massive body of the Zeppelin, 1928. On July 8, 1928, on Count Zeppelin's 90th birthday, LZ 127 was solemnly christened in his name. only daughter Count, and the airship LZ 127 “Graf Zeppelin” made its first flight on September 18, 1928. Return of the airship after its first flight over Germany, September 1928.
After a successful trip, the LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" returns to its home in Friedrichshafen.
In August-September 1929, the airship under the command of Hugo Eckener carried out the first round-the-world flight in the history of aeronautics. Commander of the Graf Zeppelin, Dr. Hugo Eckener. Starting in Lakehurst, the Graf Zeppelin covered more than 34 thousand km in 20 days at an average flight speed of about 115 km/h, making only three intermediate landings - in Friedrichshafen, Tokyo and Los Angeles. Participants of the "Hollandfahrt" on October 13, 1929 near the German airship LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" in a hangar in the city of Friedrichshafen.
The purpose of this flight was to demonstrate the capabilities of rigid airships. At the same time, meteorological observations were carried out. A letter sent from the Graf Zeppelin. The letter is addressed to Mrs. Goldschalk, Amsteldigijk 112, Amsterdam, Holland. Dispatched from LZ127 "Graf Zeppelin", flying from Los Angeles to Friedrichshafen, 1929.
A lady in her small bathroom on board the airship. Graf Zeppelin flies over von Hindenburg's presidential palace, 1929.
From May 18 to June 6, 1930, "Graf Zeppelin" made a circular flight to South and North America. Airship over New York. Lakehurst, New Jersey USA, 1930. In 1931, the airship began regular flights to Brazil. And in 1936, "Graf Zeppelin" opened an air service between Friedrichshafen, Germany and Brazil / Argentina. The trip took 300 flight hours. The airship was sailing to Brazil over France, Canary Islands and the Cape Verde Islands. The Graf Zeppelin's flight took place at low altitude and therefore made it possible to take photographs from the airship. The Brazilian palm provides long shadows at sunset. Flying over a palm grove.
Meeting of the airship with a Brazilian passenger ship. After a successful flight, the Graf Zeppelin landed safely at the airport in the state of Pernambuco.
Table setting in the spacious airship restaurant. The famous commander of the "Graf Zeppelin" Dr. Hugo Eckener (1868-1954) in the control room. Since 1936, part of the flights to South America was assigned to the new Zeppelin LZ 129 "Hindenburg", which opened an air line to North America ( technical capabilities"Graf Zeppelin" were insufficient for regular flights across the North Atlantic). On September 10, 1930, “Graf Zeppelin” flew to Moscow, and on July 26-30, 1931, it flew over part of the Soviet Arctic for scientific purposes, and unofficially for reconnaissance purposes. During this flight, detailed aerial photography was taken. There were also Soviet specialists on board. Also during the flight, the airship in Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island (Franz Josef Land) exchanged mail with the Soviet icebreaker Malygin. The Graf Zeppelin approaches the Russian icebreaker Malygin in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Franz Josef Land for the ceremonial exchange of 50,000 pieces of mail, 1931.
After the Hindenburg airship disaster, regular flights of the LZ 127 were stopped. Soon the Graf Zeppelin was turned into a museum. Airship construction in Germany ceased with the outbreak of World War II, when in the spring of 1940, by order of the German command, the LZ 127 “Graf Zeppelin”, as well as the LZ 130 “Graf Zeppelin” of the same name, built in 1938 on the basis of the LZ 129 and often called by the name “Graf Zeppelin” II", were dismantled, and their parts were used in the military industry. "Graf Zeppelin" in a new giant hangar, 1936.
An airship flies over Guanabara Bay, Brazil, May 25, 1930.
Airship over Bergen, Norway, 1930.

Airship over Giza, 1931. An airship over the British capital, 1931.

In the world. The airship received its name in honor of the German pioneer of rigid airships, Count Zeppelin. LZ 127 had the happiest fate of all one and a half hundred rigid airships built in the entire history of aeronautics. Over nine years of operation, the Graf Zeppelin spent about 17,200 hours in the air, made 590 flights to different countries of the world, covered almost 1.7 million km, transported 13,110 passengers and about 70 tons of cargo and mail; At the same time, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean 143 times and the Pacific Ocean 1 time.

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Flying the Zeppelin NT

Airship LZ127 "Graf Zeppelin" over Siberia (Yakutsk) in 1929

1937 - Disaster of the German airship LZ-129 "Hindenburg"

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Design

The length of the airship was 236.6 m, the maximum diameter was 30.5 m, the volume was 105,000 m³, the carrier gas (hydrogen) was located in 17 compartments. The power plant consisted of 5 Maybach VL II engines with a power of 530 hp. every.

One of the fundamental differences between the LZ 127 and other Zeppelins was the use for engine operation, along with liquid fuel, of gaseous fuel (blau gas), the density of which was close to the density of air, and the calorific value was significantly higher than that of gasoline. This made it possible to significantly increase the flight range and eliminated the need to weigh down the airship as it ran out of fuel (airships were weighed down by releasing part of the carrier gas, which created a number of economic and flight inconveniences); in addition, the use of blau gas led to less load on the frame than in the case of installing numerous heavy tanks with gasoline. Blau gas was located in 12 compartments in the lower third of the airship frame, the volume of which could be increased to 30,000 m³ (in this case, 105,000 m³ - 30,000 m³ = 75,000 m³ remained for hydrogen). Gasoline was taken on board as additional fuel.

The airship's payload was about 25 tons (when bags intended for blau gas are filled with hydrogen - about 55 tons), maximum speed - 128 km/h, cruising speed - about 115 km/h. Flight range is more than 10,000 km. The crew numbered 40-45 people.

From below, directly to the body of the airship, in the front part of it, the front gondola was rigidly attached, the length of which was 40 m, width - 6 m and maximum height - 2.25 m (the largest gondola in the history of airship construction). In front of the gondola there was a control room, behind it were service rooms and then passenger rooms. In terms of comfort, the LZ 127 was significantly superior to aircraft of that time. Passengers were accommodated in 10 double equipped cabins with sleeping berths. In the front part of the passenger compartment there was a spacious 25 m² cabin, which could accommodate 28 people at a time. The sloping windows of the cabins and salon provided fairly good visibility and lighting. The kitchen was designed to serve more than 50 people for several days. In addition, there was a post office, washrooms, etc.

Story

In the fall of 1925, on the initiative of Hugo Eckener, one of the pioneers of controlled aeronautics and comrade-in-arms of Count Zeppelin, a nationwide fundraiser was organized in Germany for the creation of a new large experimental transport zeppelin. It was possible to collect 2.3 million marks, which served as the basis for the construction of the airship LZ 127. On July 8, 1928, on the day of Count Zeppelin’s 90th birthday, LZ 127 was solemnly christened in his name by the count’s only daughter, and the airship LZ 127 “Graf” made its first flight Zeppelin" took place on September 18, 1928. In August-September 1929, an airship under the command of Hugo Eckener carried out the first round-the-world flight in the history of aeronautics. Starting in Lakehurst, the Graf Zeppelin covered more than 34 thousand km in 20 days with an average flight speed of about 115 km/h, making only three intermediate landings - in Friedrichshafen, Tokyo and Los Angeles. The main purpose of the flight was to promote the capabilities of rigid airships, and meteorological observations were made along the way.

From May 18 to June 6, 1930, Graf Zeppelin made a circular flight to South and North America. In 1931 LZ 127 began regular flights to Brazil. Beginning in 1936, part of the flights to South America was assigned to the new Zeppelin LZ 129 "Hindenburg", which opened an air line to North America (the technical capabilities of the "Graf Zeppelin" were insufficient for regular flights across the North Atlantic).

On September 10, 1930, “Graf Zeppelin” flew to Moscow, and on July 26-30, 1931, for scientific purposes (unofficially also reconnaissance), he flew over a significant part of the Soviet Arctic, while making detailed