Zeppelins were developed by Count Ferdinand Zeppelin, who was determined and tireless in his goal to build a dirigible for Germany. At age 61, he flew his first airship, the LZ1, over Lake Constance on July 2, 1900. Zeppelin lived to see his invention used by Germany during World War I for bombing and reconnaissance. After the war, Germany focused on building Zeppelins for peaceful purposes. These postwar Zeppelins were massive airships that offered the world's first transoceanic commercial passenger service, with regular flights between Germany and Brazil, and later between Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Frankfurt, Germany.
The most successful of these airships was the Graf Zeppelin (LZ 127), which operated from 1928 to 1937. During its service, it completed 590 flights, covered over a million miles, and carried 13,100 passengers without a single injury. Primarily intended for commercial passenger and mail service between Germany and Brazil, the Graf Zeppelin also made four trips to the United States and several special flights. In July 1931, it embarked on an Arctic exploration mission, flying from Norway to Siberia and back.
In 1936, the Hindenburg (LZ 129) joined the Graf Zeppelin in providing transatlantic flights, making 11 trips to America. On October 9, 1936, it flew over Camden, New Jersey, en route to Lakehurst before returning to Germany. Tragically, on May 6, 1937, filled with flammable hydrogen (as the U.S. did not export helium to Germany), the Hindenburg exploded in a fireball at Lakehurst, killing 35 of the 97 passengers and one ground crew member. This disaster, witnessed by shocked spectators, effectively ended the commercial use of airships.
Two days after the Hindenburg explosion, the Graf Zeppelin was grounded permanently. In May 1940, both the Graf Zeppelin and the newly built Graf Zeppelin II were dismantled.
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