Zeppelin

:This is an article about Zeppelin airship class. For general article about airships, see airship. For the famous British rock band, see Led Zeppelin.

Related Topics:
Airship - Led Zeppelin

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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. Due to the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the term zeppelin in casual use came to refer to all rigid airships. This article, however, focuses on Zeppelins in the narrower sense of the word.

Related Topics:
Airship - Count - Ferdinand von Zeppelin - 20th century - David Schwarz

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These giant aircraft were used for passenger transport as well as for military purposes. The DELAG (Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG), which can be considered the first commercial airline, served scheduled flights well before World War I, and after the outbreak of the conflict, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and scouts.

Related Topics:
Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG - Airline - World War I

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The German defeat halted the business temporarily, but under the guidance of Hugo Eckener, the successor of the deceased count, civilian Zeppelins experienced a renaissance in the 1920s. They reached their zenith in the 1930s, when the airships LZ127 Graf Zeppelin and LZ129 Hindenburg profitably operated regular transatlantic passenger flights.

Related Topics:
German - Hugo Eckener - 1920s - 1930s - LZ127 ''Graf Zeppelin'' - Transatlantic

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The Hindenburg disaster in 1937 triggered the fall of the "giants of the air", though other factors, including political issues, contributed to the demise of the Zeppelin.

Related Topics:
Hindenburg disaster - 1937

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