Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin began experimenting with rigid airships in the late 1800s, creating his first successful rigid airship the LZ 1 in 1900. In 1908, the German military purchased the LZ 3, proving the military worth of rigid airships. During World War 1, Germany used Zeppelins for bombing raids on cities and in combat for the first time in 1914. However, the development of incendiary ammunition made Zeppelins vulnerable to being shot down in flames. The Treaty of Versailles after World War 1 forced Germany to surrender its Zeppelins. The company ceased production until 1924 when the US purchased the LZ 126, reigniting interest until the Hindenburg disaster

1. The History of Zeppelins
By: Jack Marshall

2. 1908
The LZ 3 is purchased
by the German military
The LZ 3 was Zeppelin's third
attempt at a rigid airship. After flying
for 5 hours and 55 minutes, and
transporting the Kaiser's brother,
Zeppelin had proven the rigid airship
worth to the military.
1900
The LZ 1 flys for the
first time
The LZ 1 was the first time a rigid
airship successfully flew. It flew for
17 minutes traveling a total of 6 km
before having to make an
emergency landing. During its
second flight it beat the fastest
speed set by a non-rigid airship.
1898
Count Ferdinand von
Zeppelin creates
Gesellschaft zur Förderung
der Luftschiffahrt
It was a company that's goal was to
try and create an airship that could
be steered. Count Zeppelin supplied
the majority of the funding for the
project. It was liquidated in 1901 but
was a major milestone in rigid
airship development.
1863
Count Ferdinand von
Zeppelin serves as a
military observer in
American Civil War
It is here when Count Zeppelin
got his first experience with fight
as he assisted Union Soldiers
with scouting in observation
balloons, this is what inspired
his interest in airships.

3. 1915
Zeppelins bomb major
cities
Zeppelins were used by the German Army to
attack civilian population centers like London and
Pairs, and even Saint Petersburg in 1916. The
Zeppelins often didn’t cause much destruction
and were shot down frequently. They were more
effective at sparking fear than actual destruction.
By the time airplanes and other heavier than air
craft replaced Zeppelins, 77 out of 115 total had
been desabled or destroyed.
1914
Zeppelins are used in
combat for the first time
The German Army used the Zeppelin
Z VI to bomb the Belgian city of
Liège. Because areal bombs hadn’t
been invented yet, the Zeppelin
dropped artillery shells, killing 9,
before being heavly damaged by
small arms fire and being crash
landing in Cologne.
1913
The LZ 14 and LZ 18
crash
The Imperial German Navy purchased
Zeppelins for military use in 1912. In
September of 1913, the LZ 14 was
destroyed in a storm killing 16/20
crewmembers. Only six week later, the LZ
18 caught fire and killed all crewmembers
on board. This greatly hindered Germany’s
aerial navy as they didn’t have any
experienced crews left.
1909
Count Zeppelin creates
Deutsche
Luftschiffahrts-
Aktiengesellschaft
Commonly referred to as DELAG.
This was the first commercial airline
in the world. Zeppelin was more
focused on making rigid airships as
weapons but commercializing
allowed him to generate revenue and
promote the airhips to the military.

4. 1929
The Graf Zeppelin
circumnavigate the
globe
After the success of the LZ 126, restrictions on
German production of rigid airships were greatly
reduced. This allowed the Zeppelin company to
resume almost normal operations and they
wanted to prove the worth of the Zeppelin by
doing this never accomplished feat. In only 21
days the Graf Zeppelin traveled from Lakehurst to
Friedrichshafen, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and back.
1924
LZ 126 is purchased by
the United States
After essentially being unable to conduct
any business since the end of the war, the
Zeppelin company was saved when the
United States ordered a Zeppelin for
military use. It flew for almost 81 hours
and attracted large crowds of admirers
when it arrived in America. This issued in
the golden age of Zeppelins.
1919
Treaty of Versailles
forces all Zeppelins to
be surrendered
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles mandated
that Germany turn over all of its Zeppelins to the
Allies. In defiance of the mandate, many German
soldiers scuttled the Zeppelins but several were
still handed over to the Allies. The treaty also
prohibited Germany from making war Zeppelins
and ships over 28,000 m3. This effectively
stopped the Zeppelin company from producing
more ships.
1916
The British develop
incendiary and
explosive rounds for
planes
These types of ammunition used a
chemical reaction, that activated upon
contact with an object, to either create an
explosion or start a fire. This was the
beginning of the end for Zeppelins in
combat as a single well placed incendiary
round could cause the entire vessel to
burst into flames.

5. 1993
The Zeppelin Company
reforms
After almost 50 years, the Zeppelin company
reformed and still continues to make airships to
this day. Most of these are non-rigid and use
helium which is non flammable so there is far
less risk. The iconic Goodyear blimps are actually
made by the Zeppelin company. Overall
Zeppelins have taken a backseat to fixed-wing
aircrafts but there are still 25 blimps around the
world that are still in use.
1937
Hindenburg Disaster
The Hindenburg was a passenger Zeppelin that was mainly
made as a form of propaganda for the Nazi regimeme as
they were seen as a display of power. Just before finishing
a flight from Frankfurt to New Jersey, the Zeppelin caught
fire and came crashing to the ground killing 35 people on
board. There were many reporters on the ground with
cameras and microphones so this event was widely
documented. This effictly ended the public’s interest in
Zeppelins and the Zeppelin company was shut down in
1945

6. Works Cited
Works Cited
Clements, E. W., and G. J. O'Hara. “The Navy Rigid Airship.” Defense Tactical Information Center, 1 July 1972,
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0902628. Accessed 27 November 2022.
Pasternak, Igor. “A review of airship structural research and development.” Progress in Aerospace Sciences, vol. 45, no. 4-5, 2009, pp.
83-96. Science Direct, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376042109000153.
“The R-38 Catastrophe and the Mechanics of Rigid Airship Construction.” NASA Technical Reports Server, 1 June 1922,
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930082658. Accessed 27 November 2022.
South-West Pacific Anti-Submarine Warfare Reports: September 1943. September 1943. Navy, https://www.navy.gov.au/media-
room/publications/acb-0233443-south-west-pacific-anti-submarine-warfare-reports-wwii-septemb-0.