For the first time, Count Zeppelin saw a balloon in 1863 in America, being there on duty and watching the course of the Civil War. He managed not only to examine the aircraft, but also to make an air flight on it over the Mississippi.
A meeting
This meeting will forever change the life of a German officer who clearly realizes: these are the machines behind which the future, the power of his native Germany! During his participation in the Franco-Prussian War, Colonel Zeppelin watched as not only correspondence, but also the military were taken out of besieged Paris in balloons. Aircraft seemed to him ideal for reconnaissance and useful in peacetime as an efficient vehicle. But the future, Zeppelin believed, was not for balloons, but for giant airships. Since 1874, Zeppelin began to work hard on the implementation of his own design ideas and aircraft projects.
I have an idea
Zeppelin saw an undeniable perspective in the ideas of the Austrian David Schwartz, who designed an apparatus with a metal body. True, Schwartz's airship crashed during the test. Zeppelin decided not only to use Schwartz's idea, but also to bring it to perfection. He replaced the previously used thin-walled rigid shell with a frame made of aluminum, which was not cheap at the time. The hydrogen chambers were placed in such a way that in case of damage to some of them, the rest could support the movement of the apparatus.
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The first pancake is lumpy
In 1887, Count Zeppelin sent a message to the King of Württemberg with his thoughts on creating aircraft that could be used in both military and civil aviation. But the first failure awaits the inventor: the project does not stand up to criticism and with the wording "frivolous" returns to the author, who is soon dismissed. Returning to his homeland, the lieutenant general creates a joint-stock company, invests his own funds, and already in 1900 presents to the public the first airship with a rigid hull structure, built by a team of talented engineers.
Insufficiently powerful engines will allow the 127-meter colossus to stay in the air for only 18 minutes over Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, but for Zeppelin it was a victory! His venture had few supporters. In the district, he was considered "eccentric" at all, not understanding how to squander family funds on dubious enterprises. The first flight was not impressed either by the shareholders, who demanded a return on their investment. The second airship, built in 1906, also suffered a setback, as its engine broke down on the way, and the oncoming hurricane almost completely destroyed the car.
Victories, disasters and miracles
The next airship "Z1", built in the autumn of 1906, not only successfully passes tests, but, finally, attracts the attention of the military, who eventually buy the device. Zeppelin's next victory is even more impressive: in the airship "LZ4" in the summer of 1908, the seventy-year-old count flies through Switzerland and returns back to Germany. The whole world is talking about the triumph of the Zeppelin, but the catastrophe caused by the gas explosion destroys the device and actually puts an end to the inventor's dream - Zeppelin has no money to build a new airship. This time fate decides to show mercy: people who have learned about the disaster from the newspapers decide to support the inspired “eccentric”. The money comes from various parts of the country and, as a result, the funds received allow Zeppelin to continue working.
German airships
Of course, airships were built before Zeppelin. For example, in 1899, Santos-Dumont flew around the Eiffel Tower in such a vehicle. But Zeppelin, perhaps, became the first who managed to turn his hobby into a business. In 1909 he founded the world's first airline, German Airships, and a year later his aircraft were already making regular domestic flights around the country. The Zeppelins became a symbol of the new century - their every flight became, if not a sensation, then it caused great excitement. Cigar-shaped "zeppelins" impressed not only with their grandiose dimensions, but also with their inner comfort during travel. The count himself focused on the safety of flights on new machines, and, indeed, from 1909 to 1914, not a single major accident involving airships was recorded.
Main income item
Count Zeppelin's business began to flourish when he finally managed to get a large military order. During World War I, it was Germany that had the most powerful fleet of airships, which were used primarily for reconnaissance in enemy territory. The military gave preference to the "zeppelins", although the airships "Schütte-Lanz" were also in service. Only Count Zeppelin's machines met the stated standards: speed - at least 15 meters per second, flight duration - 38 hours, bomb load - 300-400 kg, and certainly - high maneuverability. Zeppelin factories did not stop for a minute during the war. If at the beginning of the war, by order of the military, Zeppelin made a dozen devices, then by the end - the number of "Zeppelin" exceeded a hundred. True, until the time when the defeated Germany was forbidden to release airships,and the rest of the vehicles were taken as trophies by the winners, Ferdinand von Zeppelin did not survive.
Graf Zeppelin
The dawn of the era of airships came at the end of the 20s of the last century. In 1929, the "Graf Zeppelin", built after the death of the inventor, made a 21-day trip around the world, gaining altitude in Lakehurst and making stops in Friedrichshafen, Tokyo, San Francisco and Los Angeles on the way. The newspapers of the time called the popularity of "Count Zeppelin" "mystical": "wherever he appeared, everywhere he made a sensation." Unfortunately, the main enemy of the "zeppelin" at that time was the weather: a hurricane wind could tear the device to shreds. The disasters that followed one another in America did not stop the German manufacturers - they continued to produce "zeppelins" until May 1937, when the death of the "Hindenburg", which shook the whole world, which claimed many lives, ended the era of air giants.