Zeppelin Flight To Palestine

There is a certain romance about Zeppelins. The famous pop band Led Zeppelin took its name from the airship.

Z 127 Graf Zeppelin was a large rigid airship (or dirigible). It was named after the German pioneer of airships, Ferdinand von Zeppelin who held the rank of Graf or Count in the German nobility (in German usage the “von” in a name is omitted when a title such as “Graf” is employed).

It flew for the first time on September 18, 1928 and, with a total length of 236.6 m (776 ft) and volume of 105,000 m³ (3,708,040 ft³), was the largest airship up to that time. It was powered by 5 Maybach 550 HP engines that ran off of Blau gas (unpressurised blaugas, similar to propane, as fuel). Since its density was similar to that of air and could carry a payload of 60 metric tonnes of space.

Initially it was to be used for experimental and demonstration purposes to prepare the way for regular airship travelling, but also carried passengers and mail to cover the costs. In October 1928 the first long-range voyage led the craft to Lakehurst, New Jersey, and the crew was welcomed enthusiastically with confetti parades in New York and invitations to the White House. Later Graf Zeppelin toured in Germany and visited Italy, Palestine and Spain. A second trip to the United States was aborted in France due to engine failure in May 1929.