Luftschiffbau Zeppelin

Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, commonly referred to as Zeppelins due to the company's prominence. The name 'Luftschiffbau' is a German word meaning building of airships.

The company was founded by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1908 as a formal entity to continue advancing his pioneering research into rigid airships. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin became the leading manufacturer in the field of large lighter-than-air vehicles; its products were used in both military and civilian capacities. The firm founded DELAG, the world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service, in 1909 on the back of public interest and using its own airships. During the First World War, Zeppelins were employed as the first long distance strategic bombers, launching numerous raids upon Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. Following Count von Zeppelin's death in 1917, control of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin fell to Dr. Hugo Eckener, an enthusiastic proponent of the civil value of airships. However, Germany's zeppelins were claimed by the Allies as war reparations.

The company continued to innovate during the interwar period, constructing the largest rigid airship in history, the LZ 129 Hindenburg, lead ship of the Hindenburg class. However, the company's fortunes soured during the Nazi era, particularly following the high-profile Hindenburg disaster. Its airships were grounded and scrapped in 1940 to produce fixed-wing combat aircraft for Nazi Germany's war machine. During the Second World War, the company became involved in the manufacture of the V2 rocket; its facilities were hit by Allied bombing raids and it all but ceased to exist in the final months of the conflict. During the 1980s, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH was revived from its residual assets. It has since become a major shareholder in the company ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH, which developed and produces the Zeppelin NT, a next generation airship.

During 1900, Count von Zeppelin's first airship performed its maiden flight. Initially, his research was being financed by the count himself, as well as by private donations, and even a lottery; public interest in Zeppelin's activities grew with the success of each flight. In 1908, the Zeppelin LZ 4 was destroyed during a high-profile test flight. However, this apparent setback proved fortunate in the long run since its loss caused a flood of public support; the ensuing donation campaign collected over six million German marks, which was used to set up both 'Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH' as well as the Zeppelin Foundation.

Luftschiffbau Zeppelin proceeded to design and manufacture a range of Zeppelin airships, which found use within both the civilian and military sectors. The company played a leading role in the field of large lighter-than-air vehicles, establishing numerous firsts and innovations over the following decades. One such innovation was the founding of DELAG in 1909, the world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service. At the time, orders from the German Army were not immediately forthcoming, thus Alfred Colsman, Zeppelin Luftschiffbau's business manager, suggested harnessing the German public's enthusiasm for airships via the establishment of a commercial passenger-carrying company. By July 1914, DELAG's Zeppelins had transported 34,028 passengers on 1,588 commercial flights; the fleet had flown 172,535 kilometres in 3,176 hours.

During the First World War, Imperial Germany decided to deploy Zeppelins as long-distance bombers, launching numerous attacks upon Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. While the direct military effect of these zeppelin raids has been seen as limited, their novelty generated widespread alarm and caused substantial resources to be diverted from the Western Front to address them. At the time, the impact of such raids was overestimated in terms of both the material and psychological effects of the bombing of cities. One inadvertent consequence was the launch of a parliamentary inquiry under Jan Smuts, whose report led to the creation of the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 1 April 1918.

Zeppelin technology improved considerably as a result of the conflict. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin came under government control and new personnel were recruited to cope with the increased demand, including the aerodynamicist Paul Jaray and the stress engineer Karl Arnstein. Many technological advances originated from the firm's competitor, the Mannheim-based Schütte-Lanz company. While their dirigibles were never as successful, Professor Schütte's more scientific approach to airship design led to innovations such as a streamlined hull shape, simpler cruciform fins (replacing the more complicated box-like arrangements of older Zeppelins), individual direct-drive engine cars, anti-aircraft machine-gun positions, and gas ventilation shafts that transferred vented hydrogen to the top of the airship. New production facilities were set up to assemble Zeppelins from components fabricated in Friedrichshafen.

In 1917, Count von Zeppelin died; control of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin fell to Dr. Hugo Eckener, who had long envisioned dirigibles as vessels of peace rather than of war and hoped to quickly resume civilian flights. Despite considerable difficulties, they completed two small passenger airships: LZ 120 Bodensee (scrapped July 1928), which first flew in August 1919 and in the following months transported passengers between Friedrichshafen and Berlin, and sister ship LZ 121 Nordstern (scrapped September 1926), which was intended for use on a regular route to Stockholm.