Zeppelin, Ferdinand von
Zeppelin, Ferdinand Adolf August Heinrich, Graf (Count) von
ACHIEVEMENT(S): Built rigid dirigible airships
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: July 8, 1838, Constance, Baden, Germany
DATE/PLACE OF DEATH/AGE AT DEATH: March 8, 1917, Charlottenburg, (Berlin), Germany. Aged 78.
DISCIPLINE: Aeronaut
FIELD: Aeronautics
EDUCATION: Private tutor; Stuttgart Polytechnic School; Ludwigsburg Cadet School
MAJOR WORK: Zeppelin airship
LIFE AND TIMES:
In 1863, Zeppelin, a lieutenant in the army of the German state of Wurttemberg, was sent at his own request to the United States as a military observer of the Civil War. In New York the Prussian ambassador introduced him to Lincoln*, who gave him letters of introduction to the American Secretary of War and Foreign Secretary. This allowed him to move freely. Zeppelin joined General Hooker's Army of the Potomac and took part in several battles. He was transferred to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and in 1863, made his first ascent in a balloon.
Enthralled, he sought out the Balloon Division of the Federal Army, and met great balloonist Lowe*. After some study, Zeppelin became convinced that a more elongated and rigid dirigible balloon was needed for military observations.
Returning to Germany in 1864, Zeppelin continued his army career and distinguished himself for his bravery in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. He was awarded the Wurttemberg Royal Cross First Class and the Prussian Iron Cross.
During the Siege of Paris, he was stationed at the German General Staff Headquarters, from which he watched French balloons carrying messages out of the city. The sight confirmed his belief that balloons could not be militarily useful until they had a more reliable method of steering.
Heinrich von Stephan's pamphlet, "World Post and Aeronautics", which gave a history of ballooning and flying since ancient times, inspired Zeppelin in 1873 to draft plans for his first dirigible rigid airship, but he kept his plans secret for 14 years. He proposed a great cigar-shaped frame of rigid construction, divided into a number of separate balloon compartments with two rigidly suspended gondolas attached, each containing an engine and allowing space for passengers and the crew.
In 1874, Zeppelin was promoted to major, and in 1882 was made a colonel. In 1885, he was transferred to Berlin as Wurttemberg's military attache, where he came into contact with many scientific men and became a close friend of Helmholtz*.
In 1887, he finally revealed his dirigible plans in a report to the King of Wurttemberg. The same year, he was made Wurttemberg's ambassador to Prussia. In 1889, he was promoted to brigadier-general, then a year later, retired from military service.
Retirement gave Zeppelin the chance to pursue his dream: to create a giant flying "ship" to ply the "oceans of the air." He spent the next three years developing a radical design of bags of hydrogen in separate "cells", all kept within a long, thin, light-weight aluminum metal frame covered with stretched fabric. He reasoned that a solid outer shell would allow an airship to travel at high speeds without air pressure buckling the nose or bad weather collapsing the balloon.
In 1896, the Association of German Engineers issued a favorable report on Zeppelin's plans, urging financial contributions from the public. In 1897, the Association appointed a committee of experts to help Zeppelin build the airship, and in 1898, a limited company, with considerable financing from Zeppelin himself, was established.
A floating pontoon hangar was built on Lake Constance, and in 1899, the L.Z.1, a 416-foot long aluminum craft, was completed. It used two 14.7 hp Daimler engines produced by Maybach*, the engine-designer for both Daimler* and Mercedes* cars.
The ship had its first flight test in July, 1900. Many more tests followed, and by 1906 Zeppelin had built his third Zeppelin (L.Z.3), which achieved his long-hoped-for 24-hour flight. At this point, the German government realized the superiority of airships, and he received a commission for an entire fleet.
By 1908, Zeppelin dirigibles were making routine commercial flights, carrying mail and passengers throughout Germany. The Imperial German government bought the L.Z.3 and gave it the army designation of Z 1.
A passenger service called Delag (Deutsche-Luftschiffahrts AG) arranged for passenger travel between several major German cities.
The early Zeppelins carried as many as 24 passengers in great comfort. Sandwiches and wine were served during the flight. By 1914, Germany had the largest fleet of airships, which could fly at a maximum speed of 60 mph. But as time went on, the airship's superiority over airplanes dwindled. While more than 100 L.Z.38
Zeppelins were used by Germany during the early stages of the First World War for reconnaissance and bombing missions (some took bombs as far as London) they were vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. The new incendiary ammunition, bullets laced with phosphorus, could easily set the massive volume of hydrogen alight. As the war progressed, the airship's duties were taken over by the more powerful airplanes. Count von Zeppelin died in 1917 without seeing his great dream of transatlantic dirigible flight become a reality.
ASSESSMENT: His quest for a light metal led directly to the invention of "Duraluminum", which later made the all-metal air-frame practical. The success of military and civilian Zeppelins was to have a lasting effect on air-power strategists
EXTRA CONNECTIONS: Zeppelin used rubberized cloth invented by Charles Macintosh*
His work related to that of the Montgolfier* brothers.
Karman* tested his airships in wind tunnels.
ONELINER: Count Zeppelin, builder of airships
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
EB
Eckener, Hugo,Count Zeppelin: The Man and his Work, London: Massie Publishing Co., 1938
LANGUAGE: German
PARENTS: Count Friedrich von Zeppelin; Amelie Macaire d'Hogguer
SIBLINGS: Eugenie; Eberhard
SPOUSE: Isabella von Wolff
CHILDREN: Hella