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Title: The Graf Zeppelin
Added: Mar 20, 2008
Author: Bomberguy
Duration: 10:16
Description:
The Graf Zeppelin ruled the uncluttered skies like no other monarch could. The sight of the silver ship gliding over head brought crowds of people streaming from their houses and into the streets. No other aircraft in history , with the possible exception of the Spirit of St. Louis, has been the focus of so much admiration by so many people. The Graf Zeppelin was Dr. Eckner's crowning achievement in the concept of the zeppelin. Even though the Hindenburg and the Graf Zeppelin II would be technologically superior to the Graf Zeppelin, no other air ship would be so loved by nearly all the world.The size of the Graf was dictated only by the inner dimensions of the construction hanger. When completed, the airship was 100 feet in diameter, and 110 feet high including the gondola bumpers, bringing her within TWO FEET of the rafters of her shed. Many new innovations were incorporated into the Graf Zeppelin during her construction in Factory Shed number II in Friedrichshafen. The most revolutionary of the innovations was the inclusion of a new fuel system for the engines. Previously, all airships had used engines that burned either gasoline or diesel fuel. The main problem with using a liquid fuel was that as you burned off the gas or diesel, you lost weight, and as you lost weight, you had to vent off hydrogen to keep from floating up. This had been a problem that had plagued zeppelins since the beginning, but was solved in the building of the Graf. The Graf had special gas cells installed below the gas cells that housed the lifting hydrogen gas. These new cells comprised approximately 1/3 of each bay within the ship and each cell was filled with a new fuel called "Blau gas". Invented by Dr. Hermann Blau, this gaseous fuel would account for 750,000 cubic feet of the volume of the Graf, which had a total volume of 3,707,550 cubic feet. The wonderful thing about the blau gas was that it weighed about as much as air and so did not hamper the ship with the weight that liquid fuel would, also,as the fuel burned in the engines of the ship, no weight was lost by its consumption and therefore no hydrogen would be vented.Even with all her new design innovations and the excitement of the German people, the Graf Zeppelin was slowed by of lack of money. It had taken a plea to the German people by Dr. Eckener to raise most of the money to have her built and more arm twisting in the government to get enough to finish the ship, now he needed money to keep her flying. That money was found in the hands of an American business man and airship supporter named William Randolph Hearst. Hearst would make a business deal with Dr. Eckener that would appeal to both the Zeppelin Company and Hearst's newspaper companies. Hearst would put up the money for a global flight of the Graf Zeppelin that would be the gain her the publicity she would need to form a solid reputation for dependability and he would get exclusive U.S. rights to the story. Dr. Eckener, having been a journalist and writer before working for the Count VonZeppelin, knew how to make the most of this publicity and did so at every opportunity. The global flight would begin in Friedrichshafen and proceed to Lakehurst, New Jersey. Lakehurst would then mark as the official starting point of the journey as stipulated in the contract drawn up by Hearst. From Lakehurst back to Friedrichshafen, to Tokyo and then to San Francisco, Los Angeles and back to Lakehurst. Although the Graf was not the first aircraft to circle the globe, it was by far the fastest. What took months for a British military, heavy bomber to do, with many breakdowns and hardships, the Graf did in 12 days and 11 minutes in comfort and style with a full passenger load over much previously uncharted land. The trip was a complete success and the world, particularly the U.S., caught Zeppelin Mania. Once safely moored at Lakehurst, Dr. Eckener was treated to a ticker-tape parade in his honor in New York City and the news papers would dub him the "Magellan of the Air".Length - 776 feet / 236.53 metersDiameter - 100 feet / 30.48 metersGas Volume - 3,700,000 cu. feet / 111,000 cu. metersEngines - Five 550 hp Maybach enginesMaximum Speed - 80 mph / 128 km/hLifting Gas Type - Hydrogen
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Channel: Entertainment
Tags: graf zeppelin air ship dirigible aviation history
graf zeppelin air ship dirigible aviation history
Youtube Comments: 194
TheJonvonn Says:
Apr 2, 2011 - I wish there was the new renaissance, I'd start it if I had the money :)
deutschland08fn Says:
May 14, 2011 - 3:56 I would piss my pants
kill600 Says:
May 31, 2011 - 00:37 - 00:56 Feel the power!!!
aternovacula Says:
Jun 8, 2011 - @divisioneight I understand completely, old chap. I think there are two reasons why nobody has tried to bring airships back. The first reason is actually rather simple. Money. If you look at a picture of one of these beauties with some sort of reference point in it, you will find this these beauties are far bigger than you expect. The initial construction cost in terms of just raw material alone is huge, and that's not counting the cost of labour just to put it together.
aternovacula Says:
Jun 8, 2011 - @divisioneight Now to the second reason. Before you knew all about airships and zeppelins, what was the first thing that you thought of? The Hindenburg. That incident caused a massive psychological scar on the population at large. Even if you use helium and hold press conference after press conference about how your ships won't explode or catch fire, society at large will have a huge amount of inertia. They will remember the Hindenburg. Then they will think, "HELL NO."
aternovacula Says:
Jun 8, 2011 - @divisioneight I apologise for the lengthy comments and the multiple parts, but I tend to ramble in my comments. Sorry. ^.^
unambitious Says:
Jul 17, 2011 - It's so weird how the nacelles are just sort of dangling off the side. I wonder why they never put little wings on these to augment the lift and hang the engines from...
divisioneight Says:
Jul 26, 2011 - @aternovacula: Not so sure about the inertia of the people. The Zeppelin NT is obviously the first step beyond the long and clean record of the Goodyear blimp fleet. The folks out in Long Beach love the Zeppelin NT and enjoy the more relaxed excursions on her. She's strangely reminiscent of the great Count's airships taking passengers for afternoon jaunts around Lake Constance around a 100 years ago. I believe that the public will embrace the large rigid airship.
divisioneight Says:
Jul 26, 2011 - I think one of the hidden things that people subconsciously hate about the old airships was the swastikas on their vertical fins, clearly put there against Dr. Eckener's will. When you look at the materials that made the ships then compared to now, there is great potential in making another rigid, passenger long distance airship.
unbrokenhero2live Says:
Sep 8, 2011 - prior to led zeppelin, no one cared about zeppelins
1878K Says:
Sep 14, 2011 - Was the reporter in the footage of the 1931 Arctic expedition Arthur Koestler?
sandcat20000 Says:
Sep 26, 2011 - ime actually thinking that a zeppelin cruise line might be good.
trexx63 Says:
Sep 26, 2011 - Unpredictable weather remains the only obstacle for a successful Zeppelin service. The bigger they are the more economical to operate they become. The efficiency of lifting power is expotentially more efficient with every added cubic measure of lighter than air gas. ie: (example) 1 cubic yard of helium can lift one pound. 2 cubic yards of helium can lift 2.5 lbs) so on and so forth.
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leomann22 Says:
Oct 9, 2011 - What an incredibly beautiful machine, so powerful and graceful. The Graf Zeppelin is truly a legend. Great video Bomberguy, with amazing footage and editing. If this is representative of the quality of your videos, I'm subbed!
GriefTourist Says:
Oct 13, 2011 - it's been a long time since they rock and rolled
mellotronage Says:
Feb 5, 2012 - This footage just gasses me. I just love the fact that people thought this was a viable form of transportation at one time.... which it certainly was. Until May of 1937, anyway. Hugo Eckener was the man, a national treasure.
Steve211Ucdhihifvshi Says:
Feb 10, 2012 - The germans were quite ahead of their time. hitler really screwed their beautiful country up. How amazing would it be to have these as an alternative to airplanes now, if only hitler and hindenberg never happened. This ship was amazing utilizing cutting edge technology for the time, unlike helium, or hydrogen it used blu gas, that when burnt didnt produce carbon monoxide and weighed the same mole mass as air so they didnt need to constantly adjust boyancy.
videotowatch2000 Says:
Feb 13, 2012 - Hopefully, people will understand that this is airship travel in it's infancy. In due time, airship travel will be revisited.
zombieX111222333 Says:
Feb 25, 2012 - you know how awesome it would be to fly a zeppelin whilst listening to ride of the valkyries? As awesome as flying a biplane with goggles and a scarf.
xiquiripat Says:
Apr 19, 2012 - They need to bring back zeppelins on a large scale. Such an elegant way to travel.
videotowatch2000 Says:
May 9, 2012 - Remember the HINDENBURG, MAY 6, 1937-MAY 6, 2012. 75th Anniversary. Please support the Lakehurst Historical Society. Thank you!
AROBASPARK Says:
May 17, 2012 - She was magnificent indeed.Graf Zeppelin; 1928-1939.
1337tactics Says:
May 27, 2012 - To someone who's life goal is to build an airship, this is inspiring, to say the least.
junkduma Says:
Jan 18, 2011 - Wonderful video, superb archives brought to us, thank you.