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The German Airship, Graf Zeppelin II (LZ 130), was launched September 14, 1938. The Graf II was build as a commercial ship, but flew only cargo and test flights over Germany. The United States refused to sell the necessary Helium to Germany, so the hydrogen filled ship was not allowed to carry passengers or fly over foreign soil. She made 30 flights before being hangered at the outbreak of WW II. The airship was claimed to be the safest most advanced dirigible ever built. The photograph shows the LZ 130 in flight over friedrichschafen. Almost identical to the Hindenburg, LZ 130 was powered by four 4100 HP daimler diesel engines giving her a cruising speed of 80 knots. Other dimensions were Length - 811 Feet, Maximum Diameter - 135 Feet, Gas Capacity - 7,087,720 Cubic Feet. The day of the great rigid airships had finally come to an end, and the greatest of them all, the LZ 130, was never given the opportunity to prove its value as a passenger transport. |
