Dirigibles, Zeppelins, and Blimps
Dirigible? Blimp? Zeppelin?
What’s the difference between a blimp and a zeppelin? What is a dirigible? Was the Hindenburg a blimp? And what is that “Farmer’s Airship” thing?
What is a Dirigible?
Poster for the 1931 Frank Capra film "Dirigible"
The term dirigible is often associated with large rigid airships, but a dirigible is actually any powered, steerable, lighter-than-air vehicle. The Goodyear blimp, the Hindenburg, and the Zeppelin NT named Eureka (which is temporarily carrying the Farmers Insurance logo) are all examples of dirigibles.
The term dirigible does not come from the word “rigid” but from the French verb “diriger” (to steer), and a dirigible is simply any lighter-than-air craft which is able to to be steered (as opposed to a balloon, which floats with the wind).
What is a Blimp?
A blimp (technically called a “pressure airship”) is a powered, steerable, lighter-than-air vehicle whose shape is maintained by the pressure of the gases within its envelope. A blimp has no rigid internal structure; if a blimp deflates, it loses its shape.
The author's son excited before a ride in one of The Lightship Group's advertising blimps.
Blimps are best known today for their role as advertising and promotional vehicles. Goodyear began using blimps to advertise their brand in 1925, and The Lightship Group has operated promotional blimps for various companies over the past 20 years. But blimps have also played an important role in the armed forces of many countries. For example, United States Navy’s lighter-than-air program made extensive use of blimps from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily in anti-submarine and reconnaissance roles.
Was the Hindenburg a blimp?
The Hindenburg is often called “blimp” but that is not correct; Hindenburg was a rigid airship which maintained its shape by means of a metal framework, and not from the pressure of the gas within its hull.
What is a Semi-Rigid Airship?
Semi-rigid airship Norge
A semi-rigid airship, like a blimp, maintains its aerodynamic shape from internal gas pressure, but it has a partial rigid frame, usually in the form of a keel, which supports and distributes loads and provides structural integrity during maneuvering.
The modern Zeppelin NT, such as the one currently carrying the Farmer’s Insurance logo, is a semi-rigid airship rather than a blimp.
Other famous semi-rigid airships from history include the Norge (of polar explorer Roald Amundsen) and the Italia (of Umberto Nobile).
What is a Rigid Airship?
A rigid airship is a powered, steerable, lighter-than-air vehicle which maintains its shape by means of a rigid framework, or “skeleton,” surrounding one or more individual cells inflated with lifting gas.
USS Shenandoah under construction, showing rigid framework, individual gas cells, and fabric covering
This photograph of the United States Navy airship USS Shenandoah under construction shows its rigid metal framework, a partially inflated gas cell, and the fabric covering applied over the frame to protect the gas cells and provide aerodynamic streamlining.
The Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin were two of the most famous rigid airships — and Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin is considered the father of the rigid airship — but not all rigid airships are “zeppelins.”
What is a Zeppelin?
A zeppelin is a rigid airship manufactured by the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin of Germany (the “Zeppelin Airship Construction Company”), which was founded by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
The term zeppelin is famously associated with the German airships that conducted bombing raids over England and other allied countries during World War I. Most of these ships were, in fact, built by the Zeppelin Company, but the German military also used ships of very different designs built by the Schutte-Lanz and Parseval companies.
German Navy Zeppelin L-13 (LZ-45). Drawing by Norbert Andrup.
The LZ-129 Hindenburg was a zeppelin (“LZ” stands for “Luftschiff Zeppelin,” and Hindenburg was the 129th airship designed by the Zeppelin Company).
The so-called “Farmers Airship” is also a zeppelin, since it was created by the German company which built the warships of World War I and the Hindenburg. And the American naval ships USS Akron and USS Macon may be referred to as zeppelins, since they were built by the Goodyear-Zeppelin joint venture.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Is there any place in the US one could see a rigid airship?
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Dan (Airships.net) Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 3:21 pm
The last rigid airship in the world was dismantled in 1940.
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David, it was great to hear that someone, anyone is still thrilled to talk about the Navy Airship program of the 50s and 60s.
I flew the ‘Nan’ ship first out of Boca Chica field in Key West Fla. then later from 1959 to 1961 out of Lakehurst NJ. when the Navy started to decommission the whole fleet.
I have to say it was a thrill to fly 1st Mechanic, (“Flight Engineers,”)
In the larger ships, model ZPG-3s. We were able was able to fly by interconnecting both 1800 H.P. engines to fly with both 18′ props on 1 engine while we conducted an ‘in flight inspection’ of 1 engine at a time.
I would like to go on, but I don’t know that anyone is there.
My e-mail address is made up of gjg, my initials, my combat air crew cac#302.
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In the The Robert Wise film Hindenburg it shows riggers and crew walking about inside the hull. Call me a mong, but surely they can’t be breathing the hydrogen gas ‘n if they’d filled it with helium, as intended, they’d all sound like the Piglets when they spoke. The hull gets ripped and the riggers go outside, repair the fabric to prevent hydrogen escape and loss of altitude. Can anyone explain?
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Dan (Airships.net) Reply:
May 8th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Lifting gas was contained in gas cells, so the crew was able to move throughout the hull without being exposed to the lifting gas.
The repair depicted in the film The Hindenburg (which was based on a real event which took place on the LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin) was not to prevent loss of hydrogen, but to prevent further damage to the fabric which would have compromised the flight controls and the stability of the ship.
(Incidentally, if you would like to read more about the movie, I wrote a blog post called The Hindenburg (1975) – Fact & Fiction.)
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Nice article, Thanks. The link to “Personal Blimp” is broken. Personal is spelled wrong.
Pernonal
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Dan (Airships.net) Reply:
April 28th, 2010 at 10:00 am
Thanks!
(I am always very grateful for corrections. Thanks for your help!)
Dan
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Would the tiny ZMC-2 enter into your consideration as a footnote in US Navy Rigid Airship article? Or is it much too semirigid-like? Is it simply not interesting enough?
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Dan (Airships.net) Reply:
March 7th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
I wish I had more time to discuss all the fascinating airships and dirigibles of past and present!
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Hi Dan,
First of all this site is very informative and very helpfull. I would like to ask you if you know whether there was a movie made about the hindenburg.
Thanks a lot
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Dan (Airships.net) Reply:
February 21st, 2010 at 4:34 pm
The most famous film about LZ-129 was the 1975 movie The Hindenburg by Robert Wise, starring George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft.
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How long was the German Navy Zeppelin L-13 (LZ-45) and when was it in servies?
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Dan (Airships.net) Reply:
September 1st, 2009 at 11:48 pm
L-13 was a p-type ship with a length of 163.5m (536′ 5″). Its first flight was July 23, 1915, and the ship was commanded by Heinrich Mathy during a famous bombing raid on England. L-13 was dismantled in April, 1917.
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The next big event in LTA circles will be the openning of the Military Museum and Veterans Memorial at NAS Richmond in mid to late 2010. NAS Richmond was the 2nd largest U.S. Navy Blimp base in the U.S. Destroyed by a hurricane and fires in1945. The heart of the site will be the restored original Administration Building
#25 which will be moved alongside the Railroad Museum on the oridinal site of Hangar #2.
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What a wonderful site. I live near Lakehurst, and you will be glad to know that there is still some limited LTA activity there. The small non-rigid MZ-3A has been flying from Lakehurst for a couple of years, not a Top Secret project, but nobody’s talking much about it. In fact, I was earlier today belting down South Dover rd on a Triumph Thruxton, at highly illegal speeds, when she flew over, quite low. I pulled over to watch, as this sight has become a rarity. She’s tiny, even to one too young to have seen the big Rigids, but I remember the “Nan” class ships of the late 50s, which dwarfed her.
Still, she’s an Airship, and I’ll take what I can get.
Best,
DWM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MZ-3A
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