The control room and passenger areas on the Graf Zeppelin were both located within the airship’s 98′ long gondola.

Gondola of LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin.  (click all photos to enlarge)

As seen in the deckplan included in this 1934 brochure, the ship’s control room was located at the very bow of the gondola, just ahead of the chart room, radio room, and kitchen.

Deckplan of Graf Zeppelin’s Gondola.  (click all photos to enlarge)

The Control Room, Chart Room, and Radio Room

The control room contained rudder and elevator control wheels, gas and water ballast release controls, engine telegraphs, and flight and navigation instruments.

Graf Zeppelin Control Room

Graf Zeppelin Control Room

Chart Room of Graf Zeppelin

Radio Room of Graf Zeppelin

The Kitchen

Across from the radio room was a small kitchen containing electric burners and ovens, an electric water heater, a refrigeration unit, and compact storage and preparation areas.  Obviously, no open flames were allowed on the hydrogen-filled airship.

Kitchen of Graf Zeppelin

The Passenger Lounge and Dining Room

Aft of the kitchen was a combination lounge/dining room, approximately 16′ square, which was the only public passenger space aboard the ship.

Lounge and Dining Area on Graf Zeppelin

But while the surroundings were luxurious, they were also unheated, and during the winter months, or when the ship flew over the North Atlantic, or during the flight over Siberia as part of the 1929 Round-the-World flight, passengers often spent much of their time wrapped in heavy winter coats or covered by layers of blankets while ice crystals formed on the windows.

As frequent passenger Lady Grace Drummond Hay described it:

We have a million cubic feet of gas but no heat. . . . Merciless cold driving through the canvas walls of this flying tent. … I have visualized myself gracefully draped over a saloon window ledge romantically viewing the moonlit sky. The men . . . have reminded each other not to forget evening jackets and boiled shirts in their baggage. We have drawn ourselves lovely pictures of dining elegantly in mid-air with Commodore Eckener at the head of a flower-decked table . . . but . . . leather coats, woollies and furs will be our evening dress.  Hot soup and steaming stew more welcome than cold caviar and chicken salad.

Lounge and Dining Area on Graf Zeppelin

Dinner on the Graf Zeppelin

Graf Zeppelin China

The Passenger Cabins

Accommodation for the ship’s twenty passengers was provided in ten small cabins, containing upper and lower berths similar to those aboard a railroad sleeping car, and which could be arranged for daytime or nighttime use.  Like the rest of the ship, the cabins were unheated. The cabins were located on a narrow corridor, at the end of which were separate washrooms for men and women.

Steward making up berth

Passenger Cabin of Graf Zeppelin

Passenger Cabin aboard LZ-127 during the Day

Passenger Cabin aboard LZ-127 at Night

Passenger Corridor on Graf Zeppelin

Women’s Washroom on Graf Zeppelin

Deckplan of Graf Zeppelin’s Gondola. (click all photos to enlarge)