Graf Zeppelin profile, showing rings, gas cells, and major elements. (click all photos to enlarge)
LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin statistics:
- Length: 776 feet
- Diameter: 100 feet
- Gas capacity: 3,707,550 cubic feet (2,648,585 cu. hydrogen for lift, 1,059,435 cu. Blaugas for fuel)
- Lift: 191,799 lbs
- Speed: 80 MPH
- Main Powerplant: 5 Maybach VL-2 12-cylinder engines (550 HP Takeoff, 450 HP Cruise)
- Crew: 36 officers and crew
- Passengers: 20 sleeping berths
- First flight: September 18, 1928
- Final flight: June 18, 1937
- Total flight hours: 17,177
- Total flights: 590
- Total people carried: 34,000
- Paying passengers carried: 13,110
The size and shape of LZ-127 was not ideal aerodynamically, structurally, or economically, but it was the best that could be achieved within the limitations of the hangar at Friedrichshafen.
Relative sizes of LZ-11 Viktoria Luise, LZ-120 Bodensee, LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin. and LZ-129 Hindenburg
hi can you tell me if i have the 12foot long 11 laminated propeller with brass tips that was used on any zeppelins. some of the reading on hub say pi-75, mib-drbg, also my dad got this at Lakehurst naval air station when he was stationed there in the 1950s .. i can send pica if that would help
did any of the zeppelins have 12foot long wooden propellers ?
What was the most aerodynamic, economic, and structural design of large zeppelins? And also I have seen many pictures of the Graf Zeppelin with a large spherical object beneath the gondola. Was that a device used to help the zeppelin land safely on water?
I haven’t seen a photo of the device but I suspect it’s some type of spotting device. It lowers down through clouds to get bearings. My only knowledge of their use is during WWI. I also suspect that you saw it in a WWI film or photo. Otherwise it would be of no advantage to remain in a cloud bank and the spotting device would not be needed if I’m right and that is what it is.
Those were called cloud cars, and you are spot-on regarding what they were for! The Graf, however, was designed for civilian use and was not equipped with one to my knowledge.
I believe it was a bumper of some kind, to prevent damage to the gondola when landing. I think I remember reading that the bumper was added to the Graf after her lower stabilizer was damaged when being handled on the ground.
Hello Dan, I love your site so much, as I have loved airships since the age of five. I have a question though, how much square footage was the gondola, carrying the passengers?
I just found a postcard of the GZ postmarked May 1930 addressed to my Grandfather!
Can you tell me whether Graf Zeppelin ever landed at Lakehurst bearing the swastika? (i.e., after Oct. 1933)?
Dear Dan,
A fascinating site. My question concerns ‘dirigible lag’ for these floating ships. Since a typical transatlantic flight required just two or three days, presumably passengers woke up at their destinations pretty off their time zone. Do you know of any good material mentioning ”passenger fatigue” –say– during these journeys. What are some of the classic eye-witness descriptions of these journeys?
None of the accounts I have read discuss this, and even passengers who crosse din 12-24 hour by piston airliners did not seem to mention time-change issues. Having crossed the Atlantic myself in as little as 3 hours and as long as 5 days, I think jet lag is really a phenomenon peculiar to a 6-7 hour crossing (that matches the difference in time zones) but I would love to read more about this myself.
Hey Dan, it’s obvious you know your stuff. I’m preparing a project for a high school history class and I need to know the top speed of a zeppelin, but I can’t seem to get any good search results. If you have the time, could you help me out?
LZ-129 and LZ-130 had the fastest top speeds, with a maximum speed of 135 km/h (84 mph).
Thank you very much man, that will really help my presentation. By the way, thanks for all the great stats from your site. We’re supposed to use “reliable sources” and I think my teacher would really approve of how professional you website is.
Thanks for being awesome,
~Wyatt
Your Hindenbrug size & statistics page is showing the Graf Zeppelin information.
Thank you for letting me know! I just re-designed the site to be mobile responsive and there have been a few issues. Thank you for pointing out one that I had not yet discovered. Much appreciated!
Hello, i am trying to reconstruct the gondola of lz 127 for an vr experience. and i need color information for the interior. is there any footage out there? thank you for helping
Wow 4 years ago, well if you do get this, I hope your VR experience was great and I figure you could find something on youtube.