The Graf Zeppelin goes round the world
The airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin was launched in 1928 at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. It was 236 metres long, filled with hydrogen and powered by five engines, and it was built to carry passengers over long distances. During the next nine years it made hundreds of flights, among them regular crossings of the Atlantic to Brazil and North America.
In August 1929 it set out on a round-the-world trip. It left Lakehurst in New Jersey, crossed to Friedrichshafen, then flew east over Siberia to Tokyo, crossed the Pacific to Los Angeles and returned across North America to Lakehurst. The whole journey took about three weeks, of which roughly twelve and a half days were spent in the air. The trip had been partly paid for by newspaper rights, and passengers on board included journalists.
Comfort, at a price
Passengers had cabins, a dining room with a good chef and a lounge, and they slept in beds while the Atlantic passed below. A ticket was expensive. The airship was slow by later standards but it ran to a timetable, and for a few years it was the most comfortable way to cross the ocean by air.
The age of the airship ended in May 1937 when the Hindenburg caught fire while mooring at Lakehurst. The Graf Zeppelin was withdrawn from service soon afterwards, having flown more than a million kilometres without an accident that killed a passenger.