This is a complete list of Zeppelins constructed by the
original German Zeppelin companies from
1900 until 1938. Other types of rigid airships that are also sometimes
referred to as zeppelins are not included.
The Zeppelin companies
based in Friedrichshafen, Germany, numbered their
aircraft LZ1/2/..., with LZ standing for "Luftschiff [airship] Zeppelin". Additionally,
crafts used for civilian purposes usually got a name, while military airships,
on the other hand, were given "tactical numbering":
The German Army called its first Zeppelins Z I/II/.../XI/XII. During World War I they switched to using
the LZ numbers, later adding 30 to obscure the
total production.
The German Navy Zeppelins were labelled L 1/2/....
Since 1997, airships of the new
type Zeppelin NT have been flying. They
are not included here, as they are no Zeppelins in the traditional sense.
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Zeppelins
finished before World War I
Production number |
Name / tactical numbering |
Usage |
First flight |
Remarks |
LZ1 |
|
see Zeppelin |
||
LZ2 |
|
experimental |
destroyed in accident after first flight; see Zeppelin |
|
LZ3 |
Z I |
experimental; military |
sold to the German Army in 1908 after refitting; used
as a school ship; decommissioned in 1913 |
|
LZ4 |
|
military (intended) |
destroyed in Echterdingen disaster; see Zeppelin |
|
LZ5 |
Z II |
experimental; military |
stranded near Weilburg in 1910 during a storm |
|
LZ6 |
|
experimental; civilian (DELAG) |
first experiments with wireless communication; first DELAG craft (see Zeppelin); accidentally
destroyed in its hall in Baden-Oos in 1910 |
|
LZ7 |
"Deutschland" |
civilian (DELAG) |
damaged beyond repair in an accident above the Teutoburg
Forest on June 28, 1910 |
|
LZ8 |
Ersatz "Deutschland"
|
civilian (DELAG) |
pushed to the wall of its hall by strong wind and damaged beyond repair
on May 16, 1911 |
|
LZ9 |
Ersatz Z II |
military |
||
LZ10 |
"Schwaben" |
civilian (DELAG) |
transported 4354 passengers in 224 flights, travelling 27,321 km; destroyed June 28, 1912 in accident on the
airfield in Düsseldorf |
|
LZ11 |
"Viktoria Luise" |
civilian (DELAG); later military |
transported 9783 passengers in 489 flights, travelling 54,312 km; taken over as school
ship by German military upon outbreak of World War
I; broke apart while being "halled in" on October 8, 1915 |
|
LZ12 |
Z III |
military |
||
LZ13 |
"Hansa" |
civilian (DELAG); later military |
travelled 44,437 km in 399 flights; first
regular flight outside Germany (to Denmark and Sweden); taken over by
German military upon outbreak of World War
I; decommissioned in summer 1916 |
|
LZ14 |
L 1 |
military |
pushed down into the North Sea in a thunderstorm on September
9, 1913, drowning 14
crewmembers |
|
LZ15 |
Ersatz Z I |
military |
||
LZ16 |
Z IV |
military |
accidentally crossed French border on April 3, 1913 in misty weather and
was kept in Lunéville for one day.
Performed some reconnaissance missions in World War
I and attempted bombing of Warsaw and Lyck. Used as a school
ship from 1915; decommissioned in
autumn of 1916 |
|
LZ17 |
"Sachsen" |
civilian; later military |
transported 9837 passengers in 419 flights, travelling 39,919 km; taken over by German
military upon outbreak of World War
I; decommissioned in autumn of 1916 |
|
LZ18 |
L 2 |
military |
destroyed by an exploding engine on October 17, 1913 during a test flight;
the entire crew was killed. |
|
LZ19 |
Second Ersatz Z I |
military |
||
LZ20 |
Z V |
military |
used in World War I for reconnaissance missions in western Poland; forced landing after
an attack on Mlawa during the Battle of
Tannenberg; crew captured by enemy cavalry while trying to burn down the ship. |
|
LZ21 |
Z VI |
military |
in World War I mainly used in Belgium as a bomber; damaged
beyond repair during a bombing of Liège on August 6, 1914. |
|
LZ22 |
Z VII |
military |
hit by infantry fire during reconnaissance mission in Alsace on August 21, 1914 and damaged beyond
repair in subsequent forced landing in St. Quirin, Lorraine |
|
LZ23 |
Z VIII |
military |
same orders as Z VII on August 21, 1914; forced landing
behind enemy lines; captured and plundered by French army |
|
LZ24 |
L 3 |
military |
24 reconnaissance missions over the North Sea; participated in the first raid of England on January 20, 1915; destroyed by its crew after a forced landing (due to engine failure) in Denmark on February 17, 1915 |
|
not realized
(construction forbidden by World War I Allied Powers) |
||||