Luftschiffbau Zeppelin

The company was founded by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1908 as a formal entity to continue advancing his pioneering research into rigid airships.

New production facilities were set up to assemble Zeppelins from components fabricated in Friedrichshafen.

During the final months of the conflict, the company effectively ceased to exist, disappearing sometime around 1945.

Following Count von Zeppelin's death in 1917, control of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin fell to Dr. Hugo Eckener

Almost 50 years following its disappearance, the company was regenerated from its residual assets.

Perhaps the single most famous airship was the LZ 129 Hindenburg, the first of two airships of the Hindenburg class.

Hindenburg was constructed by the company between 1931 and 1936, and performed its maiden test flight from the Zeppelin dockyards at Friedrichshafen on 4 March 1936, with 87 passengers and crew aboard.

During 1993, the parent group company of the current Zeppelin maker was re-established, while the operating company producing the current Zeppelins was created in 2001.

the ensuing donation campaign collected over six million German marks, which was used to set up both 'Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH' as well as the Zeppelin Foundation.

On 18 September 1928, when the completed Graf Zeppelin flew for the first time.

In September 1993, the Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT) was founded in Friedrichshafen as a corporate spin-off of the original Zeppelin company to pursue development and production of the new generation of Zeppelins, later known as the Zeppelin NT (New Technology).

The frames of Graf Zeppelin and Graf Zeppelin II, along with scrap material from Hindenburg, were subsequently scrapped that same year for their materials, which were used to fulfil wartime demands for fixed-wing military aircraft for the Luftwaffe.

The modern development and construction that is embodied by the Zeppelin NT had been financed by a long-standing endowment, which had been initially funded with money left over from the earlier Zeppelin company.

In September 1997, the prototype performed its maiden flight at Friedrichshafen; piloted by US test pilot Scott Danneker, it flew for a total of 40 minutes.

However, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin lost much of its favour amongst political circles following the Hindenburg disaster in 1937; the event compelled the firm to terminate Zeppelin manufacturing in 1938, while all operations of existing airships was ceased by 1940.

One such innovation was the founding of DELAG in 1909, the world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service.

During 1900, Count von Zeppelin's first airship performed its maiden flight.

It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, commonly referred to as Zeppelins due to the company's prominence.

In the following years, it was not only commenced transatlantic commercial passenger flights but performed several record-breaking flights, including a successful circumnavigation of the globe.

Hindenburg was constructed by the company between 1931 and 1936, and performed its maiden test flight from the Zeppelin dockyards at Friedrichshafen on 4 March 1936