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39-489: The company was founded by Hellmuth Hirth as Versuchsbau Hellmuth Hirth . The first commercial engine, the 4-cylinder inverted in-line HM 60 , first ran in June 1923 and was sold from the next year. Its quality was extremely high and it formed the foundation of the business. The company was renamed Leichtmetall-Werke GmbH , Elektronmetall GmbH and eventually separated from the aero engine manufacturing to form Mahle GmbH as

78-635: A design organisation, and approved new construction regulations for airships. In November 1995, final assembly of the first airship prototype commenced, it was promoted as being the first rigid airship to be produced by the firm since the Second World War . In July 1996, the under-construction prototype of the Zeppelin NT 07 was presented to the public and the media. In September 1997, the prototype performed its maiden flight at Friedrichshafen; piloted by US test pilot Scott Danneker, it flew for

117-698: A halt to Zeppelin's plans for airship development, and the company temporarily resorted to the manufacture of aluminium cooking utensils. Between the mid 1920s and 1940, the company worked closely with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to manufacture a pair of Zeppelins in the United States ; to cement this relationship, a joint venture company, the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation , was created to handle such activities. The first airship to be produced under this initiative,

156-544: A leading role in the field of large lighter-than-air vehicles, establishing numerous firsts and innovations over the following decades. One such innovation was the founding of DELAG in 1909, the world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service. At the time, orders from the German Army were not immediately forthcoming, thus Alfred Colsman, Zeppelin Luftschiffbau's business manager, suggested harnessing

195-505: A manufacturer of light alloy engine components, specifically the magnesium alloy Elektron , including parts for aircraft engines. In 1931, Hirth renamed the much-expanded aero engine business as Hirth Motoren GmbH . An upgrade in the form of the HM 60R improved efficiency, and was followed by 6, 8 and 12-cylinder versions based on the same basic design. Over the next decade, Hirth became one of Germany's leading aero engine manufacturers. During

234-505: A successful circumnavigation of the globe. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin was keen to continue advancing the capabilities of its airships and begun design work on an even larger airship during the late 1920s. Perhaps the single most famous airship was the LZ 129 Hindenburg , the first of two airships of the Hindenburg class . It was a large commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship , being

273-720: A total of 40 minutes. On 3 May 2011, Goodyear confirmed their intentions to reinstate their historic partnership with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. Accordingly, Goodyear placed an order for three Zeppelin NT LZ N07-101 models with plans to commence operation in January 2014. The Zeppelin NT is the successor to Goodyear's non-rigid airship, the GZ-20 in Goodyear airship advertising. The first of these airships, referred to as Wingfoot One ,

312-911: The Luftwaffe . During the autumn of 1941, the company accepted contracts to produce elements of the V-2 rocket , specifically propellant tanks and fuselage sections. By 17 August 1942, the Allies had suspected that the Zeppelin Works in Friedrichshafen (as well as the Henschel Raxwerke ) were involved in the supply chain of the V-2, and on 25 July 1943, British MP Duncan Sandys reported that Friedrichshafen photos depicted rocket firing sites like Test Stand VII at Peenemünde . During

351-821: The Edison General Electric Company as a mechanic. While abroad, he developed an interest in aircraft, and on his return to Germany in 1909 became involved with the emerging industry. He built his own aircraft in 1910 and soon went to work for the Zeppelin Company building airships . He also became a prominent pilot. Since 1914 he was a Leutnant of the Fliegertruppe , winning the Iron Cross II and being severely wounded. In 1920, he founded his own company to manufacture engine components out of light alloys, and by 1927 split

390-836: 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. In August 1939, the Graf Zeppelin II conducted a reconnaissance flight along Great Britain 's coastline in an attempt to determine whether the 100 metre towers erected from Portsmouth to Scapa Flow were used for aircraft radio location. 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

429-626: The LZ ;126 , performed its first flight on 27 August 1924. However, the Goodyear-Zeppelin partnership was terminated following the outbreak of the Second World War . Despite this, the American company continued to produce blimps for several decades under the Goodyear name. During 1926, restrictions on airship construction were relaxed, but acquiring the necessary funds for Luftschiffbau Zeppelin's next project proved problematic in

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468-586: The Second World War , the company became involved in the manufacture of the V2 rocket ; its facilities were hit by Allied bombing raids and it all but ceased to exist in the final months of the conflict. During the 1980s, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH was revived from its residual assets. It has since become a major shareholder in the company ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH , which developed and produces

507-628: The Zeppelin NT , a next generation airship. During 1900, Count von Zeppelin's first airship performed its maiden flight . Initially, his research was being financed by the count himself, as well as by private donations, and even a lottery ; public interest in Zeppelin's activities grew with the success of each flight. In 1908, the Zeppelin LZ 4 was destroyed during a high-profile test flight. However, this apparent setback proved fortunate in

546-576: The world's first airline to use an aircraft in revenue service, in 1909 on the back of public interest and using its own airships. During the First World War , Zeppelins were employed as the first long distance strategic bombers , launching numerous raids upon Belgium , France , and the United Kingdom . Following Count von Zeppelin's death in 1917, control of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin fell to Dr. Hugo Eckener , an enthusiastic proponent of

585-473: The German public's enthusiasm for airships via the establishment of a commercial passenger-carrying company. By July 1914, DELAG's Zeppelins had transported 34,028 passengers on 1,588 commercial flights; the fleet had flown 172,535 kilometres in 3,176 hours. During the First World War , Imperial Germany decided to deploy Zeppelins as long-distance bombers, launching numerous attacks upon Belgium, France, and

624-457: The Mayor of Friedrichshafen . A stipulation had been placed upon the endowment that limited the use of its funds to the field of airships. Over the many years, the investment value of the endowment grew to a point where it had become viable for the funds to be put to use for the purpose of designing, developing, and constructing of a new generation of Zeppelins. In 1988, the first considerations into

663-527: The United Kingdom . While the direct military effect of these zeppelin raids has been seen as limited, their novelty generated widespread alarm and caused substantial resources to be diverted from the Western Front to address them. At the time, the impact of such raids was overestimated in terms of both the material and psychological effects of the bombing of cities. One inadvertent consequence

702-655: 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). By spring 1994, preparatory studies for a full-sized prototype were underway. In 1995, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt , Germany's civil aviation authority , officially recognized ZLT as

741-642: The civil value of airships. However, Germany's zeppelins were claimed by the Allies as war reparations . The company continued to innovate during the interwar period , constructing the largest rigid airship in history, the LZ 129 Hindenburg , lead ship of the Hindenburg class . However, the company's fortunes soured during the Nazi era, particularly following the high-profile Hindenburg disaster . Its airships were grounded and scrapped in 1940 to produce fixed-wing combat aircraft for Nazi Germany 's war machine. During

780-532: The company in order to focus more closely on the aero engine side of the business. On 1 July 1938 Hirth was killed in a plane crash in Karlsbad . Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships , commonly referred to as Zeppelins due to

819-681: The company was effectively divided, with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin making the airships and the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei company (affiliated with Lufthansa ) operating them. Officially, Hugo Eckener was the head of both entities but, in practice, Ernst Lehmann , who was less opposed to the Nazi regime, ran the latter. As a result of Eckener's criticism of the Nazi regime, Goebbels had ordered his censoring across all forms of public media in 1936. However, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin lost much of its favour amongst political circles following

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858-452: The company's prominence. The name 'Luftschiffbau' is a German word meaning building of airships . The company was founded by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1908 as a formal entity to continue advancing his pioneering research into rigid airships. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin became the leading manufacturer in the field of large lighter-than-air vehicles; its products were used in both military and civilian capacities. The firm founded DELAG ,

897-443: The difficult economic situation of post–First World War Germany, requiring two years of lobbying and publicity work to secure the realization of Graf Zeppelin , christened in honour of the firm's founder. On 18 September 1928, when the completed Graf Zeppelin flew for the first time. In the following years, it was not only commenced transatlantic commercial passenger flights but performed several record-breaking flights, including

936-521: The firm's competitor, the Mannheim -based Schütte-Lanz company. While their dirigibles were never as successful, Professor Schütte's more scientific approach to airship design led to innovations such as a streamlined hull shape, simpler cruciform fins (replacing the more complicated box-like arrangements of older Zeppelins), individual direct-drive engine cars, anti-aircraft machine-gun positions, and gas ventilation shafts that transferred vented hydrogen to

975-604: The following months transported passengers between Friedrichshafen and Berlin, and sister ship LZ 121 Nordstern (scrapped September 1926), which was intended for use on a regular route to Stockholm . However, in 1921, the Allied Powers demanded that these airships should be handed over as war reparations as compensation for the dirigibles destroyed by their crews in 1919. Germany was not allowed to construct military aircraft and only airships of less than 28,000 m (1,000,000 cu ft) were permitted. This brought

1014-641: The late 1930s Hans von Ohain developed a jet engine design while at Göttingen University . Despite having no engine facility, aircraft designer Heinkel employed him to continue his work. Together with Wilhelm Gundermann he developed a series of experimental engines, including the HeS 3B which powered the world's first jet aircraft, the Heinkel He 178 , in 1939. Hellmuth Hirth died in an aircraft crash in 1938. The RLM or Reichsluftfahrtministerium ("Reich aviation ministry") nationalised his company, and in 1942 it

1053-476: The long run since its loss caused a flood of public support; 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 . Luftschiffbau Zeppelin proceeded to design and manufacture a range of Zeppelin airships, which found use within both the civilian and military sectors. The company played

1092-546: The longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. 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. It subsequently performed propaganda flight around Germany in conjunction with other airships, in addition to transatlantic commercial passenger flights to destinations in both North and South America . The company's fortunes were greatly influenced by

1131-419: The newly formed development team filed several patents on various technologies that would be later used on the subsequent airship, these included propeller arrangements, structure and girder design, and ballonet implementation. In March 1991, a flyable remote control proof of concept model was demonstrated, which is claimed to have revealed excellent flight characteristics from the onset. In September 1993,

1170-411: 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 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, that had been under the trusteeship of

1209-521: The previous month, Allied bombing during Operation Bellicose had hit the Zeppelin V-2 facility, leading to production being subsequently relocated to the Mittelwerk . During the final months of the conflict, the company effectively ceased to exist, disappearing sometime around 1945. Almost 50 years following its disappearance, the company was regenerated from its residual assets. During 1993,

Hirth - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-562: The prohibitions on German aviation in this period, Hirth manufactured small marine and stationary engines , as well as motors for snowmobiles . In the early 1970s the company went into voluntary liquidation. The company was acquired by Hans Göbler , who continued making small two-stroke engines under the name of Gobler-Hirth Motoren Gmbh , and re-introduced aero engines to the range. In 2011 Gobler-Hirth were developing UAV piston engines to run on heavier jet fuel, because of its higher energy density and ease of handling. In 2018 Gobler-Hirth

1287-543: The rise of the Nazis to power in Germany during 1933. On the whole, Nazi Germany placed a greater value on 'heavier than air' aircraft over that of zeppelins due to their military superiority. Despite this, zeppelins were prominently used by the nation for a number of major propaganda campaigns, to great effect. As a consequence of accepting 11 million marks from Goebbels ' Ministry of Propaganda and Göring's Air Ministry,

1326-412: The technological and economic feasibility of reviving the Zeppelin industry began; this included examinations of historic Zeppelin documentation as well as current designs for airships. In December 1990, a feasibility study and accompanying market research program found an initial sales potential for around 80 Zeppelin airships for purposes such as tourism, advertising, and scientific research. In mid 1991,

1365-563: The top of the airship. New production facilities were set up to assemble Zeppelins from components fabricated in Friedrichshafen. In 1917, Count von Zeppelin died; control of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin fell to Dr. Hugo Eckener , who had long envisioned dirigibles as vessels of peace rather than of war and hoped to quickly resume civilian flights. Despite considerable difficulties, they completed two small passenger airships: LZ 120 Bodensee (scrapped July 1928), which first flew in August 1919 and in

1404-532: Was a German engineer who founded the Mahle GmbH and Hirth companies, manufacturing engine components and complete aircraft engines respectively. Hirth was born in Heilbronn , the son of engineer and tool-maker Albert Hirth. He was the elder brother of Wolf Hirth who would go on to become a famous sailplane designer and manufacturer. As a young man, Hirth was sent to the United States to train with

1443-467: Was taken over by Heinkel to form Heinkel-Hirth . While the existing piston engine series were continued, Heinkel also used the Hirth facilities for development work on their series of jet engines . Although Heinkel-Hirth had some technical success with this programme, their jet engines were not put into production. Following World War II , Hirth re-emerged as an independent company once again. Because of

1482-578: Was taken over by UMS Skeldar , a joint venture between the Swedish aerospace company Saab AB and Swiss drone maker UMS Aero Group in which UMS hold a majority share. The company was renamed Hirth Engines Gmbh . The Skeldar range of UAVs, originally developed by Saab, have introduced Hirth's heavy-fuel piston engines to the marketplace, alongside their established gasoline-fuelled products. Hellmuth Hirth Hellmuth Hirth ( German: [ˈhɛlmuːt ˈhɪʁt] ; 24 April 1886 – 1 July 1938)

1521-527: Was the launch of a parliamentary inquiry under Jan Smuts , whose report led to the creation of the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 1 April 1918. Zeppelin technology improved considerably as a result of the conflict. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin came under government control and new personnel were recruited to cope with the increased demand, including the aerodynamicist Paul Jaray and the stress engineer Karl Arnstein . Many technological advances originated from

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