History of the Zeppelin

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It was human kind ultimate dream to defy gravity and to be able to fly freely in the skies like a bird. Because of that dream, as early as 400 BC, humans had been experimenting with the idea of flying when a Greek scholar built a wooden pigeon that flew through the air. many after him had tried to fulfill that dream but failed , some of them succeeded but failed to sustain the flight , some even succeeded in sustaining the flight but failed due to unforeseen circumstances as their flying machines failed to live up to its expectation . One of the prime example was the zeppelin which was also known as a dirigible airship , The first zeppelin was invented , designed and constructed by Count Ferdinand Adolph Heinrich Von Zeppelin during the early 20th century (“THE ZEPPELIN” , ND)

The Zeppelin is a lighter than air aircraft which floats in the sky with engines providing forward thrust and its directional controls is provided by rudders and control surfaces. The main body of the Zeppelin is built with a rigid skeleton of metal alloy which was then covered by a fabric skin, within the structure, there were individual cells filled with lighter than air gases. The engines were installed under the main body in the gondolas; the cockpit was also located under the main body (“ZEPPELIN L32/33”, ND). The Zeppelin was originally used as a passenger and cargo transport purposes but during the World War One (WWI), it was used as a military offensive weapon, regularly conducting air raids (“AIRSHIPS”, ND). Although the Zeppelin was an engineering marvel in the early 20th century , the development of the heavier-than-air aircraft along with the lack of success in WWI and its technological deficiencies which causes frequent crashes quickly lead...

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...cies to grab the opportunity as it was proven time and again that harsh weather was its worst nemesis , that deficiency coupled along with the rapid development of aero plane , means that sooner if not later aero plane would replace zeppelin role in the skies . even the zeppelin inventor believe so when field marshal Paul Von Hindenburg revealed that Count Ferdinand Adolph Heinrich Von Zeppelin confided to him in 1916 , that the airship was obsolescent and the future belongs to the aero planes .

In conclusion, although the zeppelin was an impressive and remarkable step in aircraft development in the history of Germany, it prove to be a fair weather aircraft that was never meant to participate in wars or flying through harsh weather and with the development of aero planes, the roles of zeppelin was made obsolete and ending its era as an aeronautical dead end .

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