Untold history: New book reveals tales from the first airship voyage around the world

On 15 August 1929, nan Spanish expert Jerónimo Megías fulfilled his dream by embarking connected nan first travel astir nan world successful nan Graf Zeppelin.

It was not nan first clip that Megías, King Alfonso XIII's individual physician, had boarded nan celebrated aircraft. In May of that twelvemonth he obtained a spot connected a travel that would return him and 17 different passengers from Friedrichshafen (Germany) to Lakehurst (New Jersey, United States).

On that occasion, nan zeppelin had to move backmost owed to motor nonaccomplishment while flying complete nan Spanish Mediterranean coast.

This time, however, nan situation was overmuch much ambitious: it would beryllium nan first round-the-world formation of a rider airship.

The travel was a success: nan LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin departed from Friedrichshafen towards Tokyo, wherever it made a stopover aft flying complete nan Soviet Union. It crossed nan Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles for a 2nd stopover and flew complete nan United States to Lakehurst, connected nan eastbound coast.

After crossing nan Atlantic Ocean, nan airship returned triumphantly to Germany connected 4 September 1929, a travel that lasted 20 days, 4 hours and 14 minutes.

Now, cartographer and subject writer Alejandro Polanco has revisited nan historical arena successful an illustrated book: ‘The first formation astir nan world successful nan Graf Zeppelin’.

A book to rescue nan history of zeppelins

The inaugural was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign connected Kickstarter. The consequence is simply a book, successful integer and people versions, which tells nan communicative of nan Graf Zeppelin done a ample postulation of restored images of nan time, arsenic good arsenic nan grounds of Jerónimo Megías, who wrote a book astir his acquisition connected nan round-the-world voyage.

“The task consisted of scanning nan mini photographs successful precocious resolution, translating nan method matter of nan medium from German into English and adapting it to create a precocious value hardcover book, adding fragments of Megías' recreation diary,” Polanco explained to Euronews Culture.

The restored medium includes much than 200 scenes of these airships, from their beginnings successful nan precocious 19th period to nan 1930s.

“In nan 1920s, mini photographs of zeppelins were sold successful Germany successful cigaret packs truthful that group could complete an medium pinch them,” says Polanco, who acquired nan medium from a backstage collector.

It has been a century, but nan photographs person been good preserved arsenic they are reproductions connected metallic bromide paper. The medium provided each miniature pinch a description.

Around nan world, told from nan inside

The format of nan original images is small, but they are highly elaborate and show different zeppelins flying, views captured from them and specifications of their interiors. Audiences of that clip could usage mini devices pinch lenses to enlarge nan scenes, moreover giving a consciousness of three-dimensional vision.

It was nan easiest measurement to get adjacent to an acquisition that was only accessible to a few: Dr Megías had to salary 7,000 dollars to get his summons astir nan world.

“I didn’t awkward distant from flying to London and I didn’t skimp connected radiograms to Berlin, Hamburg and Friedrichshafen. The title was fierce and nan conflict betwixt nan applicants was intense,” Megías said successful his memoirs of nan trip.

Megías compared nan acquisition connected committee nan Graf Zeppelin to a luxury hotel. The airship had each nan basal amenities: a room pinch a chef, a communications room that allowed passengers to nonstop and person telegrams by radio, and a lounge that served arsenic a eating room, surviving room and office.

The cabins had electrical lights and could accommodate 2 passengers. During nan day, nan beds could beryllium folded to make a sofa. There were besides folding tables by nan windows, immoderate folding chairs and compartments pinch curtains to shop belongings.

There was tremendous nationalist anticipation for nan round-the-world flight. American news magnate William Randolph Hearst knew it good and sponsored nan travel successful return for his media outlets having exclusive authorities to chronicle it.

Among nan 20 passengers connected nan craft was nan British journalist Lady Hay Drummond-Hay, sent by Hearst to nan zeppelin, who reported nan escapade while becoming nan first female to alert astir nan world.

The awesome of an era

Polanco's book not only specifications nan awesome voyage of nan LZ 127, but besides nan root of zeppelins, their humanities discourse and nan exertion they used.

It includes short biographies of cardinal people, specified arsenic nan laminitis of nan company, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, and nan technologist Hugo Eckener, who commanded nan airship connected its astir emblematic flights.

“The LZ 127 was a awesome of nan Weimar Republic, earlier Germany fell nether nan absolute powerfulness of nan Nazis successful 1933,” Polanco writes.

In summation to nan celebrated round-the-world journey, nan Graf Zeppelin made hundreds of trips, including a regular way crossed nan Atlantic to South America, carrying passengers, cargo and message without immoderate important mishaps until it was retired successful 1937.

It moreover made a ‘triangular’ travel betwixt Europe, South America and nan US, successful 1930.

The tragic mishap of nan LZ 129 Hindenburg, nan zeppelin that exploded successful New Jersey connected 6 May 1937, marked nan extremity of these aircraft’s aureate age. Besides, nan accelerated improvement of aeroplanes accelerated their decline.

“Nowadays nan caller airships alert acknowledgment to non-flammable helium. But I don’t deliberation helium would person saved nan aged zeppelins either, it was conscionable that nan Hindenburg disaster hastened an extremity that nan presence of improved craft had already heralded,” says Polanco successful nan book that pays tribute to these giants of nan sky.