Ferdinand von Zeppelin
Ferdinand Adolf August Heinrich Graf von Zeppelin (8 July 1838 – 8 March 1917) was a German general and aero inventor who served in the army of Württemberg. His eponym ("Zeppelin") entered standard use to mean a large lighter-than-air vessel with a long balloon in a rigid frame.
Von Zeppelin accompanied John Steiner on a balloon trip over St. Paul, Minnesota, on 19 August 1863. President Lincoln had personally authorized von Zeppelin's visit to America for the purpose of studying the ongoing war and concomitant technological developments. He participated in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.[1]
Following unsuccessful efforts to prod the German government into backing airships, von Zeppelin independently financed a line of Luftschiff Zeppelin vessels, beginning in 1898 with the LZ-1. Completed in 1900, the LZ-1 was 420 feet long and 38 feet in diameter, with a frame made from aluminum-zinc alloy. This vessel, three times bigger than its largest predecessors, contained 400,000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas divided into 17 compartments. Its propellers were powered by two 14-horsepower Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft engines. It used a 100 kg weight and rudders for navigation. On 2 July 1900, the LZ-1 flew for 18 minutes above Lake Constance (on the Rhine)[2] at a speed of 17½ mph.[3]
See Zeppelin company and Zeppelin Foundation for Promotion of Airship Navigation.
Originality
Zeppelin's designs were not original, say some commentators, who credit Joseph Spiess[4], or David Schwarz, with developing the rigid frame design."
"As a matter of fact Count Zeppelin added nothing strikingly new to his airships—he simply made them much larger than any of their predecessors; thus increasing the net lifting power and multiplying the number of engines and the horse-power."[5]
Patents whose inventor or applicant is Ferdinand von Zeppelin or Ferdinand Graf Zeppelin
- Patent LU-1898-3061 (English title: Aerostat with multiple separate motors, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580)
- Patent DE-1895-98580 (English title: Steerable aircraft with several support bodies arranged one behind the other, Filing date: 1895-08-31)
- Patent DE-1897-103569 (English title: Aircraft with slidable towline, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580, Filing date: 1897-12-28)
- Patent US-1897-621195 (English title: Navigable balloon, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580, Filing date: 1897-12-29)
- Patent FR-1898-273723 (English title: dirigible with multiple independent motors, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580)
- Patent AT-1898-2834 (English title: Aircraft with multiple motors arranged separately)
- Patent NO-1898-6789 (English title: Controllable airship with several independent motors)
- Patent HU-1898-11446 (English title: Air vehicle with separate mótors, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580, Filing date: 1898-01-03)
- Patent GB-1898-131 (English title: Navigable Balloons, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580, Filing date: 1898-01-03)
- Patent CH-1898-16343 (English title: Aircraft, whose 'Zug-body' is provided with separate arranged motors, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580, Filing date: 1898-01-03)
- Patent DK-1898-2890 (English title: Airship with multiple motors arranged one after the other, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580, Filing date: 1898-01-03)
- Patent CA-1899-64001 (English title: Balloon, Supplementary to patent: Patent DE-1895-98580, Filing date: 1899-01-03)
- Patent DE-1916-314702 (English title: Two-piece hollow rod for taping of light beams, Filing date: 1916-12-06)
- Patents to include if we haven't already
- https://patents.google.com/patent/US855920A
- https://patents.google.com/patent/GB190502119A
- https://patents.google.com/patent/GB190502119A
- https://patents.google.com/patent/FR7791E
- https://patents.google.com/patent/FR351226A
- https://patents.google.com/patent/GB189800131A
- https://patents.google.com/patent/GB190711138A
- https://patents.google.com/patent/CA64001A
- And figure out the number and details of this one: http://aero.referata.com/wiki/Patent_DE-1916-mc
Links
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin (English-Language Article)
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin (German-Language Article)
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin (French-Language Article)
| Names | Ferdinand Adolf August Heinrich Graf von Zeppelin |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 1838-07-08 |
| Death date | 1917-03-08 |
| Countries | DE, Württemberg |
| Locations | Friedrichshafen |
| Occupations | military officer, nobility |
| Tech areas | Zeppelin, Dirigible, LTA, Rigid |
| Affiliations | |
| Wikidata id | Q75780 |
References
- ↑ Hallion, 2003, p. 94.
- ↑ Hallion, 2003, p. 97–98.
- ↑ Black, 1943, p. 22.
- ↑ « Chronologie Aéronautique » pages of Aéro-Manuel 1914
- ↑ David, 1919, Aircraft, p. 7.
