LZ 132

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LZ 132 was the name of an airship concept study carried out in the 1950s . On the basis of known technologies and in particular the unfinished airship LZ 131 , two airship versions were proposed within the study: a passenger version for 70 to 100 passengers and a freight version for 30 t of cargo.

background

Around the airship commander Max Pruss and other former airships of the so-called Frankfurter Kreis, the first ideas arose in the early 1950s to revive large airship travel. After an investor had expressed interest in buying a new airship, a commission of experts was founded, which began work on a feasibility study on September 1, 1956. After an interim report was presented at the end of February 1957, the final version of the study was completed on June 24, 1957. The study was presented to the potential investor in September 1957, but the investor decided against the commissioning. In the end, the LZ 132 never got beyond the conception phase.

technology

As part of the concept study, the LZ 132 was proposed as a rigid airship of the tried and tested Zeppelin design. Motivated by the Hindenburg disaster , however, it was planned to operate the airship with helium instead of hydrogen as the lifting gas . Compared to the zeppelins of the 1930s, the use of new types of plastic casings and plastic gas cells, new aluminum alloys and lifting gas heating were also planned.

In terms of technology, the LZ 132 would have been based on the unfinished LZ 131 . A volume of 223,000 m³ of helium, a diameter of 41.7 m and a length of 265 m were planned as key data.

With airship engines mounted inside the airship fuselage, a top speed of 120 to 147 km / h was expected.

Two possible business areas were envisaged as the intended use: Firstly, passenger transport to North and South America (100 passengers for North American trips, 70 for South American trips), and secondly, use as a large cargo airship with a transport capacity of up to 30 t.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Waibel, B. (2002): The LZ 132 project. Revitalization of Zeppelin Air Shipping in the 1950s ?, In: Wolfgang Meighöfer (Ed.): Airships that were never built . Publication for the exhibition “Airships that were never built” from June 21 to September 15 at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen. Verlag Robert Gessler, Friedrichshafen 2002, ISBN 3-86136-076-4 . P. 139 f.
  2. ↑ Waibel, B. (2002): The LZ 132 project. Revitalization of Zeppelin Air Shipping in the 1950s ?, In: Wolfgang Meighöfer (Ed.): Airships that were never built . Publication for the exhibition “Airships that were never built” from June 21 to September 15 at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen. Verlag Robert Gessler, Friedrichshafen 2002, ISBN 3-86136-076-4 . P. 146 ff.

literature

  • Wolfgang Meighöfer (Ed.): Airships that were never built . Publication for the exhibition “Airships that were never built” from June 21 to September 15 at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen. Verlag Robert Gessler, Friedrichshafen 2002, ISBN 3-86136-076-4 . Pp. 9-11.
  • Waibel, B. (2002): The LZ 132 project. Revitalization of Zeppelin Air Shipping in the 1950s ?, In: Wolfgang Meighöfer (Ed.): Airships that were never built . Publication for the exhibition “Airships that were never built” from June 21 to September 15 at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen. Verlag Robert Gessler, Friedrichshafen 2002, ISBN 3-86136-076-4 . Pp. 139-149.

See also