LZ 4

Contemporary postcard

Zeppelin stone in memory of LZ 4 in Echterdingen

The Zeppelin LZ 4 was the fourth rigid airship that was built and tested under the direction of Ferdinand von Zeppelin . On August 5, 1908 , it burned on a test drive after an accident near Echterdingen .

history

After the previous Zeppelin LZ 3 had proven to be a success, Ferdinand von Zeppelin received government grants of 500,000 marks for the construction of the successor model . However, the condition was that the new zeppelin should be able to complete a 24-hour journey. Ludwig Dürr therefore had to significantly revise the design of LZ 3 by lengthening the hull from 126 to 149 m and increasing the number of gas cells to 17.

Construction and testing

Construction of the airship began in November 1907 and the first flight took place on June 20 of the following year. It turned out that the rudders provided were insufficient for a ship of this size. Therefore, additional rudders were installed between the double tail units at the stern. The bow rudder, however, was dismantled for lack of effectiveness. The first long journey took place on July 1st, lasted twelve hours and led from Friedrichshafen to Lucerne and back again, covering a distance of 386 km. The required 24-hour journey was then prepared for July 13th, but shortly after take-off a propeller failed and the journey had to be broken off.

Mainz (Echterdinger) ride

Another attempt, which was to lead along the Rhine to Mainz and back, took place on August 4th with 12 people and fuel on board for a 31-hour journey. Via Strasbourg , the bow engine had to be stopped for the transfer of fuel, and the slower speed meant that the dynamic downforce decreased, the ship rose to 820 m and let off hydrogen there via a valve. This was repeated with further refueling, so that the LZ 4 was only kept in the air by dynamic buoyancy, which reduced the speed to 16 km / h. LZ 4 landed on Kornsand near Oppenheim in the late afternoon to unload ballast and continued the journey a few hours later.

Mainz could be reached around midnight, and the ship set out on its way back, but a good two hours later a crankshaft bearing was damaged on an engine. In order to repair this damage with the help of Daimler employees from Untertürkheim , LZ 4 landed at Echterdingen that morning and was moored there. The bow motor was removed for the repairs. In the afternoon, however, a storm gust tore the Zeppelin from its anchorage. His anchor got caught in a row of trees, ripping open the gas cells and catching fire. LZ 4 was completely destroyed in this accident. Except for two slightly injured airshipmen and one soldier, no people were injured, although the landing of the airship had attracted tens of thousands of onlookers.

Aftermath

Despite this failure, LZ 4 ultimately proved to be a success for Ferdinand von Zeppelin: The accident brought his project nationwide attention and willingness to help, and the Zeppelin donation by the German people in connection with the sale of souvenirs made from the metal of LZ 4 raised 6 million marks which allowed Zeppelin to operate in a professional company with the establishment of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH .

A zeppelin stone was later erected as a memorial at the site of the event . A model of LZ 4 is on display in the Dresden Transport Museum.

Technical specifications

Carrying gas volume: 17,300 m³ hydrogen
Length: 149 m
Diameter: 14.0 m
Drive: two Daimler engines of 105 PS (77 kW) each
Speed: 48 km / h
Air endurance: 30 hours

Overview of trips from LZ 4

The following list includes the eight journeys of LZ 4 (partly interrupted by stopovers):

date	Time	Places of the route (selection)	Art	Number of inmates	annotation	receipt
June 20, 1908	17: 00-18: 30	Bodensee (floating Reichshalle ) - towards the Swiss shore - Reichshalle	Factory trip	17th	Side tax proved to be insufficient	Tittel 1988, p. 12 ff.
June 23, 1908	14: 45-18: 40	Bodensee (floating Reichshalle ) - directions Lindau , Langenargen , Konstanz , Schweizer Ufer - stopover on Lake Constance - Friedrichshafen ( castle ) - Reichshalle	Factory trip		Test of the changed rudder, interim admission of Zeppelin's daughter and other passengers	Tittel 1988, p. 16 f.
June 29, 1908	11: 56-18: 04	Bodensee (floating Reichshalle ) - Romanshorn - Friedrichshafen - Schussen estuary - Langenargen - Romanshorn - stopover on Lake Constance - Langenargen - Friedrichshafen - Immenstaad - Konstanz - Immenstaad - Reichshalle	Factory trip	16	Test of the newly modified rear control	Tittel 1988, p. 18 ff.
July 1, 1908	08: 26-20: 26	Lake Constance (floating Reichshalle ) - Constance - Stein - Schaffhausen - Lucerne - Zurich - Winterthur - Rhine delta - Reichshalle	Continuous trip (also Swiss trip )	12	new airship record in terms of travel distance (384 km) and duration (12 h)	Tittel 1988, p. 22 ff.
July 3, 1908	15: 29-18: 50	Bodensee (floating Reichshalle ) - Friedrichshafen - stopover on Lake Constance - Friedrichshafen - Mainau - Überlingen - Hagnau - Immenstaat - Manzell - Reichshalle	Round trip (also king and queen trip )		Ride of the Württemberg royal couple	Tittel 1988, p. 29 ff.
July 14, 1908	Start at noon	Bodensee (floating Reichshalle ) - Konstanz - Reichshalle	Test drive		Trip aborted due to engine failure	Tittel 1988, p. 33 f.
July 15, 1908	Start attempt at noon	Bodensee (floating Reichshalle )	Test drive		Start canceled due to collision with the Reichshalle (damage to the outer shell and framework)	Tittel 1988, p. 35
4th / 5th August 1908	06: 22–17: 24 (part 1) 22: 22–07: 51 (part 2)	Bodensee (floating Reichshalle ) - Konstanz - Schaffhausen - Basel - Strasbourg - Speyer - Mannheim - stopover on the Rhine near Kornsand (end of part 1) - Mainz - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Echterdingen (end of part 2)	Continuous trip (also Mainz trip or Echterdinger trip )	12 (part 1) 7 (part 2)	premature end of journey due to airship damage in Echterdingen (total loss)	Tittel 1988, p. 36 ff.

Web links

Commons : LZ 4 - collection of images, videos and audio files

Armin Brandt: "The happiest of all accidents". 100 years ago, Count Zeppelin's airship LZ 4 exploded near Echterdingen. In: deutschlandfunk.de. August 5, 2008, accessed July 2, 2018 .

René Granacher: "Flying cigar" on the grain sand . In: echo-online.de. October 21, 2016, accessed July 2, 2018 .

Individual evidence

^ Lutz Tittel: The journeys of the LZ 4 1908. Writings on the history of the Zeppelin airship No. 1, 4th edition, Städtisches Bodensee-Museum Friedrichshafen - Zeppelin department, Friedrichshafen 1988, ISBN 3-926162-51-1 , p. 16.
↑ Sabine Ochaba: 110 years ago: LZ 4 - Das Schicksalsschiff part 2. In: Zeppelin Museum Blog. Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, August 3, 2018, accessed on February 18, 2019 .
^ Lutz Tittel: The trips of the LZ 4 1908. Writings on the history of the Zeppelin airship No. 1, 4th edition, Städtische Bodensee-Museum Friedrichshafen - Zeppelin department, Friedrichshafen 1988, ISBN 3-926162-51-1 , p. 46.
^ Lutz Tittel: The trips of the LZ 4 1908. Writings on the history of the Zeppelin airship No. 1, 4th edition, Städtisches Bodensee-Museum Friedrichshafen - Zeppelin department, Friedrichshafen 1988, ISBN 3-926162-51-1 , passim .

[1] Lutz Tittel: The journeys of the LZ 4 1908. Writings on the history of the Zeppelin airship No. 1, 4th edition, Städtisches Bodensee-Museum Friedrichshafen - Zeppelin department, Friedrichshafen 1988, ISBN 3-926162-51-1 , p. 16.

[2] Sabine Ochaba: 110 years ago: LZ 4 - Das Schicksalsschiff part 2. In: Zeppelin Museum Blog. Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, August 3, 2018, accessed on February 18, 2019 .

[3] Lutz Tittel: The trips of the LZ 4 1908. Writings on the history of the Zeppelin airship No. 1, 4th edition, Städtische Bodensee-Museum Friedrichshafen - Zeppelin department, Friedrichshafen 1988, ISBN 3-926162-51-1 , p. 46.

[4] Lutz Tittel: The trips of the LZ 4 1908. Writings on the history of the Zeppelin airship No. 1, 4th edition, Städtisches Bodensee-Museum Friedrichshafen - Zeppelin department, Friedrichshafen 1988, ISBN 3-926162-51-1 , passim .