The “DELAG” Passenger Zeppelin “Victoria Louise”.
The ship’s 1000th trip, totaling 40,000 miles in 1292 hours and during which 22,039 passengers were carried without injury of any kind.
The “DELAG” Passenger Zeppelin “Victoria Louise”.
Count Zeppelin and Doctor Eckener beneath the ship.
The Zeppelin plant at Potsdam was erected in 1912 as an airship harbor and the following winter became one of the main construction centers with shed, workshops, and other necessary equipment. Here the passenger Zeppelin “Sachsen” was lengthened early in 1914. The last of the sixteen ships built there was the army Zeppelin LZ-81 late in 1916, after which, because the shed was too small for the larger ships, it was used for building giant seaplanes. Later on it was converted into a special repair factory of all the airship motors. The airship personnel was transferred to the Staaken plant near Berlin.
The Colossal Staaken Plant
The Zeppelin-Staaken plant ([Plate 17]), located in the outskirts of Berlin is considered the most modern airship factory in the world.
Into it were put all the knowledge and experience of ten years of practical airship production. There were at one time two large sheds 820 feet (250 meters) long, 150.8 feet (46 meters) wide and 114.8 feet (35 meters) high, with a ring building shed between them, great workshops, research laboratories, administration building, hydrogen plant and all accessories.
The latest and most efficient machinery and tools then devised were provided. A large airdrome was constructed, as it was planned to make Staaken the post-war center of Zeppelin airship activity.
Here it was planned to locate both stationary and rotary sheds, the latter turning like a locomotive turn-table, making it possible to point their entrances in any direction the prevailing wind might dictate, to insure safe launching or landing of the Zeppelins. Then there were to be airplane factories on the same airdrome. It was at the Staaken plant that the L-59 was fabricated for the record flight to German East Africa and return. In all, twelve Zeppelins were built there.