The “DELAG” Passenger Zeppelin “Bodensee.”
Passengers at Friedrichshafen embarking for Berlin.
During the latter part of 1910, minor accidents occurred which sometimes damaged the airships and disrupted the service, but in 1911 a comparatively regular service was established and maintained. The principal ship was the “Schwaben,” ([Plates 5] and [30]) which was far superior to her predecessors and which had the advantage of new and larger sheds at the Zeppelin-“DELAG” airports. The schedule maintained by the “Schwaben” justifies the assertion that the “DELAG” operated the first commercial aerial transport company on earth. Her success encouraged expansion, and in 1912, two additional ships, the “Victoria Louise” ([Plates 31]-[32]) and the “Hansa” ([Plate 33]) were built and entered the “DELAG” service, to be followed the next year by the “Sachsen”, ([Plate 33]).
Part of the Aviation Reserve
The German Army commandeered all these commercial Zeppelins at the start of the war. They were used partly for military duty and partly as training ships for the many necessary crews. The first year of the war, they added hundreds of flights to the commercial record they had already made; but gradually became obsolete and were dismantled to make room for the newer and more efficient types being turned out at the Zeppelin Plants.
The headquarters of the “DELAG” were at Frankfort. It was from that city that the chief executives controlled operations. The Business Manager had charge of the financial and commercial activities. He supervised salaries, purchase of supplies, materials, etc. Flying operations were in charge of a Director of Flight. He had charge of the personnel at the air harbors; and all technical problems were put up to him.
The crew of a commercial Zeppelin included the pilot, a reserve pilot, a flight mechanic, helmsmen and engineers, the number depending on the nature of the flight, a wireless operator and a ship’s steward. The crew usually aggregated twelve men.
Created the First Airship Harbor
As far as practicable, each Zeppelin was assigned to a definite air harbor, which was known as its home station, or terminal. Here all the repairs and maintenance were done. The members of the crew were assigned to suitable homes, all located in that immediate vicinity. The maintenance crews for airships and sheds were also stationed there. These auxiliaries averaged thirty persons under the direction of a foreman. They, too, formed the nucleus for the landing party necessary to handle the airships on arrival or departure. Each air harbor had a manager and his assistants to handle business details.
PLATE 45