Olketa Zeppelin​—Sapraesing Samting Long Skae wea Big Tumas

“DADI bilong mi hem man wea iusim radio insaed wanfala zeppelin, and hem barava enjoyim tumas datfala waka,” hem nao samting wea Ingeborg Waldorf talem Wekap! Tru nao, early long mek-20 century, pipol long planti ples long world barava sapraes long olketa bigfala airship hia. Nomata wea nao olketa flae go long hem, pipol barava interest long olketa.

Olketa iusim olketa bigfala airship hia long early part bilong mek-20 century. Olketa barava big samting long datfala taem bikos long wanem olketa savve duim and bikos long wei wea planti long olketa end long barava bigfala disaster. Taem datfala Hindenburg hem bosta and foldaon long Lakehurst, New Jersey, U.S.A., long 1937, wei for iusim bigfala airship hia hem finis nao. Bat hem interesting tumas for lane abaotem olketa samting wea happen long taem wea olketa iusim olketa airship.

From Hot-Air Balloon Go Long Airship

For planti handred year olketa savveman trae hard for faendem wei for man savve flae. Long mek-18 century, tufala man long France, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier lukim wei wea smoke hem go ap long air and tufala tingim hao smoke mas garem wanfala spesol samting long hem wea maet helpem man for flae. So, olketa mekem wanfala bigfala bag from pepa and kaleko and holem ovarem wanfala fire wea garem bigfala smoke. Olketa man long vilij wea kam for lukim diswan barava sapraes taem bigfala bag hia hem go ap long skae. Datwan hem long June 1783, and tufala brata hia first wan for mekem hot-air balloon. Faevfala month bihaen hem firstfala taem for wanfala man flae insaed wanfala balloon wea tufala brata hia wakem.

Bat nogud samting abaotem olketa balloon nao, hem hao balloon no garem eni steer, and mas muv followim wind. Olketa balloon hia needim wanfala wei for pushim olketa followim wea nao man laek go long hem. First man wea mekem wei for pushim balloon go forward taem hem go ap hem man bilong France Henri Giffard, wea long 1852 hem flaem wanfala airship wea steam nao mekem hem muv. Giffard no iusim hot air for mekem hem go ap, hem iusim hydrogen, wanfala gas wea no hevi olsem air. From man savve steerim airship bilong Giffard, olketa kolem datwan wanfala dirigible—word wea kam from Latin word dirigere, wea minim “for steer.”

Samting olsem tenfala year bihaen, wanfala German army officer hem go long North America for lukim datfala Civil War, wea tufala saed evriwan iusim olketa balloon for lukluk long ples wea olketa enemy stap. Hem barava tinghae long firstfala taem wea hem flae insaed balloon wea flae ovarem Mississippi River, dastawe gogo nem bilong hem barava join witim evri samting saed long olketa airship. Nem bilong hem nao, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin.

Olketa Bigfala Airship Bilong Count Zeppelin

Luk olsem Zeppelin kasem design for wanfala airship wea garem aluminium frame from wanfala savveman from Croatia wea nem bilong hem David Schwarz. Zeppelin barava interest long idea for garem wanfala airship wea fit for karem staka passenger or hevi kago. Olketa airship bilong hem luk spesol from olketa barava big fogud and garem sheip olsem wanfala cucumber. Olketa Zeppelin garem metal frame and olketa kavarem frame witim kaleko.a Insaed or andanit long frame hem wanfala cabin, wea crew stap insaed. Olketa passenger stap insaed long datfala cabin or barava insaed long bele bilong airship. Hydrogen gas nao mekem hem go ap, wea stap insaed olketa gas bag insaed long frame. Olketa engine wea olketa joinim go long frame aotsaed mekem diswan muv. Pipol tingse Count Zeppelin hem krangge and ova tumas taem hem go ahed for traem enikaen niu design for mekem olketa moabeta. Bat gogo bae hem win nao.

Count Zeppelin finis for serve long army and hem spendem full taem bilong hem for designim and wakem olketa airship. Firstfala zeppelin bilong hem flae for firstfala taem klosap long Friedrichshafen, Germany, long July 1900. Bigfala crowd bilong pipol hipap raonem Lake Constance taem disfala airship, wea long bilong hem samting olsem 127 meter, flae ovarem wata for 18 minute. Wanfala company for wakem olketa airship Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH hem start, and olketa wakem planti moa airship. Long datfala taem pipol no ting long Count Zeppelin olsem wanfala krangge man; bat olsem wanfala bigman long full world. Ruler bilong Germany kolem hem man bilong Germany wea winim evri nara man long Germany long mek-20 century.

First Passenger Air Service Bilong World

Count Zeppelin ting long olketa bigfala airship bilong hem olsem wei for Germany winim olketa nara kantri for kontrolem skae. Long World War I, army bilong Germany iusim olketa zeppelin for spae long olketa enemy and for dropim olketa bomb. Wanfala attak wea spoelem staka samting winim eni narafala attak long datfala war hem taem wanfala zeppelin flae ovarem London.

Nomata olsem, olketa luksavve hao olketa airship hia barava fitim for mekem wanfala passenger air service. So, long 1909 olketa startim datfala Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktien-Gesellschaft (German Airship Transport Company), wea hem nao firstfala passenger air service long world. Long olketa year bihaen disfala service go long olketa nara ples aotsaed long Europe. Tufala zeppelin, Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg, flae from Germany go kasem Rio de Janeiro and then go long Lakehurst.

Pipol long United States barava interest long olketa zeppelin. Bihaen datfala Graf Zeppelin hem flae for first taem akrosim Atlantic Ocean from Friedrichshafen go kasem East Coast bilong United States long 1928—wea hem kasem problem long datfala gogo—President Coolidge ran go aot from White House for lukim bigfala airship hia go pas. Pipol long New York barava hapi narawe; olketa barava welkamim olketa long wei for standap long saed road and singaot taem crew bilong Graf go pas insaed trak.

Go Insaed Long Hindenburg

Wei for flae insaed airship hem difren from olketa aeroplane. Tingim sapos iu go insaed datfala Hindenburg, wea hem thri taems moa long winim wanfala jumbo jet and hem hae olsem wanfala 13-storey building. Bae olketa no markem chair for iu, bat wanfala smol rum wea garem bed and ples for swim. Bae iu no needim seat belt taem hem start for muv. Iu savve stap long rum bilong iu or strol long olketa bigfala area or rum and luk aot long olketa window wea iu savve openem. Olketa samting hia for olketa passenger stap insaed long bigfala bele bilong airship.

Olsem datfala buk Hindenburg—An Illustrated History talem, 50 passenger kaikai insaed bigfala rum for kaikai long olketa tebol wea olketa kavarem witim white kaleko and wea garem olketa naes spoon and pleit. Taem olketa akrosim Atlantic, olketa long kitchen iusim 200 kilogram bilong meat and kokorako, 800 egg, and 100 kilogram bilong butter. Kitchen hia garem stove, olketa oven, ice machine and ice box wea iusim electric. Wanfala piano stap long main rum, wea wanfala woman attendant luk aftarem olketa passenger.

Olketa wakem datfala Hindenburg no for go fast, bat for olketa passenger savve relax insaed. From speed bilong hem klosap 130 kilometer insaed wan hour and hem 200 meter hae, wanfala taem long 1936 datfala Hindenberg akrosim North Atlantic Ocean long klosap 43 hour. Planti taem datfala gogo hem smooth. Long wanfala gogo from Lakehurst, wanfala woman passenger barava taed, so taem hem go insaed datfala airship hem stap long rum bilong hem and sleep. Bihaen, hem singaot long attendant and askem hem wanem taem nao airship bae flae. Datfala attendant sapraes and explainim hao hem flae for tu hour finis. Woman hia sei witim kros, “mi no bilivim iu.” Woman hia just bilivim taem hem luk aot long window and lukim saed sea long New England klosap 100 meter long daon.

Aircraft wea Staka Pipol Savve Long Hem Winim Eni Narawan

Best taem for olketa zeppelin nao hem long 1929 taem datfala Graf Zeppelin flae raonem full world. Hem start long Lakehurst and hem flae raonem world from west go kasem east insaed 21 day. Hem landing long Friedrichshafen, long Tokyo—wea klosap 250,000 pipol hipap for welkamim hem—and tu long San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tufala year bihaen datfala Graf duim spesol samting moa taem hem flae go long Arctic for meetim wanfala ship for kat thru long ice from Russia. Hindenburg—An Illustrated History hem sei: “Kasem datfala taem, pipol barava tinghae long datfala Graf Zeppelin. Nomata wea nao hem go, pipol barava interest for kam lukim. Maet iumi fit for sei moa pipol savve long hem winim eni nara samting wea flae—nomata Concorde bilong distaem tu.”

Olketa nara kantri tu barava tingse olketa airship hia bae go ahed long future. Britain garem plan for iusim olketa bigfala airship for pipol savve go and kam bak from olketa farawe ples wea stap anda long rul bilong hem olsem India and Australia. Long United States, datfala Shenandoah hem firstfala airship wea garem strong frame wea iusim helium gas and no hydrogen gas wea savve bone. Datfala Akron and datfala Macon savve karem olketa smol aeroplane wea savve flae go aot and kam bak long hem, wea olketa keepim insaed bele bilong olketa. From hem garem kaen radio wea helpem pilot for flaem plane kam bak long hem, datfala Macon kamap firstfala aircraft carrier wea savve flae long world.

Olketa Bigfala Disaster

Ingeborg Waldorf wea iumi storyim firstaem, hem sei, “Tru nao, dadi bilong mi laekem tumas for flae. Bat hem wari abaotem olketa danger.” Dadi bilong hem flae long World War I, bat nomata long taem bilong peace, for flae long wanfala airship—nomata olketa duim olketa sapraesing samting finis—hem wanfala danger samting. Hao nao olsem?

Barava danger samting long zeppelin nao hem weather. Weather distroem 8-fala long 24 airship wea company bilong Count Zeppelin wakem. Long 1925, olketa strong wind brekem evribit datfala airship Shenandoah taem hem flae. And nara tufala airship foldaon from skae from barava nogud weather—datfala Akron long 1933 and datfala Macon klosap tufala year bihaen—wea diswan nao markem end bilong olketa big airship wea garem strong frame long America.

Britain go ahed for hope long datfala airship wea garem nem R 101. Long 1930 long firstfala gogo bilong hem from Britain go kasem India, taem datfala R 101 kasem France nomoa, hem go insaed barava nogud weather wea mekem hem foldaon. Wanfala man for raet hem talem hao “no eni nara disaster bihaen long Titanic long 1912 hem mekem pipol long Britain seke olsem datwan.” Wei wea Britain iusim olketa bigfala airship hem finis nao.

Nomata olsem, long Germany olketa still ting long airship olsem gudfala wei for flae. Then wanfala disaster hem happen wea mekem full world seke. Long May 1937 datfala Hindenberg hem flae from Frankfurt go kasem New Jersey and hem redy for duim landing long Lakehurst Naval Air Station. Seknomoa, smolfala fire hem kamaot from antap long hem klosap long tail. Hydrogen insaed olketa gas bag kwiktaem mekem full airship hem bone. Thirti-six pipol dae.

For firstaem, olketa niusman witim film camera stap for filmim datwan taem hem go ahed. Olketa showim disfala 34-second nius film abaotem datfala disaster wea start from taem olketa lukim firstfala fire go kasem taem bigfala airship hia hem bangam graon, raonem full world, witim sorre toktok bilong datfala niusman wea sei: “Hem bone, fire bonem full airship . . . Sorre for olketa passenger!” World iusim olketa bigfala airship for winim 30 year; bat evri samting hia finis insaed 34 second.

Wanfala Niu Genereson Bilong Olketa Zeppelin

Friedrichshafen nating lusim interest bilong hem long olketa zeppelin. Olketa wea visitim datfala Zeppelin Museum savve go insaed wanfala sekson bilong datfala Hindenburg wea olketa buildim bak bihaen. Wanfala man wea waka long museum and wea lukim datfala Hindenburg long Berlin Olympics long 1936, sei olsem long Wekap!: “Hem hard for mi minim long iu feeling wea man garem taem hem lukim wanfala zeppelin. Hem barava big samting.”

Distaem olketa designim olketa niu zeppelin wea iusim olketa niu technology. Olketa no big olsem olketa zeppelin bifor. Olketa designim for olketa tourist, main wan nao olketa wea rich, and olketa bae no spoelem environment.” Waswe, bae olketa winim olketa barava bigfala zeppelin bilong bifor? Iumi lukim wanem nao bae happen.

[Footnotes]

[Piksa long page 10]

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin

[Credit Line]

Olketa photo long page 10: Archiv der Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH

[Olketa piksa long page 11]

Boeing 747

Hindenburg

Titanic

[Olketa piksa long page 12, 13]

Left go long right: Datfala “Graf Zeppelin” flae ovarem Philadelphia; kontrol rum; guest rum

[Credit Line]

Archiv der Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH

[Olketa piksa long page 14]

Datfala “Hindenburg” disaster long Lakehurst long 1937 hem samting wea mekem wei for iusim olketa bigfala airship hem finis

[Credit Line]

Olketa photo: Brown Brothers