Editing Zeppelin (section)

===Before World War I===
[[File:LZ7 passenger zeppelin mod.jpg|thumbnail|LZ 7 ''Deutschland'']]
Before World War I (1914–1918) the Zeppelin company manufactured 21 more airships. The [[Imperial German Army]] bought LZ&nbsp;3 and LZ&nbsp;5 (a sister-ship to LZ&nbsp;4 which was completed in May 1909) and designated them Z&nbsp;I and Z&nbsp;II respectively.<ref>Robinson 1971, p. 14</ref> Z&nbsp;II was wrecked in a gale in April 1910,<ref name="Fl_1079">{{cite journal|journal= [[Flight International|Flight]]|date= 30 October 1914  |title= Germany's Airships |page= 1076 |url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1914/1914%20-%201076.html}}</ref> while Z&nbsp;I flew until 1913, when it was decommissioned and replaced by LZ&nbsp;15, designated ''ersatz'' Z&nbsp;I.<ref name=Fl_1079/> First flown on 16 January 1913, it was wrecked on 19 March of the same year. In April 1913 its newly built sister-ship LZ&nbsp;15 (Z&nbsp;IV) accidentally intruded into French airspace owing to a navigational error caused by high winds and poor visibility. The commander judged it proper to land the airship to demonstrate that the incursion was accidental, and brought the ship down on the military parade-ground at [[Lunéville]]. The airship remained on the ground until the following day, permitting a detailed examination by French airship experts.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times|title = The German Airship Incident|department= News|date= 5 April 1913|page= 8|issue= 40178|column= B}}</ref>

In 1909, Count Zeppelin founded the world's first airline, the Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft (German Airship Travel Corporation), generally known as [[DELAG]]<ref name="Robinson 1971, p. 15">Robinson 1971, p. 15</ref> to promote his airships, initially using LZ&nbsp;6, which he had hoped to sell to the German Army. Notable aviation figures like [[Wright brothers|Orville Wright]] offered critical perspectives on the Zeppelin; in a September 1909 New York Times interview,<ref>{{Cite news |title="WIRIGHT SEES NO HOPE IN ZEPPELIN AIRSHIP" |url=https://nyti.ms/48FHcwL |work=The New York Times |page=21 |publication-date=5 September 1909}}</ref> Wright compared airships to steam engines nearing their developmental peak, while seeing airplanes as akin to gas engines with untapped potential for innovation.The airships did not provide a scheduled service between cities, but generally operated pleasure cruises, carrying twenty passengers. The airships [[List of Zeppelins|were given names]] in addition to their production numbers. LZ&nbsp;6 first flew on 25 August 1909 and was accidentally destroyed in Baden-Oos on 14 September 1910 by a fire in its hangar.<ref>Robinson 1973, p. 57.</ref>

[[File:Trotzdem vorwärts groß.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A monument near [[Bad Iburg]] commemorating the 1910 LZ 7 crash]]

The second DELAG airship, LZ&nbsp;7 ''Deutschland'', made its maiden voyage on 19 June 1910. On 28 June it set off on a voyage to publicise Zeppelins, carrying 19 journalists as passengers. A combination of adverse weather and engine failure brought it down at Mount Limberg near [[Bad Iburg]] in Lower Saxony, its hull getting stuck in trees. All passengers and crew were unhurt, except for one crew member who broke his leg when he jumped from the craft.<ref>{{cite newspaper The Times|title= The Wreck of the Deutschland|department= News|date= 30 June 1910|page= 8|issue= 39312|column= D}}</ref> It was replaced by LZ&nbsp;8 ''Deutschland&nbsp;II'', which also had a short career, first flying on 30 March 1911 and becoming damaged beyond repair when caught by a strong cross-wind while being walked out of its shed on 16 May.<ref>{{cite newspaper The Times|title= German Airship Disaster|department= News|date= 17 May 1911|page= 10|issue= 39587|column= E}}</ref> The company's fortunes changed with the next ship, [[LZ 10 Schwaben|LZ 10 ''Schwaben'']], which first flew on 26 June 1911<ref>Robinson 1973, p. 331</ref> and carried 1,553 passengers in 218 flights before catching fire after a gust tore it from its mooring near Düsseldorf.<ref name="Robinson 1971, p. 15"/> Other DELAG ships included LZ&nbsp;11 ''Viktoria Luise'' (1912), [[Zeppelin LZ13|LZ 13 ''Hansa'']] (1912) and LZ&nbsp;17 ''Sachsen'' (1913). By the outbreak of [[World War I]] in August 1914, 1588 flights had carried 10,197 fare-paying passengers.<ref>Robinson 1973, p. 62</ref>

[[File:LZ 18.jpg|thumbnail|LZ 18 (L 2)]] 
On 24 April 1912, the [[Imperial German Navy]] ordered its first Zeppelin—an enlarged version of the airships operated by DELAG—which received the naval designation Z&nbsp;1<ref>Robinson 1971, p 21.</ref> and entered Navy service in October 1912. On 18 January 1913 Admiral [[Alfred von Tirpitz]], Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, obtained the agreement of [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] to a five-year program of expansion of German naval-airship strength, involving the building of two airship bases and constructing a fleet of ten airships. The first airship of the program, L&nbsp;2, was ordered on 30 January. L&nbsp;1 was [[Helgoland Island air disaster|lost on 9 September]] near [[Heligoland]] when caught in a storm while taking part in an exercise with the German fleet. 14 crew members drowned, the first fatalities in a Zeppelin accident.<ref name="Robinson 1971, p. 25">Robinson 1971, p. 25</ref> Less than six weeks later, on 17 October, [[Zeppelin LZ 18|LZ&nbsp;18]] (L&nbsp;2) caught fire during its acceptance trials, killing the entire crew.<ref name="Robinson 1971, p. 25"/> These accidents deprived the Navy of most of its experienced personnel: the head of the Admiralty Air Department was killed in the L&nbsp;1 and his successor died in the L&nbsp;2. The Navy was left with three partially trained crews. The next Navy zeppelin, the M class L&nbsp;3, did not enter service until May 1914: in the meantime, ''Sachsen'' was hired from DELAG as a training ship.

By the outbreak of war in August 1914, Zeppelin had started constructing the first M class airships, which had a length of {{convert|518|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}, with a volume of {{convert|794500|ft3|m3|order=flip}} and a useful load of {{convert|20100|lb|kg|order=flip}}. Their three [[Maybach C-X]] engines produced {{convert|630|hp|kW|order=flip}} each, and they could reach speeds of up to {{convert|52|mph|kph|order=flip}}.<ref>
Robinson 1971, p. 378.
</ref>