Zeppelins in WWII

[Totalkrieg]

German was not abble to produce it's own Heliun? Nor any of it's allies?

[Witch-King of Angmar]

German was not abble to produce it's own Heliun? Nor any of it's allies?

Helium can't be produced, it has to be extracted, either from air, where is present in incredibly small amounts, or from natural gas. The only natural gas wells in which Helium could be found were in USA; nowadays it can be extracted in many places in the world, but not then.

~The Witch-King of Angmar

[Witch-King of Angmar]

Baruch and Morgenthau may have had influence over Roosevelt, but I had the impression that the US was actually pro-German until at least 1938. Then again, I wasn't there. ;}

Off-topic side notes:

1. In the mid to late 1920s, the decapitalized Germany was a suitable market for the US banking system. American loans contributed to German reconstruction after the 1923 debacle;

2. Hitler had broadcasted speeches to the German-Americans in which he asked to vote for Roosevelt in 1933, since Frankie had promised to end the prohibition, and the American market was going to be open to German liquors. (Obviously Hitler did not expect Roosevelt to be elected for a second term )

Since the above are off-topic, let's disregard them and get back to airships

~The Witch-King of Angmar

[Simon Gunson]

Before WW2 in about 1932 Rolf Marbin a resident of Hamburg compiled a book from the stories of Zeppelin crewmen called "Zeppelin Adventures".

His book reported that L.61 was handed over to Italy 28th August 1920, L.64, to England 21st July 1920, L.71 to England 30th June 1920, L.72 handed over to France 22 December 1923, L.37 sent to Japan (dismantled) in August 1920.

The earlier ones which survived were dismantled. The better later ones
were taken as reparations prizes under the treaty of Versailles.

Another point was that the Nazis desperately needed aluminium in 1940 for aircraft production and the Graf Zeppelin was a ready source.

I am not sure of the source but seem to recall hearing once that the US airships Akron and/or Macon were built by Germany for the US as war reparations.

Hydrogen was not the problem either. Recent tests performed by an ex NASA hydrogen fuel specialist on fragments of cloth souveniered from the Hindenburg crash showed that the cloth covering the airship was doped with nitroglycerine and aluminium-oxide. This was even more dangerous than the hydrogen. Investigation years later found the Nazis had hushed up the formula for doping the Hindeburg's cloth. Documents were found that her sister Graf Zeppelin had this dangerous doping mix.

The NASA scientist began investigating because he knew that hydrogen burned with an invisible flame and movie pictures of Hindenburg's crash show bright visible flames. Movie pictures also showed that when the forward section reached the ground it was still boyant as Hindenburg bounced back into the air briefly.

The Graf Zeppelin flew electronic surveilance missions in the North Sea in the Thirties listening to British radio transmissions but more importantly learning about British radar installations. It did not take phot reconnaisance. Von Rowehl did that with his fleet of civil aicraft in Lufthansa markings. These got "lost" on regular flights to Eire across Britain.

[Cantankerous]

Thanks for the info, Witch-King, I couldn't remember Eckener's name but the TV show suggested that he was the one that made the negotiations in 1925 that ended the ban on Zeppelins.

Baruch and Morgenthau may have had influence over Roosevelt, but I had the impression that the US was actually pro-German until at least 1938. Then again, I wasn't there. ;}

After Kristallnacht, FDR recalled Ambassador Hugh Wilson from Germany, and by now FDR knew that Hitler was a madman to be taken seriously. Wilson himself had praised Hitler for ending economic depression in Germany by ending unemployment in the country and building a national highway.

Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_R._Wilson

[Grzesio]

LZ 129 conducted reconnaissance flight(s) along the Polish coast prior to the outbreak of war, in the summer of 1939. She was intercepted by a Polish Lublin R XIII floatplane from the Naval Aviation Squadron in Puck, abandoning the mission over the Hel peninsula.

[R Leonard]

I am not sure of the source but seem to recall hearing once that the US airships Akron and/or Macon were built by Germany for the US as war reparations.

No, both Macon and Akron were built under US Navy contract at the Goodyear Airdock in Springfield Township, Ohio by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation. Goodyear-Zeppelin was a joint venture formed in 1924 capitalized 2 thirds by Goodyear and 1 third by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. This arrangement allowed Goodyear to use Zeppelin's patents in construction of rigid and non-rigid airships. The corporation was dissolved in 1941 and absorbed into the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation which had been established in 1939. Goodyear-Goodrich, Goodyear-Zeppelin and Goodyear Aircraft from circa 1917 to 1957 supplied some 230 or so non-rigid airships to the USN.