When zeppelins ruled the skies (photos)

Count von Zeppelin died in 1917, long before the rise of the Nazi party. It was his protege Dr. Hugo Eckener who ran the firm after Zeppelin's death, and was almost single-handedly responsible for the golden age of airship travel. He was not a Nazi, and had a very uncomfortable relationship with the Nazi party which did not trust or respect him either. The Nazi's would have liked to be rid of him altogether, but he was a national hero at the time, so that wasn't possible. To suggest that he "allowed" the Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg to be used for propaganda wouldn't be quite correct. By the late 30s, he simply didn't have much choice in the matter.

The last US "Zeppelin" or "dirigible" was the Macon, lost in 1935. During WWII, the US deployed "blimps", which are different from "dirigibles" in that they are much smaller, and their shape is maintained by gas pressure instead of an internal structure. They were very effective at convoy and coastal patrols because unlike airplanes, they could stay on station for literally days instead of hours.

If I remember correctly, the Nat'l Geographic had an article where debris from the Macon was recovered, including some of the aluminum framework. May have been as much as 30 years ago when the article ran.

I especially enjoyed this post for what might be a unique reason in this group: I saw both the USS Akron (April 1933) and the USS Macon (February 1935), both on their last flights. Both came over our house in San Angelo, TX (each in the middle of the night) making a noise so loud it awakened all of my family. We went out and saw these behemoths, not suspecting that they were the end of an era in US aviation. I had just turned 4 when the Akron came over and I was almost 6 when the Macon appeared. Did anyone else here happen to see either one?
Allen