Rowland High School - Saga Yearbook (Rowland Heights, CA)

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The Blimp, bosicolly o hydrogen- filled balloon, was rhe firsr commerdal meons of regular oir travel. Ir wos olso widely used by rhe military during World War I, originally called rhe Zep- pelin in honor of rhe mon Counr Ferdi- nond Von Zeppelin, who first thought of rhe idea, ir is also called an Airship, Q Blimp, or a Dirigible. The firsr com- merdal flights by a compony named DELAG rool-v place between vorious Germon dries. By the rime World Wor I broke our, DELAG hod logged 170,000 miles ond carried 05,000 pas- sengers without a single accident. Passenger service was ended, however, when Germony launched its otrack on France in 1914, Ar this rime oil of rhe Airships were requisi- rioned for militorry use. While a series of disosrers made rhe milirory lose in- reresr or firsr, they were lorer found to be useful in the war, ond the Zep- pelin compony builr 113 big ships be- fore rhe war ended in 1918. The de- velopmenr of berrer oirplones ond better weaponery outpaced rhe od- vonces mode on rhe Zeppelins; Nev- ertheless, the ships were successfully used for milirory reconnaissance. Afrer rhe war rhe United Stares N ovy had four of rhe big airships. The hangers rhot housed them are srill visible from the Newporr Freeway. Three of rhem were losr for various reosons, bur rhe fourrh, named Los Angeles, mode 250 passenger flighrs before she was decommissioned in 1932. Commerciol service berween Ger- many, rhe U. S., and Sourh America starred again in 1931. The one airship called Graf Zeppelin successfully flew rhe Sourh American run for six years wirhour a mishap. The Hindenburg wos nor so forrunore. Although she hod mode many successful rrips be- rween Fronl-rfurt and Lokehursr, rhe trip on Moy 6, 1937 rurned into a tragedy when rhe gionr airship bursr into flomes and crashed ro rhe ground. The broodcosr of this fateful day is one of rhe mosr poignonr in the history of broodcosring, ond rhis trag- edy signalled rhe end of rhe greor airships — rhey were nor allowed ro fly again. Todoy there ore only four Blimps lefr in rhe world. These ore moin- roined by rhe Goodyeor Company, Three ore based in rhe U.S., wirh rhe fourrh being based in Iroly. They con periodically be seen slipping quierly through rhe sky, rheir oppeoronce coindding wirh mojor enrerrainmenr events, but rhey no longer carry a load of excired passengers heoding for some destinotion. And this once promising meons of tronsporrorion has disappeared from rhe world scene; rhe era of rhe Blimp is no more.