Graf Zeppelin

Prior to the fire, the Hindenburg had completed 10 round trips between the U.S. and Europe. A sister ship, the Graf Zeppelin, made regular scheduled transatlantic crossings from 1928 to 1939 with no incidents. There were 161 rigid airships that flew between 1897 and 1940, almost all of these used hydrogen and 20 were destroyed by fires. Of these 20, seventeen were lost in military action where in many cases the fires resulted from enemy fire during World War I. 

The Grafand the Hindenburg s successor, Graf Zeppelin II, continued to be flown within Germany for several years, but finally Germany destroyed both airships in 1940 to salvage their aluminum for the war effort.The era of zeppelins was over. 

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