Post by Bernard on Sept 18, 2024 14:59:42 GMT
By end of the Twenties, the American newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst's media empire was prepared tp pay half the cost of a project to fly Graf Zeppelin around the world.
Hearst stipulated that the flight in August 1929 officially start and finish at Lakehurst.Round-the-world tickets were sold for almost $3000 (equivalent to $45,000 actually), but most participants had their costs paid for them.The flight's expenses were offset by the carriage of souvenir mail between Lakehurst, Friedrichshafen, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. A US franked letter flown on the whole trip from Lakehurst to Lakehurst required $3.55 (equivalent to $53 actually) in postage.
Graf Zeppelin refuelled at Friedrichshafen, then continued across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to Tokyo. After five days at a former German airship shed that had been removed from Jüterbog and rebuilt at Kasumigaura Naval Air Station.
Graf Zeppelin continued across the Pacific to California. Eckener delayed crossing the coast at San Francisco's Golden Gate so as to come in near sunset for aesthetic effect The ship landed at Mines Field in Los Angeles, completing the first ever nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean. The takeoff from Los Angeles was difficult because of high temperatures and an inversion layer. To lighten the ship, six crew were sent on to Lakehurst by aeroplane. The Graf Zeppelin arrived back at Lakehurst from the west on the morning of 29 August, three weeks after it had departed to the east.
The entire circumnavigation (including stops) took 21 days, 5 hours, and 31 minutes to cover 33,234 km (20,651 mi). It then was the fastest circumnavigation of the world.
LZ127 taking off at Friedrichshafen, Germany
to start the trip at Lakehurst
stopover at Japanese Kasumigaura Air Field, Ibaraki
reached American continent at Mines Airfield, Los Angeles
These sceneries are part of Bill Lyons' "Graf Zeppelin" package.
While LZ127 was based at German Friedrichshafen on the border ot the Lake of Constance, just nearby Donier took over a former aircraft factory at Manzell. But than Dornier had to build its aircraft outside Germany during much of this period due to the restrictions placed on German aircraft manufacturers by the Treaty of Versailles - at locations like Altenrhein in Switzerland where the famous DO-X has been built. But that could be an other story!
This is a really small and basic addon depicting the site. Its included in a package named "Euro seaports"
Bernard