#delag

012 Dragon 

 Burdened with unmatched cynicism, Delag questioned whether it was even worth remaking the planet again. When they finally agreed it was , they made sure their contributions would test us. 

Susan Lawrence Dana-Jorgen Dahl and the German Airship Travel Corporation

On November 15, 1912, Susan Lawrence Jorgen-Dahl and her new husband, Lawrence Jorgen-Dahl bought tickets for a ride on the German zeppelin Hansa. In doing so, the two of them became passengers on the world’s first passenger airline, the Deutsche Luftschifffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft (German Airship Travel Corporation) or DELAG.

DELAG was founded in 1910 as a commercial passenger branch of the Zeppelin Luftshiffbau company, in part as an attempt to raise funds and diversify the Zeppelin company, which up until that time, was entirely dependent on the German military for its funding. The German military, however, had proved reluctant to invest large amounts of funds in the new and largely unproved airship technology.

The idea of a passenger line did not appeal to the aristocratic founder of the Zeppelin company, Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin, who felt that the idea of a commercial line was a mercantile concern and thus beneath him. However, DELAG did find favor with the head of the Hamburg America Line, a well established steamship company. The Hamburg America Line provided money to promote DELAG in exchange for exclusive rights to sell tickets.

DELAG’s first zeppelin was the Deutschland, which was first flown in June of 1910, had accommodation for 24 passengers, and cruised at 32 mph. The Deutschland’s top sustained speed of 32 mph wasn’t enough for her to be able to reliably fly against the wind, making scheduled inter-city service difficult at best. Thus, DELAG was only able to offer pleasure cruises around the vicinity of their bases. None the less, the novelty of cruising through the sky, seeing the landscape unfolding below proved popular.

The life of the Deutschland was short. She flew her first flight on June 19th, 1910, but she was destroyed on June 28th of the same year when she was caught in a thunderstorm. Luckily for DELAG, they had another airship, which had originally been constructed for the German army. This ship was reconfigured for passengers, and successful flights were made almost daily from August to mid-September. Although they suffered a number of set backs with the delicate zeppelins, which were susceptible to both fire and bad weather, by summer of 1914 and the onset of WWI, DELAG had produced four more zeppelins, including the Hansa, the ship on which Mr. And Mrs. Lawrence Jorgen-Dahl rode, and carried a total of 34, 028 passengers.

DELAG’s airships were pressed into service by the German army during WWI. Afterward, the company planned on relaunching their passenger services, and even adding transatlantic service. These plans suffered a major set back when the remaining German airships were surrendered to the Allied forces. Additionally, the Treaty of Versailles forbid Germany from constructing military airships or any airships large enough to cross the Atlantic.

By 1925, these restrictions were relaxed, and Zeppelin Luftschiffbau began construction of an airship large enough for transatlantic service. In September of 1928, this airship, the Graf Zeppelin, was completed. In October of 1928, DELAG began nonstop transatlantic service from Friedrichshafen Germany to Lakehurt Field, New Jersey. In 1931, DELAG added regular passenger service to South America, which would continue until 1937.

The rise of the Nazi party in 1933 affected DELAG’s fortunes. Nazi Germany decided that the zeppelins would be an excellent platform for propaganda campaigns. The Zeppelin company was thus restructured by the Nazi government, becoming associated with Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda and Goring’s Air Ministry.

DELAG’s fortunes further declined after the high profile Hindenburg disaster, and by 1938, the surviving zeppelins and scrap from the Hindenburg was melted down for use in fixed wing military aircraft.

Image 1&2:Susan Lawrence Jorgen-Dahl and Lawrence Jorgen-Dahl’s tickets for a ride on the DELAG airship Hansa. Tickets were sold exclusively by the Hamburg American Steamship line, who were partners with DELAG. Photo credit to author. 

Image 3:The Zeppelin LZ 13 Hansa. Hansa was built by DELAG as a passenger airship in 1912. Photo credit WikiCommons

Image 4:A view of the passenger cabin of the Zeppelin LZ 13 Hansa. Wicker furniture was used on DELAG airships to reduce weight.Photo credit WikiCommons.