The often generic term for any rigid airship, derived from the name of its inventor and promoter, Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin (1838-1917) The first aircraft of this type flew in 1900 near Friedrichshafen, Germany After many trials and tribulations, Zeppelin was able to form a company, Luftschiffbau-Zeppelin, to manufacture this type of airship The word is properly capitalized when referring to airships produced by the Zeppelin Company, but may be used lower-case to describe generically any similar, cigar-shaped rigid airship
A dirigible balloon of the rigid type, consisting of a cylindrical trussed and covered frame supported by internal gas cells, and provided with means of propulsion and control
a German airship used in World War I (Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838-1917), German soldier who invented it). Rigid airship of a type designed by the German builder Ferdinand, Graf (count) von Zeppelin (1838-1917). It was a cigar-shaped, trussed, and covered frame supported by internal gas cells, below which hung two external cars with an engine geared to two propellers. The first zeppelin flew in 1900. In World War I zeppelins were used as bombers by Germany. In 1928 the Graf Zeppelin inaugurated transatlantic flight service; it had completed 590 flights by 1937, when the Hindenburg disaster halted such flights