Historic Airship Flights

Vintage images depicting early airship tests and races from the late 19th to early 20th century, showcasing a mix of airship designs and enthusiastic crowds.

'German Dreadnoughts of the Air', (1919). Creator: Unknown.

Germany. Aerostation flight test with an aluminum airship, held at Tempelhof, near Berlin, on November 3, 1897. David Schwarz (1850-1897) designed and built it. The airship was 134 feet long and 46 feet high. The test did not give the expected results, although the ship reached an altitude of 400 meters, it crashed. Engraving by Matute. La Ilustración Española y Americana, 1898.

The military airship P2, coming from Vigna di Valle and directed to Campalto, landing in Arezzo, 1910, Italy, photo by Donato Campolucci, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XXXVII, No 41, October 9, 1910.

Participants taking off during an airship race in Saint Louis, United States of America, photograph from L'Illustration, No 3376, November 9, 1907.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War The army airship Baby on the ground with its handlers, note the differences between this version of the airship and probably later photographs (e.g. RAE-O 447 and RAE-O 453) in particular the lack of an upper fin on the envelope and the uncovered gondola.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War- the work of Samuel Franklin Cody in Airship, Kite and Aircraft Aeronautics 1903 - 1913 The airship Nulli Secundus I in flight with S F Cody at the engine controls. Cody was responsible for the design of the nacelle and spar frame that attached the nacelle to the airship envelope and kept the latter rigid. The construction of the frame from hickory, spruce and bamboo followed similar lines to the methods used for his kites and gliders. It was in this airship that Cody and Colonel J E Capper, Superintendent of the British Army Balloon School at Farnborough, made their record breaking flight from Farnborough to London. The flight of 40 miles took three hours twenty five minutes and included circling St Paul's Cathedral. It finished at the Cycle Stadium next to Crystal Palace. At the time this was a world record for a non-rigid airship.

Navy Victor A Hermann in hay next to the USS AKRON. Note lack of security then. Also note dry grass and haycocks beneath airship.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War The army airship Gamma on the ground outside the airship shed with a group of handlers. Image virtually identical to RAE-O 728.

Airborne Zeppelin.

Anefo photo collection. Evening balloon competition T.G.V. Lustrum in Leiden. June 18, 1960. Leiden, South Holland

'German Dreadnoughts of the Air', (1919). Creator: Unknown.

Hot air balloon. Fédèle Azari (Italian, 1895 - 1930)

A Pair of RAF Barrage Balloons at Cardington, Bedfordshire. Date: circa 1940

U.S. Navy Dirigible, USA, circa 1923

Graf Zeppelin Arrives At Handorth -- The arrival at Handorth this evening. July 2, 1932. (Photo by Photo Press).;Graf Zeppelin Arrives At Hanworth -- The arrival at Hanworth this evening.

Portable mooring mast taking the Los Angeles from her hangar as she leaves to "defend"the Panama CanalLakehurst, N.J. The U.S.S. Los Angeles, Navy Dirigible attached to the new portable mooring mast as it is taken from its hangar at Lakehurst to take off for Panama.The Los Angeles will defend" the Panama Canal against the attacking forces” in the maneuvers of the combined -fleet. In the Caribbean sea. April 2, 1931. (Photo by International Newsreel Photo).

Italy. hot-air balloon drago. 1937.

Aerostats Aerostats. Photograph of R. Schwartz. Gélatino Bromide Draw, around 1900.

Photograph from a series of images from the manufacture of the airship LZ 126.Luftskappet lands in Lakehurst, USA on October 15, 1924.

Anefo photo collection. Balloon steering at East and West. September 28, 1947

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War The Gamma airship on the ground with a Farman biplane in the air in the forground. This could be a montage.

The zeppelin Deutschland destroyed by the wind in Dusseldorf, May 16, 1911, Germany, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XXXVIII, No 22, May 28, 1911.

Streamlined barrage balloon with basket, 1918, (1932). Creator: Unknown.

Low angle view of a hot air balloon

Dirigible balloon, "La Ville de Paris", built by Henri Deutsch

Navy Arrival USS Macon at Sunnyvale from Lakehurst, N.J.

R101 was one a British rigid airship completed in 1929. it crashed on 5 October 1930 in France during its maiden overseas voyage, killing 48 of the 54 people on board

Soviet Airships, Shagin, Ivan Mikhaylovich (1904-1982)

Extensive preparations made at Roosevelt Field, L. I., for the reception, anchoring, and repairing of the British dirigible R-34. The R-34 arrived on July 6, 1919, at approximately 9:00 A.M. It was the first lighter-than-air machine to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean, and it holds the registration number 60664. The photograph was taken on July 14, 1919, by Sgt. Steniger, U.S.C.

Balloon transport at the transport linen.

Navy dirigible balloon, C-1, completing a 1,500-mile flight from Rockaway Naval Air Station in Long Island to Key West, Florida. The C-1 was the largest dirigible in the US at the time of the photograph. The crew, led by Capt. S.V. Parlser, consisted of six men. Taken in 1919.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War The army airship Beta on the ground with a group of handlers. The airship sheds can be seen in the background.

Anefo photo collection. Zeppelin (assignment Martins Air Charter). April 29, 1962

Aeronautics. biplane and meteorograph. 1910-1920.

Italian airship Norge landing in Alaska

Wellman Lifeboat from "Trent"

The Third Gordon Bennett Balloon race in Berlin, Germany. After a 1908 work by an anonymous photographer. In 1906 James Gordon Bennett Jr. 1841 - 1918, funded the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning, a

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War The army airship Baby taking off, a large crowd is watching. The image is rather grainy.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War The navy airship Parseval taking off. The gondola and part of the gas bag are visible.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War Nulli Secundus I leaving the airship shed at the start of its maiden voyage. Cody is in the gondola with a group of handlers keeping the airship steady. Cody was responsible for the design of the nacelle and spar frame that attached the nacelle to the airship envelope and kept the latter rigid. The construction of the frame from hickory, spruce and bamboo followed similar lines to the methods used for his kites and gliders. It was in this airship that Cody and Colonel Capper of the Balloon School at Aldershot made their record breaking flight from Farnborough to London. The journey of 40 miles took three hours twenty five minutes and included circling St Paul's Cathedral. It finished at the cycle stadium next to Crystal Palace. At the time this was a world record for a non-rigid airship. Colonel Capper was instrumental in the War Office deciding to use Cody's man carrying kites and appointing him as instructor. After this their relationshi

Balloon climb.

De la Rue aeroplane (Ferber's), in flight

Anefo photo collection. Evening balloon competition T.G.V. Lustrum in Leiden. June 18, 1960. Leiden, South Holland

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War The Astra Torres airship in flight. The number of soldiers and sailors including men wearing overalls suggest that the airship could be preparing to land.

S A Andrée's balloon Svea during ascent, "made at the disposal of the military authorities in and for trials. Balloon photographs were taken from the balloon in 1894 by the then lieutenant O. Kullberg. The first photographs taken from balloon in Sweden". Nordic

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War Army airship Beta II in flight over a large group of onlookers. Note the rope that has been thrown down from the airship to the ground.

First AirshipVancouver, Washington. First Airship

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War DERA FARNBOROUGH (ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABLISHMENT). Gamma airship in flight at quite a low level. Note some of the people running towards the airship.

Photograph of Professor Carl Myers' Air Bicycle being demonstrated at Congress Springs, Saratoga, 1891. The balloon above the rider was filled with hydrogen gas, whilst a pedal driven sail to control the direction and speed of travel. This machine was reported to have attained a speed of ten miles an hour and a height of 15,000 feet. Date: 1891

Giant balloon 'Le Géant' van Nadar is released in Amsterdam, September 14, 1865, Pieter Oosterhuis (attributed to), 1865 stereograph Amsterdam paper. cardboard albumen print balloon (aviation). balloon flight (sport) Amsterdam

COLONEL BURNABY'S RECENT BALLOON VOYAGE ACROSS THE CHANNEL

Anefo photo collection. Balloon race Amsterdam demonstration stunt kite suonderman. September 2, 1950. Amsterdam, Noord-Holland

U.S. Army Blimp landing at Washington Monument circa 1932.

Image of handing over flowers to the operator of the last departing train from the N.S. station Neighborhood Station in Utrecht.

Dirigible at ATC base, Oran, Algeria.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War An observation balloon with a soldier and a female passenger in the basket.

Monoplane Hanriot

Ballon with advertising for 'Thee E. Brandsma' above a fairground, Anonymous, c. 1900 - c. 1910 photograph Part of Family Album with photos of Wijnhandel Kraaij & Co. Bordeaux-Amsterdam. photographic support balloon (aviation). advertising. pleasure fair and circus

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War DERA FARNBOROUGH (ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABLISHMENT). Army airship Gamma in flight over a group of cyclists.

Railing of Nadars Air balloon from site at Palace for Volksvlijt Amsterdam, September 14, 1865 ..

Ascent of a balloon Audibert (son). "Ascent of a hot air balloon". Drawing.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Maintenance,

The airship America in Atlantic City before attempting the Atlantic crossing, October 1910, United States of America, photo by Charles Trampus, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XXXVII, No 43, October 23, 1910.

Anefo photo collection. Balloon steering at East and West. September 28, 1947

LZ 6 entering a floating hanger, Halle, Germany, c1909-1910 (1933). Artist: Unknown

Anefo photo collection. International balloon steering t.g.v. The celebration of Liberation Day in Rotterdam. May 5, 1960. Rotterdam, South Holland

Low angle view of an aircraft in flight, Dominguez Field, Los Angeles, California, USA

The eagle "immediately after the landing on the ice fly on July 14, 1897. The production of the pictures was made by an associate professor John Hertzberg in 1930 in photography, the Technical College.

Mountain View, California c. 1932The U.S. Navy airship, USS Akron docked at the mooring mast at NAS Sunnyvale, which was renamed NAS Moffett Field in September, 1933.

Helio-Gyro-Copter invented by Jesse D. Langdon. The propeller and its wide circular rim act both as a gyroscope and a rotor. It weighed 1659 pounds and had a 625-horsepower motor. Nov. 12, 1930.

Aerostat. Engraving in "The Illustration", 1887.

American Blimp In Accident -- The American blimp "Puritan" after its accident at noon on Dec. 31st. in Florida U.S. The American blimp "Puritan" made an abrupt forced landing when the crew pulled the ripcord and released the gas after fire was discovered aboard. The six passengers were uninjured. January 10, 1936. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

LA REPUBLIQUE a semi-rigid surveillance airship built for the French flying near the Eifel Tower. Paris ca. 1908. 0028u

German telescopic ladder on a four-wheeled carriage, illustration from L'Industria, Rivista tecnica ed economica illustrata, Milan, 1904.

Start of "million population", St. Louis

The Zeppelin backwards from the Hangar manuminated, Anonymous, 1924 photograph The Zeppelin is manuffined backwards from the hangar. Part of a folder of twenty product photos of the Zeppelin air ship LZ 126. Germanypublisher: Friedrichshafen cardboard. photographic support gelatin silver print 46C35 airship, zeppelin. hangar

Gaston Tissandier (1843-1899). French aeronaut and science communicator. Albert-Charles Tissandier (1839-1906). French architect, aeronaut, publisher and archaeologist. In 1881, the Tissandier brothers made the world's first electric-powered flight at an electricity exhibition by fitting an electric Siemens motor to an airship. After their first flight experiments, they built a large-scale model which they exhibited, for which Albert drew up the plans. The first airship powered by an electric motor took place on 8 October 1883, at Auteuil, a suburb of Paris (France). A second successful attempt was made in Paris on 26 September 1884. Tissandier electric airship. Gondola and engine. Albert (on the left), Gaston (on the right), plus an unidentified man. Engraving by Bernardo Rico (1825-1894). The Spanish and American Illustration (La Ilustracion Espanola y Americana). October 15, 1884.

Elsevier photo collection. The "Mayfly, plane designed Lieutenant John W. Seddon British Marine. 1910. Britain

Balloon anchored in the forest.

Orville Wright's biplane Flyer shortly after the fall, Thomas Selfridg's body recovery operations, Fort Myers, September 17, United States of America, photo from L'Illustration, No 3424, October 10, 1908.

Paris (1st arr.), France sausage and mount of a zeppelin in the garden of the Tuileries , (French - Paris ( Ier arr. ) , France Saucisse et monture d' un zeppelin au jardin des Tuileries). Sneeze , shoring, trophy, air transport, rear, airship, park , garden, Transport, First World War, Habitat , Architecture, France, Paris, Garden of Tuileries sausage and frame of a Zeppelin

Photo collection First World War. Photograph of the 2nd Zeppelin Brought Down 24/9/1916. One of the huge propellers. September 24, 1916. Great Britain

The airship No 6 of Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873-1932) flying over the Bay of Monaco, January 28, 1902, photo by Barca, from L'illustrazione Italiana, Year XXIX, No 6, February 9, 1902.

Photograph of a directional aerial for communication with manned orbiting satellites used in American space programme. The NASA station, Nigeria. Dated 20th century

The Shark and the Porpoise Ready for Transportation - An early type of submarine, circa 1910

Anefo photo collection. New control tower at Schiphol highlighted with flag in top. November 26, 1963. Noord-Holland, Schiphol

Blimps practice over the Washington Monument, Aviation

Fair Oaks, Virginia. Prof. Thaddeus S. Lowe replenishing balloon INTREPID from balloon CONSTITUTION | Library of Congress

09/30/1913. The Gordon Bennet Aerostation Cup. Departure of the Balloons from the Tuileries Garden in Paris, to take part in the important competition that has just been held.

Aviation, 1910: First balloon flight in England, 1784.

Departure of balloons from the Jardin des Tuileries at the Paris Air Competition, September 29, 1907, France, photograph by Rapid, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XXXIV, No 40, October 6, 1907.

Zeppelin LZ 4, 1908, (1932). Creator: Unknown.

transport transportation aviation balloons start of a balloon Dijon France 25.4.1784,

Dismantling Enrico Forlanini's airship Leonardo da Vinci after the crash in Pavia, 1910, Italy, photo by Monselize, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XXXVII, No 7, February 13, 1910.

Blimp-Wellman air ship, Spitzbergen

Anefo photo collection. Evening balloon competition T.G.V. Lustrum in Leiden. June 18, 1960. Leiden, South Holland

Beauvais, France remains of the airship , 1930 - Ile -de -France - Stéphane Passet - (September -October) (French - Beauvais , France Restes du dirigeable). Air transport, airship, news, Transport, company, Oise, Beauvais, the British airship R. 101. Debris on the territory of the Comce of Alonne

The air ship SE-ACG in the air over Linköping, 1930 The air ship SE-ACG "silk house" in the air over central Linköping in May 1930.

Anefo photo collection. International Ballonderby to Etten the Trophee Du Balloon Libre in North Brabant. June 7, 1959

Hindenburg disaster

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