Friday 11 January 2013

The first visit of a Zeppelin to Denmark and Sweden in 1912

The "Hanse" flying over Malmö on September 19, 1912.
The first visit of a Zeppelin to Denmark and Sweden - and also the first commercial Zeppelin flight outside of Germany - took place in September 19, 1912. The Swedish weekly Hvar 8 Dag published the following report of the event, together with three photographs:

"The Zeppelin airship 'Hansa', piloted by count Zeppelin, departed on 19 September at 4 A.M. from Hamburg to Copenhagen and Malmö. On board were about ten passengers, two of whom were German and two Danish officers, with a responsibility to supervise that no photographs were taken when flying over military fortifications. The other participants were German and Danish journalists.

At 10 A.M. 'Hansa' arrived in Copenhagen after a most enjoyable flight in calm and sunny weather. Having circled over the city for an hour the airship landed at the Amager airport, where 
20 000 people welcomed the travelers with roaring ovations.

At 11.35 A.M. the 'Hansa' took off and steered towards Malmö, where it arrived at 11.55. The airship did not land, but confined itself to circle over the city, where people had gathered to cheer and celebrate the visit."


"Hanse" landing at the Amager airport in Copenhagen.

Count Zeppelin and the other people on board welcomed after the landing.

 Wikipedia has published a detailed schedule of the flight, with somewhat different time indications:



The " LZ 13 Hanse" was brand new at the time of the visit - it had been delivered on July 30 the same year. 
During two years of commercial service it carried 6,217 passengers on 399 flights, covering 44,437 kilometres. At the outbreak of World War I, the German military requisitioned it for use in attack flights, reconnaissance, and finally as a training airship.

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