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| Graf Zeppelin arriving at Opa-Locka naval base Florida State Archives/Florida Memory |
By Jane Feehan
The German-built airship, the Graf Zeppelin, achieved world-wide celebrity status in 1928. It made the first commercial-passenger dirigible flight across the Atlantic, landing Oct. 15 that year in Lakehurst, New Jersey. It was also the largest one built up to that time—800
feet— and its commander, Dr. Hugo Eckener
(1868-1954) was considered a leading expert in dirigible flight. In 1929 he successfully flew the airship around the world, chalking up another first.
Enthusiasm for commercial dirigible flight surged across the
U.S. after the Graf Zeppelin’s trans-oceanic trip in 1928. The U.S.
military was already using rigid-construction (frame) airships to support search and
coastal operations but visions of passengers and goods traveling across the Atlantic fueled dreams of expanded commerce. According to news accounts, Miami officials, excited by the
prospects of such travel, set aside hundreds of acres and spent $40,000 for a
dirigible docking port at the Opa-Locka Naval Reserve Base, dedicating it Jan.
13, 1930. Some news sources claimed it was the only such port in the world municipally
owned.
Miami officials were eager to see the Graf Zeppelin up
close after the commander accepted their invitation to visit Miami. Dr. Eckener
scheduled a trip from Friedrichshafen, Germany to Miami in 1933 before heading
to Goodyear headquarters in Akron. Floridians were also caught up in airship
fever. Seaboard Air Line advertised discounted two-day, round-trip rail service
from Bartow, Winter Haven, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood to
see the famous zeppelin in Opa-Locka.
On Oct. 23, 1933, the Graf Zeppelin, with its 98-foot
gondola, coasted 1,000 feet over Miami. It was escorted by a plane to the Opa-Locka
naval air station, where beefed-up security was deployed to guard the dirigible
against possible violence. Protests were predicted (but did not occur) against
the new German regime headed by Hitler who grabbed power in January 1933.
Commander Hugo Eckener was accompanied by a representative from
the German Air Ministry, an editor from a French aeronautical magazine, Hearst reporter,
Lady Grace-Drummond-Hay and a few private citizen passengers. Miami Mayor E.G.
Sewell, Miami commissioners, Opa-Locka officials, and other notables, soon whisked
the visitors to the McAllister Hotel and then to a luncheon at the Old Heidelberg
restaurant.
Eckener told hosts about his plans to expand Graf Zeppelin’s
trans-oceanic service: a route from Seville, Spain to Rio de Janeiro with a
stop in Miami during the winter, and a summer route to Lakehurst or Washington,
D.C. The commander thought the service could begin in two years. Dr. Eckener
also hoped for service from the U.S. to Egypt via Europe.
The Graf Zeppelin, its crew and passengers departed
Opa-Locka for Akron about 16 hours later. It proved to be a short visit with a
long list of possibilities that did not come to fruition. Later, Eckener thought
traveling across the Atlantic on a more southern route would be easier. The airship continued
to operate but under clouds of pending war in Europe. Its nine-year successful run came
to an end the day after the Hindenburg disaster May 6, 1937 in New Jersey when
36 died in its fire. In 1940, parts from the grounded Graf
Zeppelin were taken for use in German war-bound winged aircraft.
Dr. Eckener, no fan of the Nazis (nor they of him) criticized the regime for cutting
costs in operating dirigibles; he endorsed the use of helium rather than the explosive
hydrogen in landings. Helium, a by-product of mined mineral gas, was controlled
by the U.S. starting in 1925; regulation drove up its costs. The German
government opted for use of the cheaper hydrogen. Some experts later surmised
a spark ignited hydrogen, causing the devasting Hindenburg fire that occurred just
200 feet above ground. The Hindenburg disaster spelled doom for dirigible
flight. Airplane travel was about to take over, further diminishing prospects
for such ships as the Graf Zeppelin.
The L-27 Graf Zeppelin, the one that stopped in
Miami, proved to be the most successful of zeppelins. It made 590 flights,
racked up more than a million miles and carried more than 34,000 passengers
without a single injury. It also conducted one scientific mission to the North
Pole.
Between 1912-1930, there were 13 airship flights (NOT the Graf Zeppelin) involving 275
fatalities. There were more fatal accidents both before and after that time
span; a comprehensive list is difficult to find. In spite of safety concerns, the
glamour of dirigible flying was never matched by the more efficient common carrier
airplanes, the flying buses that replaced them.
Copyright © 2021, 2022 All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.
Sources:
Miami News, Oct. 11, 1928
Miami News, Oct. 16, 1928
Miami News, Jan. 13, 1930
Miami News, April 4, 1933
Miami News, Sept. 28, 1933
Miami News, Oct. 21, 1933
Miami News, Oct 23, 1933
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