19 February 1912

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Luftschiff LZ 11, Viktoria Luise, over Marburg Afföllerwiesen, 5 May 1912. (Bildindex der Kunst & Architectur)

19 February 1912: The lighter-than-air rigid airship (luftschiff) LZ 11, Viktoria Luise, made its first flight. The Zeppelin was named for Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, daughter of Kaiser Wilhem II, and granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

LZ 11 and its sistership, LZ 13 Hansa, were G-class passenger airships, operated by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft (DELAG). It had a crew of six and could carry eleven passengers.

During World War I, LZ 11 was used by the German Navy as a training ship. It was damaged beyond repair while being placed in its hangar, 1 October 1915.

Viktoria Luise Adelheid Mathilde Charlotte, Princess of Prussia
Zeppelin LZ 11, Viktoria Louise made its first flight, 19 February 1912.
Passengers boarding Viktoria Luise. (airships.net)

© 2021, Bryan R. Swopes

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About Bryan Swopes

Bryan R. Swopes grew up in Southern California in the 1950s–60s, near the center of America's aerospace industry. He has had a life-long interest in aviation and space flight. Bryan is a retired commercial helicopter pilot and flight instructor.

4 thoughts on “19 February 1912”

  1. There is a typo in the 3rd paragraph in the first sentence.
    “During World War II, LZ 11…” I think this is supposed to be World War I given the dates in the preceding paragraph and the date for hangar storage is listed as 1 October 1915.
    Really enjoying the site and sharing it with several other aviation buffs (fiends or fanatics might be a better word) at work.

    1. I believe that LZ 11 had a crew of six and could carry 11 passengers. The later airships could carry more, but often required more crewmembers. LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, for example, carried up to 24 passengers but required a crew of 36 (many for “hotel” and “housekeeping” duties, not to operate the airship).

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