List of zeppelins

This is a complete list of zeppelins constructed by the original German Zeppelin companies from 1900 until 1938. Other types of rigid airships that are also sometimes referred to as zeppelins are not included.

The Zeppelin companies based in Friedrichshafen, Germany, numbered their aircraft LZ 1/2/..., with LZ standing for "Luftschiff [airship] Zeppelin". Additionally, crafts used for civilian purposes usually got a name, while military airships, on the other hand, were given "tactical numbering":

• The German Army called its first zeppelins Z I/II/.../XI/XII. During World War I they switched to using the LZ numbers, later adding 30 to obscure the total production.
• The German Navy zeppelins were labelled L 1/2/....

Table of contents

1 Zeppelins finished before World War I 2 Zeppelins constructed during World War I 3 Zeppelins constructed after World War I

Zeppelins finished before World War I

Production number	Name / tactical numbering	Usage	First flight	Remarks
LZ 1		prototype	July 2, 1900	see Zeppelin
LZ 2		experimental	January 17, 1906	destroyed in accident after first flight; see Zeppelin
LZ 3	Z I	experimental; military	October 9, 1906	sold to the German Army in 1908 after refitting; used as a school ship; decommissioned in 1913
LZ 4		military (intended)	June 20, 1908	destroyed in Echterdingen disaster; see Zeppelin
LZ 5	Z II	experimental; military	May 26, 1909	stranded near Weilburg an der Lahn in 1910 during a storm
LZ 6		experimental; civilian (DELAG)	August 25, 1909	first experiments with wireless communication; first DELAG craft (see Zeppelin); accidentally destroyed in its hall in Baden-Oos in 1910
LZ 7	"Deutschland"	civilian (DELAG)	June 19, 1910	damaged beyond repair in an accident above the Teutoburg Forest on June 28, 1910
LZ 8	Ersatz "Deutschland"	civilian (DELAG)	March 30, 1911	pushed to the wall of its hall by strong wind and damaged beyond repair on May 16, 1911
LZ 9	Ersatz Z II	military	October 2, 1911	decommissioned August 1, 1914
LZ 10	"Schwaben"	civilian (DELAG)	June 26, 1911	transported 4354 passengers in 224 flights, travelling 27,321 km; destroyed June 28, 1912 in accident on the airfield in Düsseldorf
LZ 11	"Viktoria Luise"	civilian (DELAG); later military	February 19, 1912	transported 9783 passengers in 489 flights, travelling 54,312 km; taken over as school ship by German military upon outbreak of World War I; broke apart while being "halled in" on October 8, 1915
LZ 12	Z III	military	April 25, 1912	decommissioned August 1, 1914
LZ 13	"Hansa"	civilian (DELAG); later military	July 30, 1912	travelled 44,437 km in 399 flights; first regular flight outside Germany (to Denmark and Sweden); taken over by German military upon outbreak of World War I; decommissioned in summer 1916
LZ 14	L 1	military	October 7, 1912	pushed down into the North Sea in a thunderstorm on September 9, 1913, drowning 14 crewmembers
LZ 15	Ersatz Z I	military	January 16, 1913	destroyed in a forced landing on March 19, 1913
LZ 16	Z IV	military	March 14, 1913	accidentally crossed French border on April 3, 1913 in misty weather and was kept in Lunéville for one day. Performed some reconnaissance missions in World War I and attempted bombing of Warsaw and Lyck. Used as a school ship from 1915; decommissioned in autumn of 1916
LZ 17	"Sachsen"	civilian; later military	May 3, 1913	transported 9837 passengers in 419 flights, travelling 39,919 km; taken over by German military upon outbreak of World War I; decommissioned in autumn of 1916
LZ 18	L 2	military	September 9, 1913	destroyed by an exploding engine on October 17, 1913 during a test flight; the entire crew was killed.
LZ 19	Second Ersatz Z I	military	June 6, 1913	damaged beyond repair in a thunderstorm on April 13, 1914
LZ 20	Z V	military	July 8, 1913	used in World War I for reconnaissance missions in western Poland; forced landing after an attack on Mlawa during the Battle of Tannenberg; crew captured by enemy cavalry while trying to burn down the ship.
LZ 21	Z VI	military	November 10, 1913	in World War I mainly used in Belgium as a bomber; damaged beyond repair during a bombing of Liège on August 6, 1914.
LZ 22	Z VII	military	January 8, 1914	hit by infantry fire during reconnaissance mission in Alsace on August 21, 1914 and damaged beyond repair in subsequent forced landing in St. Quirin, Lorraine
LZ 23	Z VIII	military	May 11, 1914	same orders as Z VII on August 21, 1914; forced landing behind enemy lines; captured and plundered by French army
LZ 24	L 3	military	May 11, 1914	24 reconnaissance missions over the North Sea; participated in the first raid of England on January 20, 1915; destroyed by its crew after a forced landing (due to engine failure) in Denmark on February 17, 1915
LZ 25	Z IX	military	July 13, 1914	used for reconnaissance missions and bombings in northern France; destroyed by English bomber in its hall in Düsseldorf on October 8, 1914