This is a complete list of Zeppelins constructed by the German Zeppelin companies from 1900 until 1938. Other rigid airships that are also sometimes referred to as zeppelins but not built by Zeppelin are not included.
The Zeppelin company based in Friedrichshafen, Germany, numbered their aircraft LZ 1/2/ ..., with LZ standing for "Luftschiff [airship] Zeppelin". Additionally, craft used for civilian purposes were named, whereas military airships were usually given "tactical numbers":
The Deutsches Heer called its first Zeppelins Z I/II/ ... /XI/XII. During World War I they switched to using LZ numbers, later adding 30 to obscure the total production. The Kaiserliche Marine's Zeppelins were labelled L 1/2/ ....
Since 1997, airships of the new type Zeppelin NT have been flying. They are not included here. They are not rigid airships and do not represent a continuity of design from the ones listed here.
Zeppelins finished before World War I
Production number Class Name/tactical number Usage First flight Remarks Fate Image LZ 1 A experimental 2 July 1900Robinson 1973, p.330. Three flights, during which the prior speed record achieved by La France was exceeded, dismantled in 1901 due to lack of funds.Dooley A.197-A.200. Dismantled in 1901 LZ 2 B experimental17 January 1906 Damaged beyond repair on 18 January 1906 LZ 3 B Z I experimental; Army 9 October 1906 The first Zeppelin to be truly successful. Made a number of flights of significant duration before being enlarged and bought by the German Army in 1908. Used for training until decommissioned in 1913.Robinson 1973, p.44. Decommissioned in 1913 LZ 4 C Army (intended) 20 June 1908Completed a 12-hour flight on 1 July 1908; attempted 24-hour endurance flight on 4 August 1908, but landed near Echterdingen after 12 hours to repair an engine. Destroyed when strong winds broke its mooring cables. Destroyed in storm near Echterdingen on 4 August 1908 LZ 5 C Z II Army 26 May 1909 Torn from moorings during a storm and wrecked near Weilburg on 25 March 1910Robinson 1973 p.48. Destroyed in storm near Weilburg, Germany on 25 March 1910 LZ 6 D Z III Army, DELAG 25 August 1909 First experiments with wireless communication; first airship operated by DELAG (Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft – German airship transport company); accidentally destroyed by fire in its hangar at Oos, Baden-Baden on 14 September 1910.Robinson 1973 pp.51-57 Burnt in its hangar at Baden-Baden, Germany on 14 September 1910 LZ 7 E Deutschland DELAG 19 June 1910 Damaged beyond repair after crashing during a thunderstorm over the Teutoburg Forest on 28 June 1910Robinson 1973 p.56. Destroyed in a storm in German Teutoburg Forest on 28 June 1910 LZ 8 E Deutschland II DELAG 30 March 1911 Caught by a strong crosswind while being walked out of its hangar and damaged beyond repair on 16 May 1911Robinson 1973 p.58. Destroyed in storm in Germany on 16 May 1911 LZ 9 F Ersatz Z II Army 2 October 1911 Used as school and training ship Decommissioned 1 August 1914Robinson 1973, p.331. LZ 10 F Schwaben DELAG 26 June 1911Carried 1,553 passengers in 218 commercial flights.Robinson 1971, p. 15 On 28 June 1912 the Schwaben caught fire after a strong gust tore it from its moorings near Düsseldorf, injuring some of the ground handling party. Destroyed in a storm in Germany on 28 June 1912 LZ 11 G Viktoria Luise DELAG; later military 19 February 1912 After use by DELAG, taken over as a training airship by the German military upon the outbreak of World War I; broke apart while being hangared on 1 October 1915.Janes's Pocket Book 7, Airship Development, p82. Broke apart on 1 October 1915 LZ 12 F Z III Army 25 April 1912 Decommissioned 1 August 1914 LZ 13 G Hansa/LZ 13 DELAG; later Navy then Army 30 July 1912 travelled in 399 flights; first passenger flight outside Germany, commanded by Graf von Zeppelin for visit to Denmark and Sweden on 19 September 1912; Impressed by the German Army at the start of World War I and used for reconnaissance missions over the Baltic Sea and bombing missions over France. Used as a training ship from spring 1915. Decommissioned August 1916 LZ 14 H L 1 Navy 7 October 1912 Helgoland Island Air Disaster: brought down into the North Sea during a thunderstorm on 9 September 1913, drowning 14 crew members. These were the first Zeppelin fatalities.Robinson 1973, p.80. Destroyed in a storm over the North Sea on 9 September 1913 LZ 15 H Ersatz Z I Army 16 January 1913 Destroyed in a forced landing on 19 March 1913 LZ 16 H Z IV Army 14 March 1913 Accidentally crossed the French border on 3 April 1913 due to a navigational error in poor visibility, and landed on the parade ground at Lunéville, allowing the French to examine it in detail.Robinson 1973, pp. 152-3. Used for reconnaissance over East Prussia in August 1914 and bombed Warsaw on 24 September 1914. Later used for training before being decommissioned in the autumn of 1916. Decommissioned in the autumn of 1916 LZ 17 H Sachsen/LZ 17 DELAG; later Navy then Army 3 May 1913 Transported 9,837 passengers in 419 flights, travelling ; taken over by German military at the start of World War I in 1914; this was Captain Lehmann's first command; it had bomb racks and bombardier's station fitted, together with an improved radio room, machine guns in the cars below and a gunners' nest in the tail;Lehmann Chapter I In its first attack on Antwerp it carried of bombs and spent 12 hours in the air.Lehmann Chapter II Decommissioned in autumn of 1916 LZ 18 I L 2 Navy 9 September 1913 Johannisthal Air Disaster: destroyed by an explosion caused by escaped hydrogen being sucked into an engine compartment during a test flight on 17 October 1913; entire crew killed.Robinson 1973 p.81. Destroyed by an explosion on 17 October 1913 LZ 19 H Second Ersatz Z I Army 6 June 1913 Damaged beyond repair after a forced landing 13 June 1914 LZ 20 H Z V Army 8 July 1913 Used early in World War I for reconnaissance missions in Western Poland; forced landing due to damage from ground fire after an attack on Mława during the Battle of Tannenberg: crew captured.Robinson 1973, p.85. Crashed Near Allenstein, East Prussia (today Olsztyn, Poland) during 26–30 August 1914 LZ 21 K Z VI Army 10 November 1913 Carried out first airship bombing mission of World War 1 on 6 August 1914 when it bombed Liège, using artillery shells instead of bombs. Inadequate lift restricted it to low altitude so bullets and shrapnel from defending fire holed the gasbags. The ship limped to Cologne but grounded in a forest near Bonn, wrecking it. Crashed in Cologne, Germany on 6 August 1914 LZ 22 L Z VII Army 8 January 1914 Limited to a ceiling of around , on 21 August 1914 Z VII was sent to find the retreating French Army around the Vosges mountains in Alsace, and drop bombs on the camps. After passing through clouds Z VII found itself right above the main army, whose small-arms fire penetrated many gas cells. Leaking heavily, the crew force-landed the airship near St. Quirin, Lorraine. Force-landed near St. Quirin, France on 21 August 1914 LZ 23 L Z VIII Army 11 May 1914 Under the same orders as Z VII on 21 August 1914, Z VIII engaged the French army while at an altitude of a few hundred feet. According to Lehmann Z VIII received "thousands of bullets and shell splinters", forcing it to drift and make a forced landing in no man's land near Badonviller. The crew destroyed documents and tried to ignite the wreck but so little gas remained it would not burn: the crew were captured by the French. Crashed in France on 23 August 1914 LZ 24 M L 3 Navy 11 May 1914 After 24 reconnaissance missions over the North Sea, L 3 participated in the first raid on England on 19 January 1915. On 17 February 1915 abandoned after a forced landing in Denmark, caused by engine failure compounded by strong headwinds and insufficient fuel. The wind was so strong it blew the airship, now unmanned but with engines still running, out to sea.Lehmann Chapter V Disappeared over North Sea on 17 February 1915 LZ 25 M Z IX Army 13 July 1914 Used for reconnaissance and bombing missions in northern France; on 25 August 1914 nine bombs dropped on Antwerp killed or wounded 26 people and damaged a royal palace. The Belgian royal family were in residence and the attack was widely condemned. Destroyed in its hangar at Düsseldorf on 8 October 1914 by bombs dropped by Flt Lt. (later Air Vice Marshal) Reginald Marix, RNAS flying a Sopwith Tabloid.Thetford 1978, p.286. Burnt in its hangar at Düsseldorf, Germany on 8 October 1914
Zeppelins constructed during World War I