Famous Airships

Great Britain — R34
A British airship built by William Beardmore and company in Inchinnan, Scotland. It made its first flight on 14 March 1919 and, on 6 July, became the first aircraft to make an East-to-West crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. The R-34 was decommissioned in 1921 after sustaining damage in adverse weather.

Soviet Union — CCCP B6
The Soviets had a programme in the 1930s whereby they obtained the services of the famous Italian airship pilot and designer Umberto Nobile who stayed in Russia until around 1937. A number of successful airships were built during this period including the CCCP-B6 which set an endurance record of 170 hours in 1937.

United States of America — USS Akron
A rigid, helium-filled airship of the United States Navy that crashed off the New Jersey coast early on 4 April, 1933. At 785 ft (250m) long, she, together with the Hindenburg (20 ft longer) still hold the world record for the largest helium-filled airships ever built.

Germany — LZ129 Hindenburg
A German zeppelin which was the largest airship ever built. During its second year of service it was destroyed while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, U.S.A, where it went up in flames on the 6th of May 1937.