There aren't too many films in which the star of the show is a special effects airship, but this is one. They really make "LZ-36" a reality! But then they use this lovely ship to make a silly, unbelievable, illogical raid on a Scottish castle to steal the Magna Carta! There are spies, love affairs, and quite a nice fight, but the almost convincing feeling of an experience in a real Great War German airship is the main attraction.
Now for some realities about large airship handling and aerostation. In the film a considerable company of soldiers are taken aboard. Even allowing that there was no bomb load, the 1915-1917 Zeppelins could not have carried such a complement or troops in addition to operating crew. No airship ever built could have done so, including "Hindenburg", "Akron", or "Macon", the largest ever constructed. The Great War Zeppelins might have carried 30 or 40 persons at most. Then consider the landings shown on water and land. Real airships require very large ground handling crews. In the film "LZ-36" is shown being handled like a small "Goodyear Blimp"!
In German airship numbering, the naval airships were designated as "L-#" without the "Z". The Zeppelin Airship Company designated their craft as "LZ-#", but there was no correspondence with the naval numbering. The historic "LZ-36" was naval "L-9", burned in a hanger fire in 1916 after only four raids. Zeppelin "LZ-82" was naval "L-36", lost in February 1917, after a forced landing in water, as in the film. "L-36" made twenty flights, only one raid. Probably it was "L-36" that suggested the film story, but it was one of the "height climbers", designed to reach an altitude of 20,000 feet to avoid the British pursuit planes. Needless to say, it was never used to try to steal the Magna Carta.
Oh, as to the film story, did the raid succeed in stealing the Magna Carta? I'll never tell.
Now for some realities about large airship handling and aerostation. In the film a considerable company of soldiers are taken aboard. Even allowing that there was no bomb load, the 1915-1917 Zeppelins could not have carried such a complement or troops in addition to operating crew. No airship ever built could have done so, including "Hindenburg", "Akron", or "Macon", the largest ever constructed. The Great War Zeppelins might have carried 30 or 40 persons at most. Then consider the landings shown on water and land. Real airships require very large ground handling crews. In the film "LZ-36" is shown being handled like a small "Goodyear Blimp"!
In German airship numbering, the naval airships were designated as "L-#" without the "Z". The Zeppelin Airship Company designated their craft as "LZ-#", but there was no correspondence with the naval numbering. The historic "LZ-36" was naval "L-9", burned in a hanger fire in 1916 after only four raids. Zeppelin "LZ-82" was naval "L-36", lost in February 1917, after a forced landing in water, as in the film. "L-36" made twenty flights, only one raid. Probably it was "L-36" that suggested the film story, but it was one of the "height climbers", designed to reach an altitude of 20,000 feet to avoid the British pursuit planes. Needless to say, it was never used to try to steal the Magna Carta.
Oh, as to the film story, did the raid succeed in stealing the Magna Carta? I'll never tell.