Lech (Zeppelin) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lech was the first Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

zeppelin

Zeppelin

A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...

. It was purchased from France's army surplus in 1920 and its original, French name was Commandant Coutelle. The zeppelin's type was Zodiac VZ-11, Vedette class and the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

had used it for patrolling and escorting purposes in the area of the Mediterranean. Like other zeppelins of that age, it was filled with flammable hydrogen. It was propelled by two Renault

Renault

Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...

engines (some sources claim these were Anzani

Anzani

Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani , which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.-Overview:...

engines), each with 80 horsepower. Altogether, the French built 63 Zodiac VZ-11 zeppelins, they were sold to various countries, such as Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, USA, Russia and Holland.

Lech, as this was the new, Polish name of the zeppelin, was brought in parts to the port of Gdańsk

Gdansk

Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...

some time in early 1921. Then, in March of that year, it was transported to Toruń

Torun

Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....

, where it was assembled by Zbigniew Burzynski

Zbigniew Burzynski

Zbigniew Burzyński , was a Polish balloonist and constructor of balloons, pioneer of Polish balloons, who twice won the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning, also beat the world record.-Biography:...

. Between 1921 and 1924, it belonged to the Officer's Aeronautical School in Toruń, then it was passed over to the 1st Balloon Battalion, also in Toruń. Its first commandant was Colonel Slawomir Bilek, then he was replaced by Captain Kazimierz Kraczkiewicz. Lech made numerous flights to Legionowo

Legionowo

Legionowo is a town in Masovia . According to the 2004 Census estimate the town has a total population of 50,759.Legionowo is located ca. 23 km to the north-east of the center of Warsaw and only 7 km to the south of Zegrze Reservoir , near the Warsaw-Gdańsk railroad and Warsaw-Suwałki...

and Poznań

Poznan

Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...

's airport in the district Winiary - places, where special zeppelin halls existed. During those flights, 18 pilots as well as several members of the crew completed practice courses.

On March 2, 1928, after its last flight, Lech was scrapped and the bag's fabric was used for making five field air-sheds.

General characteristics

Capacity: 7-8 persons
Length: 50 m
Diameter: 12 m
Volume: 3150 m3
Range: 800 km
Service ceiling: 3000 m
Time span of engines - up to 10 hours
Cargo - up to 320 kilograms of bombs.

Sources

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.