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LZ 120 Bodensee was a passenger-carrying airship built by Zeppelin Luftschiffbau in 1919 to operate a passenger service between Berlin and Friedrichshafen. It was later handed over to the Italian Navy as war reparations in place of airships that had been sabotaged by their crews and renamed Esperia. A sister-ship, LZ 121 Nordstern, was built in 1920: it was handed over to France and renamed Méditerranée.

Design

(File:Zeppelin LZ 120 Bodensee Arriving in Berlin 1919.jpg|thumb|alt=Airship flying over two giant hangars|Zeppelin LZ 120 Bodensee arriving in Berlin on her maiden voyage from Friedrichshafen, a distance of about {{Convert|450|mi|km}}, in six hours.)The Bodensee, designed by Paul Jaray, had an innovative hull shape of relatively low fineness ratio, (ratio of length to diameter). This was arrived at after wind-tunnel tests conducted at the University of Göttingen had shown that this would reduce drag. The framework consisted of eleven 17-sided main transverse frames with a secondary ring frame in each bay, connected by longitudinal girders with a stiffening keel. The forward-mounted control car was combined with the passenger accommodation and was constructed as an integral part of the hull structure rather than being suspended beneath it.JOURNAL,weblink 25 September 1919, Flight International, Flight, The New German "DELAG" Commercial Airship "Bodensee", 1289, Passenger accommodation consisted of five compartments seating four people and a VIP cabin for one. An additional six passengers could be carried on wicker chairs in the gangway between the compartments. A galley and toilets were also fitted.Swinfield, John Airship. London: Conway, 2012. {{ISBN|978 1844861 385}} p.112 It was powered by four {{convert|260|hp|kW|disp=flip|abbr=on}} Maybach Mb.IVa engines, two in a centrally mounted aft gondola driving a single {{convert|5.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} diameter two-bladed pusher propeller, the other two in a pair of amidships engine cars mounted either side of the hull. These drove {{convert|3.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} two-bladed propellers via a reversing gearbox to enable reverse thrust for manoeuvering when landing.A sister-ship LZ 121 Nordstern, similar to the lengthened Bodensee but with modified passenger accommodation, was completed in 1920.

Operational history

Bodensee was first flown on 20 August 1919, piloted by Bernhard Lau. The first passenger-carrying flight was made on 24 August, with Hugo Eckener in command.WEB,weblink Zeppelin's LZ-120 Bodensee, National Lighter-Than-Air Historical Center, The Lighter Than Air Society, 25 February 2014, Bodensee made over 100 flights, carrying 2,322 passengers over a total distance of {{convert|50000|km|abbr=on}}JOURNAL,weblink Flight International, Flight, Civil Aviation in Germany, 1 July 1920, 683, These flights included a 17-hour voyage between Berlin and Stockholm.On 3 November 1919, Bodensee suffered a partial engine failure, leading to an accident at Staaken when attempting to land. One of the ground handling crew was killed and several injured, and the airship, lightened after five passengers had jumped out, was then carried off by the wind and eventually brought down near Magdeburg.JOURNAL,weblink Flight International, Flight, Adventures with the "Bodensee", 6 November 1919, 1452, Bodensee had suffered some minor damage in the accident, and while being repaired, she was also modified. the oversensitive controls were improved and the airship was lengthened by {{convert|10|m|ftin|abbr=on}}.JOURNAL,weblink Flight International, Flight, 12 April 1928, H.M. Airship R101, 252, JOURNAL,weblink Flight International, Flight, Civil Aviation October, 1919, To March, 1920, 12 August 1920, 894, File:Bodenseeairship.jpg|thumb|A real photo postcard of Bodensee over StockholmStockholmIn July 1921, Bodensee was handed over to the Italian government as compensation for the Zeppelins which were to have been handed over as war reparations but had been sabotaged by their crews. Two stowaways were aboard the Bodensee during her flight to Rome: a German bank teller and an American cinematographer.NEWSPAPER THE TIMES, Stowaways in an Airship, News in Brief, 6 July 1921, 12, 42765, G, Renamed Esperia, the Zeppelin made at least one long flight in Italian service, a {{convert|1500|mi|km|disp=flip|abbr=on}} voyage lasting 25 hours from Rome to Barcelona and Toulon before she was broken up for scrap in July 1928.JOURNAL,weblink Flight International, Flight, Italian Airship's Long Flight, 11 June 1925, 362, WEB,weblink Global Security, Italian Dirigibile, 24 February 2014, LZ 121 Nordstern, sister ship to the Bodensee, was also covered by the reparations decided as part of the peace treaty of June 1919 and was confiscated by the Allies.{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1930/untitled0%20-%200088.html |title =Twenty-One Years of Airship Progress |first=W Lockwood |last= Marsh |page =88 |date =3 January 1930 |journal=Flight }} Nordstern was delivered to France as a war reparation on 13 June 1921 and renamed Méditerranée.

Specifications (after enlarging)

{{Commons category|LZ 120}}{{Aircraft specs|ref=The Lighter Than Air Society|prime units?=met|genhide=|crew=12|capacity=27|length m=120.8|length ft=|length in=|length note=|dia m=18.71|dia ft=|dia in=|dia note=|height m=|height ft=|height in=|height note=|volume m3=20000|volume ft3=|volume note=|empty weight kg=13646|empty weight lb=|empty weight note=|gross weight kg=|gross weight lb=|gross weight note=|max takeoff weight kg=|max takeoff weight lb=|max takeoff weight note=|fuel capacity=|lift kg=9593|lift lb=|lift note=|more general=|eng1 number=4|eng1 name=Maybach Mb.IVa|eng1 type=six cylinder inline piston engines|eng1 kw=|eng1 hp=260|eng1 shp=|eng1 note=|power original=|prop blade number=|prop name=|prop dia m=|prop dia ft=|prop dia in=|prop dia note=|perfhide=|max speed kmh=132.5|max speed mph=|max speed kts=|max speed note=|cruise speed kmh=|cruise speed mph=|cruise speed kts=|cruise speed note=|range km=1700|range miles=|range nmi=|range note=|ceiling m=|ceiling ft=|ceiling note=|more performance=}}

Notes

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References

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