125 Years of the first Zepelline Flight
Title:: 125 Years of the first Zepelline Flight
Date of Issue: 11.07.2025.
Author: Tanja Kuruzovic
Type edition: commemorative
Printing techniques: multicolour offset
Sheet: block
Paper: muflep 100g
Printing House: Blicdruk, Sarajevo
Motive: zepelline
Каталошки број: 1001
Perforation: 13 3/4
Face value: 8.80 BAM
Quantity: 8 000
For centuries, inventors had been trying to find a way for humans to fly. On July 2nd, 1900, the first successful flight of an airship—a zeppelin—was carried out.
The airship, named Zeppelin LZ 1, was produced by the company of German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. While many considered Zeppelin to be an eccentric, the German Emperor called him the most prominent German of the 20th century. The first flight of this aircraft took place over Lake Constance near the city of Friedrichshafen in southern Germany.
His airships were known for their enormous size and cigar-like shape. They had a metal frame covered with fabric. The LZ 1 model was 128 meters long and had a volume of around 11,300 cubic meters. It was powered by two four-cylinder water-cooled engines, each producing 14.2 horsepower. One engine was located at the front, and the other at the rear of the airship.
Count Zeppelin saw his airships as a means to give Germany dominance in the skies. During World War I, the German military used zeppelins for reconnaissance over enemy territory and even for bombing missions. Meanwhile, civil aviation enthusiasts recognized the potential of the zeppelin for passenger transport. The rapid development of airships led to their commercial use and the transportation of people to various destinations. These “giants of the sky” amazed people around the world and caused great sensation wherever they landed. This era of fascination lasted until the tragedy in 1937—the crash of the Hindenburg zeppelin near New Jersey, which claimed the lives of 35 people.
Although great hopes were placed in zeppelins for both civilian and military aviation, by the start of World War II they had been pushed to the margins of air traffic by more reliable and safer airplanes.