90 years since the first round-the-world airship flight

Aug. 8 marks the 90-year anniversary of the launch of the first round-the-world airship journey by Dr. Hugo Eckener in the Graf Zeppelin.

Sponsored by American media mogul William Randolph Hearst, the already-famous rigid airship departed from Lakehurst, New Jersey, on Aug. 8, 1929, with the German pilot at the helm.

It was the first round-the-world trip to carry passengers: A total of 20 guests, including journalists, cameramen and explorers, joined the crew of 40 to make the record-breaking journey.

The airship flew from Lakehurst, New Jersey, stopping to refuel in Friedrichshafen, Germany (where the airship was built), then over Siberia to Tokyo, over to Los Angeles and across the deserts of Arizona and Texas back to Lakehurst.

To bring the airship back home to Germany, it made a final stretch from Lakehurst to Friedrichshafen in September 1929.

The Graf Zeppelin’s maximum speed was 80 mph and the flying time totaled 12 days and 11 minutes, not including refuel stops. The entire circumnavigation took 21 days, 5 hours, 31 minutes.

It was also the first time that the Pacific Ocean had been crossed by any kind of aircraft, according to FAI officials.