Hey Blake, Did the Graf Zeppelin ever visit New Orleans?
Hey Blake,
An acquaintance claims that as a 2-year-old in 1929, he saw the Graf Zeppelin in New Orleans, noting a swastika on its tail. Did the zeppelin ever visit New Orleans?
Alvin Burnstein
Dear Alvin,
Christened Graf Zeppelin on July 8, 1928 by the daughter of Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, this airship, the D-LZ 127, was the most successful zeppelin ever built.
In 1929, Graf Zeppelin made perhaps its most famous flight: an around-the-world voyage covering more than 25,000 miles in five segments going from Lakehurst, N.J., to Friedrichshafen, Germany; Friedrichshafen to Tokyo; Tokyo to Los Angeles; Los Angeles to Lakehurst; and Lakehurst to Friedrichshafen again.
New Orleans was not on its flight plan, and the swastika was not put on the tail until after Adolf Hitler came to power.
