Dr Eckener鈥檚 Dream Machine by Douglas Botting, HarperCollins, 拢17.99, ISBN 0002571919
LAST August the new, helium-filled, passenger-laden Zeppelin NT arose from its mooring at Friedrichshafen in Germany. It was the rebirth of one man鈥檚 dream-but not that of Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, whose name branded those rigid airships, packed to the gills with highly explosive hydrogen gas. It was Hugo Eckener鈥檚 vision, the magnetic character at the centre of Douglas Botting鈥檚 fine new book, Dr Eckener鈥檚 Dream Machine.
According to Botting, an expert on both Germany and exploration, Eckener came to von Zeppelin鈥檚 attention in 1900 when he wrote a favourable newspaper account of the Count鈥檚 first rigid airship. Eckener happened to be a whiz at reading weather systems, and was soon at the helm of Zeppelins, training crews to fly and fight in the First World War. When the Count died, the zealous Eckener took over the company. He engineered its finest achievement, the luxurious Graf Zeppelin, whose career culminated in a spectacular round-the-world flight in August 1929.
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Then came the Hindenburg, the first Zeppelin designed to be filled with safe, inert helium. But Eckener鈥檚 arch-enemy Hitler rose to power. America-the sole source of helium-refused to sell the gas to the Nazis. In May 1937, the hydrogen-filled Hindenburg left Germany for Lakehurst, New Jersey, and its date with destiny.
By then, Zeppelins had made 2300 flights and carried 50,000 passengers without loss of life. For anyone interested in those huge airships and their renaissance, Botting鈥檚 account is a fascinating read.
