On 14th of March 1899 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin took out a US patent for a ‘navigable balloon’. It became known as a Zeppelin airship.

Zeppelin had been working on the design for over 20 years.

By 1910 the first commercial flights took place.

During World War I Zeppelins were used on bombing raids.

On one such raid on the Sunday night of 2nd and into the 3rd of April 1916 bombing raids took place over the East coast of Scotland killing and maiming terrified residents.

It was a perfect Spring night with not a breath of wind. Leith was hit several times.

After the war restrictions were placed on the construction of large airships in Germany. These limitations were lifted in 1926 and large luxurious airships were built and plied the trans Atlantic route.

In 1937 the infamous disaster of the Hindenburg hastened the demise of the industry.