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Germany, Weimar Republic. Two Zeppelin Themed Commemorative Plaques
1. Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Count Zeppelin Commemorative Plaque (in bronze, obverse illustrating the bust of Count Zeppelin, inscribed "FERD. V. ZEPPELIN" (Ferdinand von Zeppelin) above and "GEB. 1838" (born 1838) to the left of the bust, with a full-width panorama below the bust illustrating a zeppelin in flight over the countryside, engraver marked "M.&.W. ST." (Karl Meissner and Paul Wurst, Stuttgart) below the bust, blank reverse, measuring 38 mm (w) x 50 mm (h), exhibiting spotting overall, the reverse with bruising on the upper right corner and traces of greening);
2. Dr. Hugo Eckener, Commander of Airship ZR-3 Commemorative Plaque 1924 (in bronze gilt, obverse illustrating the left-facing head-only bust of Dr. Hugo Eckener and inscribed "DER FÜHRER DES Z.R.III / Dr HUGO ECKENER / 12-15.x.1924" (The Leader of Z.R.3 / Dr. Hugo Eckener / October 12-15, 1924) below, engraver marked "J. TAUTENHAYN.FEC." at the base of the bust, blank reverse, measuring 49.3 mm (w) x 64 mm (h), exhibiting scattered spotting).
Near extremely fine and better than very fine, respectively.
Footnote:
1. Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin (July 8, 1838 - March 8, 1917) was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships; he founded the company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.
2. Hugo Eckener (August 10, 1868 - August 14, 1954) was the manager of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin during the inter-war years, and also the commander of the famous Graf Zeppelin for most of its record-setting flights, including the first airship flight around the world, making him the most successful airship commander in history. He was also responsible for the construction of the most successful type of airships of all time. An anti-Nazi who was invited to campaign as a moderate in the German presidential elections, he was blacklisted by that regime and eventually sidelined.
3. The rigid airship Zeppelin LZ 126 was the first passenger airship to be used for long distance flights. It took only 81 hours to fly from Friedrichshafen to New York in 1924, which was an absolute speed record for the time. It was built in 1923-1924 by the Zeppelin company in Friedrichshafen, Germany, as war reparation. It was delivered to the United States Navy in October 1924, where it was re-named USS Los Angeles, designated ZR-3, and after being used mainly for experimental work, particularly in the development of the American parasite fighter program, it was decommissioned in 1932 and dismantled in August 1940, after 4,400 hours of successful flight in United States Navy service.