Hugo Eckener | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 14 August 1954 | (aged 86)
Monuments | Hugo-Eckener-Schule, Hugo-Eckener-Saal (both Friedrichshafen) |
Nationality | German |
Known for | Airship designer, pilot, company manager |
Spouse | Johanna Maaß (1871–1956) |
Relatives | Alexander Eckener (brother) |
Aviation career | |
Full name | Hugo Eckener |
First flight | 16 May 1911 LZ 8, Deutschland II |
Famous flights | 1928 first intercontinental passenger airship flight, 1929 flight around the world (the only such flight by an airship, and the second by an aircraft of any type) and 1931 Arctic flight |
Flight license | 1911 |
Hugo Eckener (10 August 1868 – 14 August 1954)[1][2][3] was the manager of 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,[1][4][5] he was blacklisted by that regime and eventually sidelined.