GRAF ZEPPELIN ARRIVES IN LOS ANGELES AFTER TRIP ACROSS PACIFIC OCEAN AUGUST 23, 1929 32760

Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit This silent movie shows the Graf Zeppelin arriving in Los Angeles, California on August 25, 1929, after a 79 hour flight from Tokyo during the airship’s famous Round-the-World flight. The film begins with shots at the Los Angeles Municipal Airport aka Mines Field (today’s LAX) as the “globe circling“ giant arrives on its trip from Japan. At 1:23 the ship descends to a landing. The Los Angeles Times of 26 August recorded the heightened air of anticipation: “With the approach of the Graf Zeppelin within sight of the Los Angeles Municipal Airport at Inglewood, the crowd was growing into gigantic proportions and it was estimate that 500,000 people would be on hand at sunrise.” The landing was apparently made more difficult because of a typical Los Angeles temperature inversion, with a colder layer of air near ground level, which necessitated Captain Hugo Eckener and his crewmen outgassing a great deal of hydrogen as the giant airship landed. At 3:35 the ship is tied to a mooring mast and made secure. At 3:50, a look at the main cabin and gondolas of the ship. At 4:30, a promo for the American Broadcasting system, which had a portable loudspeaker broadcasting truck at the landing site. At 5:01, notable passengers are shown disembarking including William Leeds II, Karl von Wiegand and the “Japanese representatives“. At 5:21, Dr. Eckener is shown with the German delegation. At 5:40, a study of the dirigible’s gigantic hull and keel. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit