Lutvessel Schütte-Lanz 1911

The first airship was an elongated balloon built by Henri Giffard (1) in 1852. More than forty years later, David Schwarz (2) in Berlin constructed the first so-called rigid airship with a supporting frame made of the then newly developed aluminum sheet, which made it possible to build a large airship with a higher payload and a larger operating radius. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (3) witnessed the first test flight of this airship at the end of 1897, but it broke up on landing. Count Zeppelin bought the patents and design drawings and used them to build his first airship, which took off from Lake Constance in July 1900. Zeppelins became synonymous with airships.

The people of Mannheim are thrilled when they see a zeppelin glide over their city for the first time on August 4, 1908. On board: Graf Zeppelin on a demonstration flight for the military. However, problems with the engine forced a landing in Echterdingen near Stuttgart, where the Zeppelin, torn from its moorings by strong winds, got stuck in a tree and was set on fire by the escaping hydrogen. Even the aluminum skeleton melts in the heat.

When Johann Schütte sent Count Zeppelin a series of technical improvement suggestions in a letter after the accident in Echterdingen on 14 August 1908, he was already a recognized expert throughout the German Empire. But the Count ignored his well-meaning advice. Schütte therefore felt challenged to build an airship of his own that was superior to the "Zeppelin".

Schütte began to work intensively on aviation and produced his first design drawings. His profound knowledge of hydrodynamics made it easier for him to gain access to the new science of aerodynamics. However, Schütte needed a lot of capital to build an airship. But he was lucky: at the first German shipbuilding exhibition in Berlin in 1908, he met the wealthy Mannheim entrepreneur Karl Lanz, who was enthusiastic about aviation.

Karl Lanz (7) was born in Mannheim on May 18, 1873, the only son of agricultural machinery manufacturer Heinrich Lanz and his wife Julia (8), after his sisters Helene, Emily and Valentine. He graduated from Karl-Friedrich-Gymnasium in 1892, did a year's military service and began studying mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Hanover in 1894. Just three years later, he passed his exams in Berlin-Charlottenburg and then joined his father's company "Heinrich-Lanz & Co" (9), the most important European manufacturer of agricultural machinery. In 1903, Karl Lanz married Eleonora Gisella Giulini (10), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. The happy couple had 5 children. When Heinrich Lanz died in 1905, Karl Lanz took over the management of the company and continued to develop it with great success.

Soon afterwards, the newly founded company starts work, initially as a department of Heinrich-Lanz-Werke until the production halls are built. When construction of the assembly hall was due to begin in July 1909, the sand and clay soil caused unexpected problems and even led to the collapse of the building shell on several occasions. (12) After some improvements, the construction work can be completed despite the bankruptcy of the construction company (13). The other buildings, such as the joinery, locksmith's shop, timber drying room, offices and workers' accommodation followed later, as did the factory roads and tracks. There were even plans for a pub.

In September, assembly of the load-bearing framework of the first Schütte-Lanz SL 1 airship can begin in the 135 m long hall (14, 15). In contrast to the aluminum used for the skeleton of the Zeppelin, Schütte opted for plywood. This elastic material is lighter than aluminum and consists of several layers of wood glued together, the fibers of which run at right angles to each other, giving it great tensile strength and allowing it to react more flexibly to turbulence. Another advantage of wood is that it absorbs engine noise better. In addition, plywood is very resistant to impact and breaks can be easily repaired. Unfortunately, however, the adhesive used for gluing does not initially meet the high requirements, as it absorbs moisture over time. A water-resistant glue developed in-house, which was later launched on the market as Luward glue, provided a remedy. The stability of the joints in the frame is also improved by reinforcing them with aluminum plates and brackets.

The two nacelles (17) attached to the airship are suspended in such a way that they remain in position during the flight but give way when landing. As a result, forces occurring during a hard landing are not transferred to the airship itself. The propellers are driven by two petrol engines with a total output of 500 hp. The airship is even equipped with a radio with a range of 400 km and can thus be supplied with the latest weather news from its own radio station built next to the assembly hall and equipped with a 45 m high transmission mast (18).

Although many problems delayed the completion of the airship, it was ceremoniously christened on April 30, 1910 in the presence of the Grand Duke of Baden, Friedrich II (19). In his christening speech, Karl Lanz expressed his confidence that technical progress would lead to a better future and that the airship would make a contribution to the conquest of the air.

Just one month later, the completion suffered another setback: on the night of May 30th to May 31st, an attack was made on the airship in which the outer hull was damaged with 60 stab wounds. (Reclam's Universum Weltrundschau). By the time the airship is completed more than a year later, its construction has cost 1.7 million gold marks. When the capital contributed by Karl Lanz had been used up, his mother Julia Lanz (20) and his brother-in-law August Röchling helped with new capital.

The maiden flight finally took place on October 11, 1911. From the Kaiser Wilhelm barracks, 120 soldiers were detached to pull the airship out of the assembly hall (21). Soon afterwards, the airship, filled with 20,000 cubic meters of hydrogen gas and 130 m long, slowly climbs to a height of 200 m with Prof. Schütte on board and heads off in the direction of Speyer. When it appears over the Heinrich Lanz factory premises, there is great jubilation.

But soon after take-off, the controls failed. Initially, the SL 1 continued to circle, but then had to let off the gas through the valves and make an emergency landing in an open field near Waldsee after only 50 minutes of flight. However, it is not damaged and can return to the shipyard the next day after being repaired.

Many more test runs followed, some of which are worth mentioning, such as the first round trip over Mannheim on November 1, 1911, which was a sensation. The trip on April 13, 1912, when the SL 1 was to meet the Zeppelin "Viktoria Luise" over Mannheim, was less uplifting. Shortly after take-off, a gust of wind pushes the SL 1 to the ground from a height of 300 meters. Some members of the crew were thrown out of the gondola, while Schütte and the rest of the crew drifted over the Rhine, unable to maneuver, before it got stuck in the trees near Altrip. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. However, the gondolas and the hull are so badly damaged that the SL 1 can no longer return to the shipyard under its own power, but has to be freed from the trees by soldiers, dragged over the dyke to the Rhine and transported back by a steamer.

Just three months later, the SL 1 completes its first long-distance journey to Cologne, more than five hours away, without any problems.

After the dissolution of "Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz OHG", "Schütte-Lanz-Holzwerke AG" is founded in 1922 and now produces large-format plywood panels in the huge factory halls that were spared from demolition. The experience gained in airship construction comes in handy. In the 1960s, the weatherproof Schütte-Lanz industrial panels known as Semper formwork became a sought-after product. The plant, later taken over by the Finnish company "Finnforest Schütte-Lanz Gmbh", is relocated to Romania at the end of 2007 and the site with the empty buildings is bought up by a real estate company. After interim use as warehouses, all but one of the historic halls were demolished. A new residential quarter has now been created here, which has been christened "Schütte-Lanz Park".