National Air and Space Museum
Balloons and Airships
July 1, 1976 – 1990
This gallery highlights the history of lighter-than-air flight.
Highlights include:
- Objects and prints that testify to the early preoccupation with achievements of flight through balloons for fun and adventure
- The military uses for balloons in the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871
- Montgolfier Balloon: a working model is demonstrated
- Zeppelin: the magnificent airship of Count von Zeppelin
- Hindenburg: a model of the original and a full-scale reproduction of the Hindenburg's gondola
