The
Zeppelin V Type "Height Climber" of WW1 is now in my CLASSIC AIRSHIPS shop in 1/700 and 1/600 scales.
To the German Naval Airship Division they were the Class 53's. To the Zeppelin works they were the V Types, a series of ten 'ships incorporating streamlined cars, lightweight hulls and "altitude motors" to allow them to operate 4 miles up! To the British they were the "Height Climbers", raiders that were too high to defend against - until such time as new airplane types could be got into service.
The Germans were the first air force in the world to have to grapple with operating at extreme altitude with it's debilitating effect on body, mind and machine.
Happy modeling!
Derek
L55 at Nordholz
L53 (LZ100) namesake for the Class