1929 Graf Zeppelin LZ-127

Lakehurst, U. S. Naval Base

Last landing of around-the-world US tour before returning to Germany.

In 1929 American newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst backed an ambitious project: a four-leg circumnavigation of the globe. On Aug. 8, 1929 the Graf Zeppelin took off from Lakehurst and headed east.   After refueling in Germany it continued across Eastern Europe, Russia and Siberia to Tokyo. After five days there, the Graf continued across the Pacific to California, completing the first ever nonstop flight of any kind across the Pacific Ocean. From there it crossed 13 states and several American cities, including Chicago, arriving back at Lakehurst from the west on Aug. 29, three weeks after its initial departure.