Zeppelin airship, model 4, with inset bust portrait of Graf Zeppelin

The main types of airship are non-rigid, semi-rigid, and rigid. Non-rigid airships, often called "blimps", rely on internal pressure to maintain the shape of the airship. Semi-rigid airships maintain the envelope shape by internal pressure but have a supporting structure. Rigid airships have an outer structural framework which maintains the shape and carries all structural loads, while the lifting gas is contained in internal gas bags or cells. Rigid airships were first flown by Count Zeppelin and the vast majority of rigid airships built were manufactured by the firm he founded. As a result, all rigid airships are sometimes called zeppelins. In early dirigibles, the lifting gas used was hydrogen, due to its high lifting capacity and ready availability. Helium gas has almost the same lifting capacity and is not flammable, unlike hydrogen, but is rare and relatively expensive. Airships were most commonly used before the 1940s, but their use decreased over time as their capabilities were surpassed by those of aeroplanes.

The Henry Cord Meyer LTA Collection contains Professor Meyer’s research on the political, military, and commercial development of airships in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Studying social and economic issues in addition to the political and military implications of airships, he compared the operations of the Schütte-Lanz and Luftschiffbau Zeppelin (LBZ; Zeppelin Airship Construction Company) companies at Friedrichshafen, Germany, the British Air Ministry at Cardington, England, and the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation at Akron, Ohio. Among the airships researched are the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, LZ 129 Hindenburg, and LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II; the British dirigibles R-100 and R-101; and the U.S. Navy's airships USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), USS Los Angeles (ZRS-3), USS Akron (ZRS-4), and USS Macon (ZRS-5).