What Is the Difference Between Blimps and Zeppelins?

Blimps are nonrigid airships that depend on gas pressure to maintain their shape, and the envelope itself is the structure. Zeppelins have a rigid internal framework that is covered and contains internal gas-filled cells. Zeppelin is also a name brand of rigid airships that is often applied to the general category of all rigid airships. Additionally, there are semirigid airships, which are similar to blimps and sometimes called blimps but have a structural metal keel. All three types of airships are also called dirigibles, meaning that they can be steered, in contrast to hot-air balloons. Because blimps require gas to hold their shape and semirigid and rigid airships have an internal structure, blimps are typically smaller.

Nonrigid airships are simply balloons with cars or gondolas for crew and passengers attached by cables; if the gas escapes, the balloon collapses. Semirigid airships depend on internal gas to maintain the balloon’s shape, but they also have a structural metal keel that extends longitudinally along the balloon’s base and supports the suspended car. Rigid airships, such as zeppelins, consist of a light framework of aluminum-alloy girders that is covered with fabric. Inside this framework are gas-filled balloons, each of which can be filled or emptied separately. Unlike a nonrigid airship, in which the envelope is airtight and contains the lifting gas, a rigid airship carries its gas in these internal cells, so the outer covering does not function as the primary gas container. Rigid airships keep their shape whether they are filled with gas or not.

Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.

SIGN UP

" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">

Thank you for signing up!"

Back to homepage

By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

There are also historical differences between the airships that are popularly called zeppelins and blimps. Airships of various types predate both by a few decades, but zeppelins, or at least rigid airships by that name, came before blimps. Zeppelins were developed by Ferdinand, Graf von Zeppelin, from whom the airship takes its name, in the late 19th century and were first flown in 1900. They were built in Germany in the early 20th century and were used by the German army in World War I and in the two decades afterward, before they were destroyed during World War II. Throughout their time in operation they were used for multiple applications, including commercial passenger transportation. Perhaps the best-known zeppelin was the Hindenburg—the largest rigid airship ever built, at 804 feet (245 meters) long—which crashed in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937. In more recent times, newly constructed zeppelins have been used for leisure and tourism, surveillance, and scientific studies.

Blimps derive their name either by onomatopoeia from the sound of the inflated balloon being struck or from their classification in World War I as British Class B airship combined with the word limp, referring to their nonrigid construction. Many airships were built by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company starting in the late 1910s for World War I and subsequently for various entertainment purposes, including marketing stunt performances. Goodyear’s first commercial blimp using helium was The Pilgrim, built in 1925. In more recent years Goodyear has constructed semirigid and rigid airships for multiple uses. The Goodyear blimp is perhaps best known in the United States today for attending major sports and festival events and providing blimp’s-eye views.