The airship LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" was built in Friedrichshafen by the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH airship shipyard. It was financed through a donation campaign, the Eckener's Zeppelin-Eckener donation, which was additionally funded by the German Reich and Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH. The maiden flight took place on September 18, 1928.