Goodgulf:
The way I see it, dirigible and Zeppelin are related the same way as car and Ford.
I know a very late reply.
I am aware that the Zeppelin is a subcategory of the dirigible and most were build as freighters for the route
Germany - London
I once saw a TV documentary why Zeppelins were successful in delivering their payload at first. It was contrary to what you learned at school about Hydrogen gas. We learned H2 has a large range of acting explosive (also named
Knallgas('bang' gas) but the English had to realize that incendiary ammunition was useless against Zeppelins at first. Only after they added only a few shots of tracer ammunition to standard rounds it worked. Once the H2 cells leaked the H2 could mix with the O2 and the mixture was explosive. Once the miracle was solved I wouldn't want to be on the crew of a Zeppelin.
The Hindenburg was Zeppelin number 129 I think. If you compare this number to the 25 English dirigibles you might realize why Germans think of
'Starrluftschiffen'(dirigibles) as Zeppelins. Count Zeppelin had his factory near lake Constance. If you buy a map in Austria, Germany or Switzerland it's called
Bodensee (Groundsea). The only explanation I can make up is that the city of Konstanz lies at the lake. The name might derive from
'Konstanze' (Constance)(?).