History Main / CoolAirship

* Modern hybrid airships being built, like the examples in the page description. These are just the tip of the iceberg, eventually the companies building them are going to scale up to large airships that will be used as cargo ships, cruise liners, firefighting ships, and long-endurance surveillance vessels. Some cool hybrid airships of note that are about to be flight tested from around 2013-2015 are the Lockheed-Martin "Skytug," which serves the same role "as a supersized cargo helicopter, but at a tenth the cost," the HAV "Airlander 50" cargo ship, the solar-powered "Solar Ship," and the "Aeroscraft" variable-buoyancy airship.
* The ''Norge.'' in 1926, it became the first ever aircraft of any kind to make the grueling, dangerous trek to the North Pole in an epic exploration of uncharted lands. The Norge itself was a relatively small semi-rigid airship, unlike the leviathan ''Graf Zeppelin'' which later explored the Arctic, which makes the feat even more impressive.

* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' has plenty of examples, mostly due to the Koop Troop:

* ''Franchise/IndianaJones'': Indiana and his dad escape from Germany in one (a fictional craft in the same series as the RealLife UsefulNotes/TheHindenburg) in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', and later have to escape from it too.

* ''Literature/TalesOfTheKettyJay'' is a series about steampunk airship pirates. The Ketty Jay manages to be a CoolAirship, despite being quite an old and outdated model at the time the novel is set (the Ketty Jay is so heavily armored that [[ImmuneToBullets it takes rockets to damage]] and can hold its own with a powerful autocannon). Apparently she's patched together in such a haphazzard way, that only Frey can really fly her to her full potential. The Delerium Trigger is a more straightfoward example, although while it's very big and powerful, it's not quite as fast as the smaller fighter ships.

* ''Literature/{{Airborn}}'' and its sequels, ''Skybreaker'' and ''Starclimber'', are the very embodiment of this trope. Yhey take place in an alternate history in which airships never lost popularity, despite the Hindenburg incident, thanks to the new element "hydrium". This changes technological advancement to an enormous extent, and airships and ornithopters are much more popular than any sea-going vessel. The main character (Matt Cruse, a name that screams "adventure/romance novel") starts out as a cabin boy aboard the Aurora, a luxurious cruise airship. In ''Skybreaker'', a very low-class ship is shown, and then another high-price ship that can also reach incredible altitudes. In the same book, the plot centers around an absolutely immense derelict airship.

* The titular Pneumatic Zeppelin of ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThePneumaticZeppelin'' is a stolen warship zeppelin that's fairly well-armoured, has a respectable amount of cannons and a turreted steam-powered rapid-fire speargun. In this world altered by a Martian invasion, armoured zeppelins are the only way to travel safely.

* ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': The ''Argo II'' is a flying Greek trireme. While the ballistae that fire exploding bolts are cool, the best feature is the control systems, which include a keyboard and monitor, aviation controls of a Lear jet, a dubstep soundboard, and a [[UsefulNotes/NintendoWii Wiimote]].

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':
** UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution Batman in the {{Elseworld}} ''Batman: Reign of Terror'' has something similar, with a bat insignia on the balloon.

* ''Film/{{Zeppelin}}'' involves a fictional secret mission undertaken by a [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Prussian Germany]] prototype zeppelin, the "LZ36", to sneak an assault team into Britain and steal or destroy various historical documents, such as the Magna Carta. The plan goes bust partially thanks to TheHero, a mole sent by the British to infiltrate the team.

->''"[Airships] put me in mind of a man who invents a floor that is perfectly smooth, beautifully patterned, never requires cleaning, and never wears out. Unfortunately, the floor cannot be walked upon with nailed shoes or have anything dropped on it, because it's made of high explosive."''
-->-- '''UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler'''

* ''Manhua/BloodlineTheLastRoyalVampire'': The Holy Land have large blocky airships that act as their mobile bases of operations. The War Maiden’s personal flagship, the ''Nebuchadnezzar II'', even has cloaking.

* ''State of Survival: Zombie War'' (its most current name) from [=FunPlus International AG=], is set in a ZombieApocalypse where even with a vast number of heroes rising up, including [[IntercontinuityCrossover guest stars]] such as [[ComicBook/DetectiveComics the Joker]], Dale from Series/TheWalkingDead and characters from VideoGame/ResidentEvil, humanity was struggling in a war against the heavily mutated undead. That is unitl the turning point for humanity, your science team develop high-tech zeppelins packed with bombs, rockets, cannons and autocannons to blast zombies from the safety of the skies rather than sending [[ScavengerWorld Mad Max-style]] ragtag armies of "infantry" that end up filling your hospitals with casualties. At least that's what [[GameplayAndStorySegregation was advertised.

* ''State of Survival: Zombie War'' (its most current name) from [=FunPlus International AG=], is set in a ZombieApocalypse where even with a vast number of heroes rising up, including [[IntercontinuityCrossover guest stars]] such as [[ComicBook/DetectiveComics the Joker]], Dale from Series/TheWalkingDead and characters from VideoGame/ResidentEvil, humanity was struggling in a war against the heavily mutated undead. That is unitl the turning point for humanity, your science team develop high-tech zeppelins packed with bombs, rockets, cannons and autocannons to blast zombies from the safety of the skies rather than sending [[ScavengerWorld Mad Max-style]] ragtag armies of "infantry" that end up filling your hospitals with casualties.

* ''State of Survival: Zombie War'' (its most current name) from [=FunPlus International AG=], is set in a ZombieApocalypse where even with a vast number of heroes rising up, including [[IntercontinuityCrossover guest stars]] such as [[ComicBook/DetectiveComics the Joker]], Dale from Series/TheWalkingDead and characters from VideoGame/ResidentEvil, humanity was struggling in a war against the heavily mutated undead. That is unitl the turning point for humanity, your science team develop high-tech zeppelins packed with bombs, rockets, cannons and autocannons to blast zombies from the safety of the skies rather than sending ragtag ground armies that end up filling your hospitals with casualties.

* ''State of Survival: Zombie War'' (its most current name) from [=FunPlus International AG=], is set in a ZombieApocalypse where even with a vast number of heroes rising up, including [[CompanyCrossover guest stars]] such as [[ComicBook/DetectiveComics the Joker]], Dale from Series/TheWalkingDead and characters from VideoGame/ResidentEvil, humanity was struggling in a war against the heavily mutated undead. That is unitl the turning point for humanity, your science team develop high-tech zeppelins packed with bombs, rockets, cannons and autocannons to blast zombies from the safety of the skies rather than sending ragtag ground armies that end up filling your hospitals with casualties.

* ''State of Survival: Zombie War'' (its most current name) from [=FunPlus International AG=], is set in a ZombieApocalypse where even with a vast number of heroes rising up, including [[CompanyCrossover guest stars]] such as [[ComicBook/DetectiveComics the Joker]], Dale from [[Series/TheWalkingDead]] and characters from [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil]], humanity was struggling in a war against the heavily mutated undead. That is unitl the turning point for humanity, your science team develop high-tech zeppelins packed with bombs, rockets, cannons and autocannons to blast zombies from the safety of the skies rather than sending ragtag ground armies that end up filling your hospitals with casualties.

* In ''Ack-Ack Macaque'', the titular protagonist lives [[TwentyMinutesInTheFuture in 2050s]] of an AlternateTimeline where nuclear-powered zeppelins were the norm since the 1970s Oil Shock. The Tereshkova is one example dating back from the 1980s and still had plenty of years left as a luxury liner until it was shot down by the Songoku, which is a NighInvulnerable nuclear airship [[TheDreadedDreadnought dreadnought]] from another [[AirshipsFromAnotherWorld dimension]] where technology improves at a much faster rate.

* In ''Ack-Ack Macaque'', the titular protagonist lives [[TwentyMinutesInTheFuture in 2050s]] of an AlternateTimeline where nuclear-powered zeppelins were the norm since the 1970s Oil Shock. The Tereshkova is one example dating back to the 1980s and still had plenty of years left as a luxury liner until it was shot down by the Songoku, which is a NighInvulnerable dreadnought nuclear airship from another dimension where technology improves at a much faster rate.

* ''Steam Defense'' is set in a distant future where humans have combined {{Steampunk}} with technology of TheFuture to reach a level analogous to ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. The Airship is humanity's ultimate non-HeroUnit, besides being extremely durable and fairly well-armoured, it also boasts multiple rapid-fire missile launchers to devastate both ground and air units. The airship also bears a unique [[AestheticsOfTechnology high-tech appearance]] as its balloon is encased in armour.

* Downplayed in ''Kingdom Wars 2'' from ''Springcomes'', the Battleship is a Super Legendary unit and it's description mentions how this blimp was made by top inventors. Unfortunately what it actually is, is a 3rd rate bomber, periodically dropping bombs directly below it. This means units that aren't stationary can often avoid the worst of its attacks and since it can't fly directly over an enemy castle, it causes minimum damage only thru splash damage while taking direct fire from enemy defence. The Eagle Shooter meanwhile is a Rare unit that's BoringButPractical. It's an unimpressive-looking hot air balloon with an [[AutoCrossbow automatic ballista]] which gives it some range.