Wölfert displayed
Deutschland at the 1896
Great Industrial Exposition of Berlin, where it attracted the personal attention of
Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Kaiser was sufficiently impressed as to arrange for Wölfert to continue his work at the Prussian Balloon Corps in
Tempelhof,
Berlin. Throughout 1896 and 1897, Wölfert tested the airship. He conducted the eighth flight on 12 June 1897 at Templehof, with himself and his mechanic Robert Knabe aboard.
Deutschland quickly climbed hundreds of metres, then eyewitnesses on the ground saw the airship suddenly engulfed by flame. The wreckage crashed nearby, and Wölfert's and Knabe's charred bodies were found among it. The fire is attributed to the open flame of the engine's
Hot-tube ignition system igniting the envelope and fuel tank. ==Specifications (with internal-combustion engine)==