HINDENBURG (AIRSHIP)
MARCH 1936 - MAY 1937

This entry and photos is about the rigid airship Hindenburg. If you were looking for the person Paul von Hindenburg CLICK HERE.

Back to the aircraft. It is also called dirigible, from the French word diriger - to steer, and sometimes it is called zeppelin, which is in honor of Ferdinand Count of Zeppelin, its German inventor (1838 - 1917.)
 

HINDENBURG OVER NEW YORK

The Hindenburg was something the Nazis were extremely proud of. It was the first zeppelin with separate passenger decks and transported the rich and famously rich for measly 1,200 Reichsmark in only 3 days from Frankfurt, Germany, to New York, USA. In comparison, taking the ship could take up to two weeks.
 

What was the big deal about the Hindenburg?
Two things: A) It was the largest rigid airship ever built and B) it made a heck of a headline on May 6, 1937.

Measurements OF THE LZ 129 HINDENBURG
Length: 804 foot / 245 m
Maximum speed: 84 miles / 135 km
Passenger capacity:
Lifting gas: 200,000 m³ hydrogen
Powered by: 4 Mercedes Benz Diesel Engines (total 4,200 HP)
Passenger capacity: 55
Number of crew members: around 60

First flight: March 4, 1936
Last flight: May 6, 1937
 

HINDENBURG - THE WORLD'S BIGGEST AIRSHIP
 

TRAGEDY
On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg arrived at Lakehurst, NJ, after its trans-Atlantic crossing. It prepared to dock and all of a sudden the aircraft burst into flames. 97 were aboard, 62 survived.

It would take 50 years before anybody would be thinking about building a rigid airship again.

THE HINDENBURG SECONDS BEFORE THE EXPLOSION
 

IT ONLY TOOK 30 SECONDS AND THE ENTIRE AIRSHIP WAS GONE

AIRCRAFT HINDENBURG IN FLAMES

ACCIDENT OR SABOTAGE?
The official reason for the fire was that a discharge of atmospheric electricity occurred close to a hydrogen gas leak. But there were also rumors that it was an anti-Nazi act of sabotage. The movie makers of The Hindenburg (1975) chose go with the sabotage version.
 

HINDENBURG MECHANIC ROBERT MOSER
DIED IN THE TRAGEDY AGE 23