PEOPLE IN HISTORY          WARS, BATTLES AND REVOLUTIONS          MAP ARCHIVE          FAMOUS SPEECHES

 
 

GOVERNMENTS IN HISTORY          HISTORIC DOCUMENTS          HISTORIC PLACES AND LOCATIONS          ALL-TIME RECORDS IN HISTORY

 
 

SOURCE TEXT          SOURCE DOCUMENTS          HISTORY DICTIONARY          TIMELINES          ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS

 
 

 
 

HOME   -   HISTORY DICTIONARY   -   AIRSHIP HINDENBURG

 
   


Hindenburg over the Olympic stadium, in Berlin, Germany - August 1936

 

Airship Hindenburg March 1936-May 1937

This entry and photos are about the rigid airship Hindenburg.

Go here for more about the person Paul von Hindenburg.

 

 


 

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, who lived 1838 - 1917.
 

 

Hindenburg over New York
HINDENBURG OVER NEW YORK


 

The Hindenburg was something the Nazis were extremely proud of, and rightly so. 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. The Hindenburg was the Concorde of the day, if you will.

 

What Is the Big Deal?

Two things:

a) The Hindenburg was the largest rigid airship ever built, and

b) it made one heck of a headline on May 6, 1937.

 

Measurements and Details 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 LARGEST RIGID AIRSHIP EVER BUILT
HINDENBURG - THE WORLD'S BIGGEST AIRSHIP
 



The Hindenburg 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 even thinking out loud about building a rigid airship again.

 

Hindenburg - Seconds before the explosion
THE HINDENBURG SECONDS BEFORE THE EXPLOSION
 

 

Hindenburg in Flames
IT ONLY TOOK 30 SECONDS AND THE ENTIRE AIRSHIP WAS GONE


 

Aircraft Hindenburg in flames
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 because it just sells better.
 

Hindenburg mechanic Robert Moser
HINDENBURG MECHANIC ROBERT MOSER
DIED IN THE TRAGEDY AGE 23

 

 

 

More History



Previous Page

Hanseatic League
 


Back to

First Page

Back to
History Dictionary
Main Page

 



Next Page

Holocaust
 


 



Browse the Dictionary:

History Dictionary A - F

History Dictionary G - Z

 


 

Communism
 

Huguenots
 

Mayflower
 

Mummies

 


Famous Speeches in History
Browse the speech archive:

Speeches by Topic A-Z

Speeches by Speaker A-Z

Speeches in Chronological Order

Speeches Given by Women

Speeches Given by African-Americans

Speeches Given by U.S. Presidents


 

Attila the Hun
More about the greatest of all Barbarian rulers:

Attila short biography
Map of Attila's empire
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains
Who were the Huns?
 


Greco-Persian Wars
Also called the Persian Wars, the Greco-Persian Wars were fought for almost half a century from 492 to 449 BC. Greece won against enormous odds. Here is more:

Battle of Marathon
Battle of Thermopylae
Battle of Salamis
Battle of Plataea


 


HISTORY

Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution


Check out the
Timelines of the Mexican Revolution

Mexico's transition from dictatorship to constitutional republic translated into ten messy years of skirmishing in Mexican history.

More from the Mexican Revolution:

Pancho Villa

Emiliano Zapata

Francisco I. Madero

Causes of the Mexican Revolution

Women in the Mexican Revolution

Summary of the Mexican Revolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

French Revolution - Its Causes, Its Victims, Its Effects

     
 


People in History

Historic People - Main

People in History A - C

People in History D - F

People in History G - I

People in History J - M

People in History N - Q

People in History R - Z

Royal Families

Tribes & Peoples

Explorers, Scientists & Inventors

Musicians, Painters & Artists

Poets, Writers & Philosophers

First Ladies

Native Americans & The Wild West

Troublemakers

Historians

Archaeologists

 


Wars, Battles & Revolutions

Wars & Revolutions A

Wars & Revolutions B - E

Wars & Revolutions F - G

Wars & Revolutions H - J

Wars & Revolutions K - O

Wars & Revolutions P - R

Wars & Revolutions S - Z

Wars & Revolutions Chronological

Battles A - C

Battles D - G

Battles H - L


Battles M - P

Battles Q - Z

Battles Ancient Times - 1499

Battles 1500 - 1699

Battles 1700 - 1799

Battles 1800 - 1899

Battles 1900 - Today

 


Miscellaneous

History Dictionary A - F

History Dictionary G - Z

Source Text - By Title

Source Text - By Author

Historic Documents A - Z

Historic Documents Chronological

Music in History

History Movies

Research

Bored?

Kids & History

Browse

About Us

Write Me

 


Sitemaps

Sitemap 01   Sitemap 02   Sitemap 03    Sitemap 04   Sitemap 05   Sitemap 06  
Sitemap 07   Sitemap 08   Sitemap 09    Sitemap 10   Sitemap 11   Sitemap 12
Sitemap 13   Sitemap 14   Sitemap 15    Sitemap 16   Sitemap 17   Sitemap 18
Sitemap 19   Sitemap 20   Sitemap 21    Sitemap 22   Sitemap 23   Sitemap 24


Site Search

 

 

 


HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

 

© 2016 Emerson Kent