Emily Chan
The Hindenburg was the largest airship ever built by humankind and was deeply treasured by Nazi Germany. After a three-day journey from Frankfurt, Germany, across the Atlantic Ocean to Lakehurst’s Navy Air Base in New Jersey, the aircraft prepared for landing on May 6, 1937.
Many people gathered to watch the spectacle. But disaster struck when flames suddenly burst from the aircraft just before landing, killing several people inside. It took less than a minute for it to become entirely consumed by the flames.
For decades afterward, the demise of the Hindenburg remained a mystery, and people have come up with countless theories about what could’ve happened. Before we get into what really befell the airship, let’s cover how the Hindenburg came to be.
In 1852, a Frenchman named Henri Giffard constructed the first successful airship. It was a blimp filled with hydrogen, and it had a steam-powered engine that propelled it at a speed of six miles per hour.
Later in the nineteenth century, the Germans developed a more rigid airship that could carry quite a few passengers, thanks to the work of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. The ship was coined as a “zeppelin” in his honor.
The German ships were made with a metal framework that protected an interior filled with hydrogen gas. As a result, they were often at risk of exploding.
In the 1930s, a rigid airship called the Graf Zeppelin offered the first commercial transatlantic flight service, which led to the creation of the Hindenburg.
The Hindenburg was 800 feet long, and on that fateful day of its fiery crash, it had been carrying 36 passengers and 61 crew members. Trips across the Atlantic were nothing new for the Hindenburg. Previously, the aircraft had traveled to Brazil 34 times. However, this passenger trip would be like none other.
While crossing the Atlantic, the Hindenburg didn’t experience anything out of the ordinary until it reached the New York area. Thunderstorms and bad weather blew in, so the captain, Max Pruss, decided to change course and wait for the storm to be over, which delayed their arrival.
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