May 6, 1937 The Hindenburg disaster
On this day in 1937, the dirigible Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever built and the pride of Nazi Germany, bursts into flames upon touching its mooring mast in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 passengers and crewmembers.
Not "blimps," the rigid airship, often known as the "zeppelin" after the last name of its innovator, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, was developed by the Germans in the late 19th century. The German ships had a light framework of metal girders that protected a gas-filled interior. However, they were lifted by highly flammable hydrogen gas and vulnerable to explosion -- which is pretty much a design flaw.
Helium would have been a safer source of lift as it is inflammable, but it was not available in Europe. The US was the only source in the world for helium and the US priced an airship fill-up at $600,000, a then massive sum.
Large enough to carry substantial numbers of passengers, one of the most famous rigid airships was the Graf Zeppelin, a dirigible that traveled around the world in 1929. In the 1930s, the Graf Zeppelin pioneered the first transatlantic air service, leading to the construction of the Hindenburg, a larger passenger airship.
On May 3, 1937, the Hindenburg left Frankfurt, Germany, for the first of 10 scheduled journey's across the Atlantic to lakehurst Naval Air Station, NJ. On its maiden voyage, the Hindenburg, stretching 804 feet from stern to bow, carried 36 passengers and crew of 61.
While attempting to moor at Lakehurst, the airship suddenly burst into flames, probably after a spark ignited its hydrogen core. Rapidly falling 200 feet to the ground, the hull of the airship incinerated within seconds. Thirteen passengers, 21 crewmen, and 1 civilian member of the ground crew lost their lives, and most of the survivors suffered substantial injuries from the fall and/or severe burns.
Radio announcer Herb Morrison of Chicago's WLS, who came to Lakehurst to record a routine voice-over for an NBC newsreel, immortalized the Hindenberg disaster in a famous on-the-scene description in which he emotionally declared, "Oh, the humanity!" The recording of Morrison's commentary was immediately flown to New York, where it was aired as part of America's first coast-to-coast radio news broadcast.
Listen to Morrison's on-scene description in its entirety here
The recording runs about 7 minutes. If you're pressed for time, fast forward to about the 3 minute point.
Lighter-than-air passenger travel rapidly fell out of favor after the Hindenberg disaster, and no rigid airships survived World War II.
Count Von Zeppelin
Originally Posted by Flagstaffsooner
