German airship Zeppelin LZ 129 'Hindenburg' burning upon its approach to Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937. U.S. Navy sailors, preparing to grab for tether lines on the ground, run for safety as they watch the airship fall to the ground with its rear half engulfed in flames. [Courtesy: Smithsonian Institution]
Key Takeaways:
The 1937 Hindenburg disaster, fueled by highly flammable hydrogen, dramatically ended the era of luxury airship travel and led to a significant loss of public confidence.
Originally designed for helium, the Hindenburg was converted to hydrogen due to a U.S. embargo against Nazi Germany, which heavily utilized the airship for propaganda.
The U.S. Navy's own rigid airship program also experienced multiple fatal crashes with helium-filled vessels (e.g., USS Shenandoah, USS Akron, USS Macon), primarily due to vulnerability to severe weather.
Ultimately, the inherent safety risks associated with flammable hydrogen and airships' susceptibility to weather events led to the demise of rigid airships as a viable mode of transport.
On May 6, 1937, the age of airships—the ocean liners of the sky—came to a violent end with the destruction of the Hindenburg in Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Monday marks the 87th anniversary of the event. NBC reporter Herb Morrison was on location to cover what had become almost routine—the docking of the German airship for the newsreels.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
