The Hindenburg in Flames: How a Photograph Marked the End of the Airship
Chapter One A LANDING GONE WRONG For the people of New York City May 6 1937 was just another Thursday another workday in the city of 7 million people The weather forecast for the day was mostly cloudy and cool with showers in the morning Readers of The New York Times who scanned the headlines saw news from overseas They also saw a story about efforts in Congress to give less money to people who were out of work The United States and most of the world were still suffering from the Great Depression The economic downturn which had begun in 1929 had cost millions of people their jobs Turning to page eight of The Times readers might have noticed a small article about the delayed arrival of the airship Hindenburg The giant aircraft was supposed to have docked that morning at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst New Jersey about 50 miles 80 kilometers south of New York City But on May 5 as the Hindenburg neared the Atlantic coast of Canada it ran into stiff winds that slowed its progress As The Times reported With the dirigible slowed to 42 knots according to reports received by American Airlines plans to land at Lakehurst N J at 6 a m today were abandoned Now the airship would land at 6 p m that evening The Hindenburg was scheduled to leave that night for its return to Europe across the Atlantic Ocean The Times assured readers that speedy re-fueling will enable the airship to start its return trip at midnight
The Hindenburg lazily floated over New York City on its way to the Naval Air Station in New Jersey The Hindenburg had begun regularly carrying passengers back and forth across the ocean the year before It followed the Graf Zeppelin which had earlier traveled to Lakehurst two times before beginning regular service between Germany and South America At the time the German airships were the only aircraft carrying passengers nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean Passenger planes had just begun flying across the Pacific the year before but they had to make stops along the way And these early commercial planes could not match the size and luxury of the Hindenburg The Hindenburg was just over 800 feet 244 meters long and its hull had a diameter of
135 feet 41 m Its four engines could propel the airship at a top speed of 84 miles 135 km per hour more than twice as fast as any surface ship of the era On the inside the Hindenburg and the dirigibles before it were modeled after the great steamships of the day Since the invention of steam engines the ocean liners had become the fastest way to cross the Atlantic Ocean And for people who could afford to travel first class the ships offered fine dining and beautiful public rooms Like an ocean liner the Hindenburg had a dining room where passengers ate from china with silver knives forks and spoons The food came up from the galley on the deck below and included a variety of meat poultry and fish Outside the dining room passengers could gather in several public rooms or watch the clouds pass by in one of two promenades which were short hallways lined with windows Art decorated the rooms and the wallpaper in the dining room was made of silk As on ships the crew used naval terms The right side of the airship was starboard the left side was port The ship had a helmsman and it was commanded by a captain rather than flown by a pilot Passengers gazed out the promenade windows from the Hindenburg’s lounge
Unlike steamships however the Hindenburg carried fewer than 100 people including the crew The largest ocean liners of the day easily carried more than 1,000 passengers with the luxurious Queen Mary carrying nearly 2,000 But traveling with fewer passengers came at a cost A ticket on the Hindenburg to North America from Europe was 450 in 1937 In comparison first-class passengers could travel on a German ship for as little as 157 and on the Queen Mary for about 240 A third-class ticket cost less than 100 Since the airship traveled in the air its builders had to be concerned with weight Many items were made from duralumin a strong light metal alloy The German designers of the Hindenburg also had to worry about the risk of fire The airship was kept aloft by about 7 million cubic feet 198,200 cubic meters of hydrogen This lighter-than-air gas is highly flammable and even the smallest spark could set the airship ablaze To prevent fires the crew wore shoes with rubber or felt soles when they were working so they would not produce static electricity Before they boarded passengers had to turn over all matches and lighters so they could be safely locked away Despite the risks of using hydrogen the owners and crew of the Hindenburg believed the airship was safe to fly The German designers of the Hindenburg also had to worry about the risk of fire For the people of New York the Hindenburg’s 12-hour delay meant they could enjoy the sight of the cigar-shaped airship gliding overhead Even though airships were not new their size and advanced technology stirred interest And in the United States they were rare The U S Navy had used several for training and reconnaissance and as airborne aircraft carriers but no American-made dirigible had ever carried paying passengers
