The Hindenburg in Flames: How a Photograph Marked the End of the Airship
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
The Hindenburg with its Nazi swastikas on the tail flew over Manhattan and the Hudson River A German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had built the first successful airship and his company had perfected them for passenger travel All the airships the company built including the Hindenburg were sometimes called zeppelins Around 3 p m on May 6 the Hindenburg made its way over New York City Many people below looked up and waved while drivers honked their horns The Hindenburg flew so close to the Empire State Building that passengers looking out the promenade windows could see people on the skyscraper’s outside deck Some were raising their cameras to
photograph the passing airship Some passengers looked for familiar sights such as the Statue of Liberty and newcomers to New York admired the skyline and ocean liners sitting at the docks Just after 3 30 p m the airship left New York City and headed toward Lakehurst As the Hindenburg crossed the Hudson River the ships below blew their horns and whistles in welcome Some passengers went back to their cabins to prepare for their arrival in New Jersey A few went to the airship’s specially designed smoking room Passengers on earlier zeppelins had complained about not being allowed to smoke So the Hindenburg had a room that was separated from the rest of the airship with a special entryway A crew member opened and shut the doors and controlled the only lighter available to passengers during the flight A small plane escorted the Hindenburg to the Lakehurst landing site
