The Hindenburg in Flames: How a Photograph Marked the End of the Airship
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
By 4 15 p m the Hindenburg was nearing Lakehurst Naval Air Station In 1921 the Navy had made the base the headquarters for all its inflatable aircraft Lakehurst was also the landing site for all zeppelins arriving from Germany The airships approached a large metal tower in the airfield called a landing or mooring mast The nose of the airships attached to the mast The Hindenburg however was still several hours away from docking at the mast As it approached Lakehurst the weather turned bad with thunderstorms in the area At 5 42 p m the commander at Lakehurst Charles Rosendahl sent a message to the airship CONDITIONS STILL UNSETTLED RECOMMEND DELAY LANDING UNTIL FURTHER WORD FROM STATION ADVISE YOUR DECISION Rosendahl had captained surface ships before volunteering to serve in the Navy’s airship program in 1923 He commanded two of the Navy’s dirigibles and had flown several times on the Hindenburg From the Hindenburg Captain Max Pruss radioed back this response WE WILL WAIT TILL YOU REPORT THAT LANDING CONDITIONS ARE BETTER Like Rosendahl Pruss had years of experience on dirigibles He had taken command of the Hindenburg late in 1936 While he waited for the weather to clear Pruss had the helmsman steer the airship away from Lakehurst and toward the New Jersey shore At Lakehurst Naval Station a group of people was also hoping the weather would improve so the Hindenburg could land Relatives of some of the passengers eagerly waited to see their loved ones and newspaper photographers wanted to get pictures A Chicago radio station had sent a reporter and his engineer and several news companies had movie cameras there to record the landing Also waiting were more than 200 workers sailors and
civilians who would guide the airship to the mooring mast and down to the ground At 6 22 p m Rosendahl sent word to the Hindenburg that the weather had improved and the airship could land The airship turned and headed north toward Lakehurst Just after 7 p m Pruss received a message from the ground urging him to land as soon as possible before the weather could worsen Light rain still fell but the thunderstorms had left the area The German captain took his airship once around the field flying at an altitude of 600 feet 183 m Then as the Hindenburg approached the mooring mast Pruss ordered his crew to reverse the engines to slow the airship At 7 21 p m crew members began dropping thick mooring lines to the station’s landing crew Captain Max Pruss crossed the Atlantic Ocean nearly 200 times in his career
