LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German rigid passenger "Zeppelin" airship. Along with its sister-ship LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II, it was the largest rigid aircraft ever built. During its second year of service, it went up in flames and was destroyed while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey, U.S., on 6 May 1937. Thirty-six people died in the accident, which was widely reported by film, photography and radio media. The Hindenburg (1975) is a movie based on the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg. ... Hindenburg may refer to: Persons: Paul von Hindenburg (1847 – 1934), German general in World War I and president of Germany (1925 – 1934) Oskar von Hindenburg (1883 – 1960), son of the former Carl Hindenburg (1741–1808), mathematician Hindenburg, Japanese comic writer Places (all named after Paul von Hindenburg): Hindenburg (Altmark) in... Image File history File links Hindenburg_at_lakehurst. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German company which, during the early 20th century, was a leader in the design and manufacture of rigid airships. ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the chemistry of hydrogen. ... The cubic meter (symbol m³) is the SI derived unit of volume. ... The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non-metric) unit of volume, used in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the metric tonne. ... Daimler-Benz AG was founded on May 1, 1924 by the merger of Benz & Cie. ... Diesel engines in a museum Diesel generator on an oil tanker A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle. ... This article is about a unit of measurement. ... The kilowatt (symbol: kW) is a unit for measuring power, equal to one thousand watts. ... Zeppelins are types of rigid airships pioneered by German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century, based in part on an earlier design by aviation pioneer David Schwarz. ... This page is about the second airship, for other meanings, see Graf Zeppelin The Graf Zeppelin (LZ 130) was the last of the great Zeppelins built by the Zeppelin Luftschiffbau during the period between the World Wars. ... Flying machine redirects here. ... Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst), New Jersey, formerly the Lakehurst Naval Air Station then the Naval Air Engineering Center Lakehurst. ... Map of Manchester Township in Ocean County Manchester Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Hindenburg was named after the late Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934), President of Germany (1925–1934). Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg, known universally as Paul von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman. ... The Presidential Palace (Reichspräsidentenpalais) in Berlin. ...

Design and construction

Click image for list of items included

The Hindenburg was built by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin between 1931 and 1936 to a new, all-duralumin design. The man who headed the design team was Doctor Ludwig Dürr, who had headed the design of all Zeppelins except LZ-1 (on which he was a crew member), under the overall direction of Hugo Eckener, the head of the company. It was 245 m (804 ft) long and 41 m (135 ft) in diameter, longer than three Boeing 747s placed end-to-end, longer than four Goodyear Blimps end-to-end, and only 24 m (79 ft) shorter than the Titanic. It was originally equipped with cabins for 50 passengers and a crew complement of 40, though on the last flight there were an additional 21 crew members in training. Image File history File links Building_and_ship_comparison2. ... Image File history File links Building_and_ship_comparison2. ... Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German company which, during the early 20th century, was a leader in the design and manufacture of rigid airships. ... Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium or dural) is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. ... Dr. Hugo Eckener (August 10, 1868–August 14, 1954) was the old man of the Zeppelin airship company. ... The Boeing 747, sometimes nicknamed the Jumbo Jet,[4][5] is a long-haul, widebody commercial airliner manufactured by Boeing in the United States. ... The Spirit of Goodyear has a distinctive yellow stripe under the logo. ... For other uses, see Titanic (disambiguation). ...

Though construction began in 1931, it was suddenly stopped when the Zeppelin Company went bankrupt. This led Eckener to make a deal with the Nazi Party. He needed money to build the airship, but in return he was forced to display the swastikas on the tail fins. Construction then resumed in 1935. The National Socialist German Workers Party, (German: , or NSDAP, commonly known as the Nazi Party), was a political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945. ... This article is about the symbol. ...

The Hindenburg was originally intended to be filled with helium, a gas which is heavier than hydrogen but which is not flammable. Most of the world's supply of helium comes from underground fields in the United States, but the United States had imposed a military embargo on helium against Germany. Eckener expected this ban to be lifted and modified the design to have double gas cells (an inner hydrogen cell protected by an outer helium cell).^[1] The ban remained, leading the Germans to modify the design of the airship to use only hydrogen as the lift gas, despite the fact that hydrogen, unlike helium, is extremely flammable.^[2] It contained 200,000 m³ (7,000,000 ft³) of gas in 16 bags or cells, with a useful lift of 1.099 MN (247,100 pounds). General Name, symbol, number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, period, block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 4. ... Natural gas rig Oil and natural gas are produced by the same geological process: anaerobic decay of organic matter deep under the Earths surface. ... This article is about the chemistry of hydrogen. ... For other uses, see Newton (disambiguation). ... The pound-force is a non-SI unit of force or weight (properly abbreviated lbf or lbf). The pound-force is equal to a mass of one pound multiplied by the standard acceleration due to gravity on Earth (which is defined as exactly 9. ...

The Germans had extensive experience with hydrogen as a lifting gas. Hydrogen-related fire accidents had never occurred on civilian Zeppelins, so the switch from helium to hydrogen did not cause much alarm. Hydrogen also gave the craft about 8% more lift capacity.

Four reversible 890 kW (1,200 hp) Daimler-Benz diesel engines gave the airship a maximum speed of 135 km/h (84 mph). This article is about a unit of measurement. ... Daimler-Benz AG was founded on May 1, 1924 by the merger of Benz & Cie. ... Diesel engines in a museum Diesel generator on an oil tanker A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle. ...

A rare surviving fire damaged 9" Duralumin cross brace from the frame of the "Hindenburg" salvaged in May 1937 from the crash site at NAS Lakehurst, NJ. (The Cooper Collections)

The duralumin frame was covered by cotton cloth varnished with iron oxide and cellulose acetate butyrate impregnated with aluminium powder. The aluminium was added to reflect both ultraviolet, which damaged the fabric, and infrared light, which caused heating of the gas. This was an innovation with the LZ-126 which was operated by the US Navy from 1924 on. The LZ-130 fabric coating was changed to include bronze powder which is less flammable. Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium or dural) is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. ... Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst), New Jersey, formerly the Lakehurst Naval Air Station then the Naval Air Engineering Center Lakehurst. ... Iron oxide pigment There are a number of iron oxides: Iron oxides Iron(II) oxide or ferrous oxide (FeO) The black-coloured powder in particular can cause explosions as it readily ignites. ... Cellulose as polymer of β-D-glucose Cellulose in 3D Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a polysaccharide of beta-glucose. ... For other uses, see Acetate (disambiguation). ... The butyrate (also butanoate) ion is C3H7COO- (butyric acid minus one hydrogen ion). ... Aluminum redirects here. ... The USS Los Angeles flying over southern Manhattan The USS Los Angeles was an airship, designated ZR-3, that was built in 1923-1924 by the Zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen, Germany, where it was originally designated LZ-126. ...

It officially made its first flight on 4 March 1936, though several test flights were made the previous year. The cost of a ticket from Germany to Lakehurst was US$400 (about US$5900 in 2008 dollars^[3]), which was quite a considerable sum for the Depression era. Hindenburg passengers were generally affluent, including many leaders of industry. is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Passenger accommodation

To reduce drag, the passenger rooms were contained entirely within the hull, rather than in the gondola as on the Graf Zeppelin. The interior furnishings of the Hindenburg were designed by Professor Fritz August Breuhaus, whose design experience included Pullman coaches, ocean liners, and warships of the German Navy.^[4] The upper A Deck contained small passenger quarters in the middle flanked by large public rooms: a dining room to port as well as a lounge and writing room to starboard. Paintings on the walls of the dining room portrayed the Graf Zeppelin's trips to South America. A stylized world map covered the wall of the lounge. Long slanted windows ran the length of both decks. The passengers were expected to spend most of their time in the public areas rather than their cramped cabins.^[5] This article is about the famous airship. ... Fritz August Breuhaus (February 9, 1883–December 2, 1960), from about 1929 on called Fritz August Breuhaus de Groot, was a famous German architect, interior designer, and designer in the 20th century. ... The streamlined Pullman observation-lounge car Coconino, coupled to a heavyweight sleeper painted in two-tone Pullman grey, brings up the rear of the Santa Fe Railways Chief at La Junta, Colorado on February 27, 1938. ... German frigate Karlsruhe rescuing shipwrecked people off the coast of Somalia while participating in the international anti-terror operation ENDURING FREEDOM, April 2005 The Laboe Naval Memorial for sailors who lost their lives at sea during the World Wars and while on duty at sea and U 995 Modern air...

The lower B Deck contained washrooms, a mess hall for the crew, and a smoking lounge. Recalled Harold G. Dick, an American representative from the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, "The only entrance to the smoking room, which was pressurized to prevent the admission of any leaking hydrogen, was via the bar, which had a swivelling air-lock door, and all departing passengers were scrutinized by the bar steward to make sure they were not carrying out a lighted cigarette or pipe."^[6] Harold G. Hal Dick (January 19, 1907 – September 3, 1997) was an American mechanical engineer employed by Goodyear, who flew on almost all of the Hindenburg flights. ...

First year of service

During its first year of commercial operation in 1936, the Hindenburg flew 308,323 km (191,583 miles) carrying 2,798 passengers and 160 tons of freight and mail. It made 17 round trips across the Atlantic Ocean, with 10 trips to the U.S. and seven to Brazil. In July 1936, the Hindenburg also completed a record Atlantic double crossing in five days, 19 hours and 51 minutes. After defeating Joe Louis, the German boxer Max Schmeling returned home on the Hindenburg to a hero's welcome in Frankfurt.^[7] For other uses, see Joe Louis (disambiguation). ... Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (September 28, 1905 – February 2, 2005) was a German boxer whose two fights with Joe Louis transcended boxing and became worldwide social events because of their racial and national associations. ... For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ...

On 1 August, the Hindenburg was present at the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Moments before the arrival of Adolf Hitler, the airship crossed over the Olympic stadium, trailing the Olympic flag from its gondola.^[8] is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, were held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Hitler redirects here. ... This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, tone, style, and voice). ...

During its first year of service, the airship had a special aluminium Blüthner grand piano placed on board in the music salon. It was the first piano ever placed in flight and helped host the first radio broadcast "air concert." The piano was removed after the first year to save weight.^[9] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A grand piano from Schiedmayer & Söhne, Stuttgart. ...

The Hindenburg's success encouraged the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Company to plan the expansion of its airship fleet and transatlantic services. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German company which, during the early 20th century, was a leader in the design and manufacture of rigid airships. ...

The Hindenburg was used by the Nazis to drop flags in different locations and leaflets expressed Hitler support.

During the winter of 1936–37, several changes were made. The greater lift capacity allowed 10 passenger cabins to be added, nine with two beds and one with four beds, increasing the total passenger capacity to 72.^{[citation needed]}.

A 1936 photograph (above) shows the Nazi swastika, as do the well-known disaster images of 1937; film footage over New York City labelled as 1937 also shows shows the swastika, possibly because the swastika did not have the negative meaning it would obtain after the end of the WW2, although the swastika is removed in most web sites by photo editing because of unknown reasons.^[10][11]

Last flight

On the night of 6 May 1937, the Hindenburg left Frankfurt for Lakehurst. This was the first transatlantic trip of the 1937 season. is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The crossing was uneventful, except for strong headwinds. The airship was half full, with 36 passengers and 61 crew members (including 21 training crew members), but the return flight was fully booked by people attending the coronation of King George VI, which would take place on 12 May, at Westminster Abbey, London. George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George) (December 14, 1895 - February 6, 1952) was the third British monarch of the House of Windsor, reigning from December 11, 1936 to February 6, 1952. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

The low number of passengers was probably because of concerns of a bomb on board. A letter was sent to the German Ambassador predicting that the airship would be destroyed by a bomb after flying over New York City.^{[citation needed]}

On 6 May, the airship arrived in the United States. The airship was already late, and the landing was further delayed because of bad weather. Captain Max Pruss took passengers on a tour through New York City, and the seasides of Boston and New Jersey. is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Max Pruss was a surviving crew member of the Hindenburg zeppelin disaster. ...

Landing timeline

Around 7:00 p.m. local time, at an altitude of 650 feet (200 m), the Hindenburg approached the Lakehurst Naval Air Station. This was to be a high landing, known as a flying moor, because the airship would be moored to a high mooring point, and then winched down to ground level. This type of landing maneuver would reduce the number of ground crew, but would require more time.

7:08: the airship made a sharp full speed left turn to the west around the landing field because the ground crew was not ready.

7:11: the airship turned back toward the landing field and valved gas. All engines idled ahead and the airship began to slow.

7:14: at altitude 394 feet (120 m), Captain Pruss ordered aft engines full astern to try to brake the airship.

7:17: the wind shifted direction to southwest, and Captain Pruss was forced to make a second, sweeping sharp turn, this time towards starboard.

7:19: the airship made the second sharp turn and valved 300, 300, and 500 kg of water ballast in successive drops because the airship was stern heavy. Six men (three were killed in the accident^[12]) were also sent to the bow to trim the airship. None of these attempts to correct the problem worked and the airship seemed to sink even more, but Pruss was now permitted to land.

7:21: at altitude 295 feet (90 m), the mooring lines were dropped from the bow, the starboard line being dropped first. At this point, the cameramen who were filming the lines being caught by the ground crew stopped rolling film altogether, and missed what was about to happen.

First hints of disaster

At 7:25, a few witnesses had seen the fabric ahead of the upper fin flutter as if gas were leaking. At the same time another witness saw what looked like static electricity moving up the hull from the bottom.

Immediately after this, witnesses started to report a small flame ahead of the upper fin. Commander Rosendahl testified it being "mushroom-shaped" and knew at once that the airship was doomed. One witness on the starboard side reported a fire beginning lower and behind the rudder on that side (however this may have happened after the initial fire on the port side). Charles Emery Rosendahl (15 May 1892 – 17 May 1977) was an admiral in the United States Navy and an advocate of lighter-than-air flight. ...

The disaster

The Hindenburg, moments after catching fire.

At 7:25 p.m. local time, the Hindenburg caught fire and quickly became engulfed in flames. Where the fire started is controversial; witnesses on the port side saw yellow, red flames first just forward of the top fin, around the vent of cell 4. One, with views of the starboard side, saw flames beginning lower and farther aft, near cell 1. No. 2 Helmsman Helmut Lau also testified seeing the flames spreading from cell 4 into starboard. (Although there were four newsreel cameramen and at least one spectator known to be filming the landing, they were all recording the actions of the ground crew when the fire started and therefore there is no motion picture record of where it first broke out at the instant of ignition.) Image File history File links Hindenburg_burning. ... Image File history File links Hindenburg_burning. ...

Wherever it started, the flames quickly spread forward. Almost instantly, a water tank and a fuel tank burst out of the hull, as seen in the picture on the right. At the same time, a crack appeared behind the passenger decks. The airship's back broke, and the section from the nose to the aft engine cars lurched upwards, while the stern stayed in trim.

As the Hindenburg's tail crashed into the ground, a burst of flame came out of the nose, killing three of the six crew members in the bow. As the airship kept falling with the bow facing upwards (because there was more lifting gas still in the nose), part of the port side directly behind the passenger deck collapsed inward (where the "dent" was), and the gas cell there exploded, erasing the scarlet lettering "Hindenburg" while the airship's bow lowered. The airship's gondola wheel touched the ground, causing the airship to bounce up once more. At this point, most of the fabric had burned away. At last, the airship went crashing on the ground, bow first.

The time it took for the airship to be completely destroyed has been disputed. Some believe it took 34 seconds, others say it took 32 or 37 seconds. Since none of the newsreel cameras were running when the fire started, the time of the start of the fire can only be estimated from various eyewitness accounts, and will never be known accurately. One careful analysis of the flame spread, by Addison Bain of NASA, gives the flame front spread rate across the fabric skin as about 49 ft/s (15 m/s), which would have resulted in a total destruction time of about 16 seconds (245m / 15m/s = 16.3s). Addison Bain is a retired NASA technician and writer who is credited with postulating the Bain Incendiary-Paint Theory (IPT) that posits that the Hindenburg disaster was initiated by the electrical ignition of lacquer and metal based paints used on the outer hull of the airship. ... For other uses, see NASA (disambiguation). ...

The incident is widely remembered as one of the most dramatic accidents of modern time. The cause of the accident has never been determined, although many theories, some highly controversial, have been proposed.

Historic newsreel coverage

The disaster is well recorded because of the significant extent of newsreel coverage and photographs, as well as Herbert Morrison's recorded, on-the-scene, eyewitness radio report being made from the landing field for station WLS in Chicago which was broadcast the next day. Heavy publicity about the first transatlantic passenger flight of the year by Zeppelin to the U.S. attracted a large number of journalists to the landing. (The airship had already made one round trip from Germany to Brazil that year.) Parts of the Morrison report were later dubbed onto the newsreel footage giving the impression to many modern viewers, more accustomed to live television reporting, that the words and film were recorded together intentionally. Morrison's broadcast remains one of the most famous in history. His plaintive words, "Oh, the humanity!" resonate with the impact of the disaster, and have been widely used in culture. Part of its poignancy is due to its being recorded at a slightly slower speed to the disk, so when played back at normal speed seeming to be at a faster delivery and higher pitch; when corrected, his account is less frantic sounding, though still impassioned. A newsreel is a documentary film that is regularly released in a public presentation place containing filmed news stories. ... Herbert Morrison (May 14, 1905 – January 10, 1989), American radio reporter, was best known for his vivid description of the fire that destroyed the Hindenburg zeppelin on May 6, 1937. ... WLS (Worlds Largest Store) is the callsign two broadcast stations in Chicago: radio station WLS AM 890 TV station WLS-TV 7 (DTV 52) WLS (Weight Loss Surgery) see Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery   This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ...

Spectacular motion picture footage and Morrison's passionate recording of the Hindenburg fire shattered public and industry faith in airships and marked the end of the giant passenger-carrying dirigibles. Also contributing to the Zeppelins' downfall was the arrival of international passenger aeroplane travel and Pan American Airlines.^[13] Aircraft regularly crossed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans much faster than the 130 km/h (80 mph) of the Hindenburg. The one advantage that the Hindenburg had over aircraft was the comfort it afforded its passengers, much like that of an ocean liner. Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) was the United States principal international airline from the 1930s until its collapse in 1991, and was credited with many innovations that shaped the international airline industry. ...

There had been a series of other airship accidents, none of them Zeppelins, prior to the Hindenburg fire. Many were caused by bad weather, and most of these accidents were dirigibles of British or U.S. manufacture. Both nations' techniques for dirigible manufacture were primitive compared to the expertise of the Germans. Zeppelins had had an impeccable safety record. The Graf Zeppelin had flown safely for more than 1.6 million km (1 million miles), including the first circumnavigation of the globe by an airship. The Zeppelin company's promotions prominently featured the fact that no passenger had been injured on one of their airships. 1919 American Wingfoot Air Express. ... This article is about the famous airship. ... “Round the world” redirects here. ...

Death toll

Despite the violent fire, most of the crew and passengers survived. Of the 36 passengers and 61 crew, 13 passengers and 22 crew died. Also killed was one member of the ground crew, Navy Linesman Allen Hagaman. The two dogs on board the airship also died. Most deaths were not caused directly by the fire but were from jumping from the burning airship. Those passengers who rode the airship on its descent to the ground survived. Some deaths of crew members occurred because they wanted to save people on board the airship. In comparison, almost twice as many perished when the helium filled USS Akron crashed.^[14] USS Akron (ZRS-4) was a rigid airship of the United States Navy. ...

Some of the survivors were saved by luck. Werner Franz, the 14 year-old cabin boy, had been saved from the fire by a shower of water. A water ballast tank burst open, and he was soaked. He then made his way to the hatch and turned around and ran the other way, because the flames were being pushed by the wind towards the starboard side. Franz is one of the two people aboard who are still alive as of 2008. When the control car crashed on the ground, the officers Of the six people in the bow of the airship, three survived; the flames shot through the nose like a blowtorch and the airship tilted upwards. Most of the people had fallen into the fire but the three hung on tight.

The four crew members in the tail fin all survived; they were closest to the origin of the fire but escaped when the tail hit the ground.

Hydrogen fires are notable for being less destructive to immediate surroundings than gasoline explosions because of the buoyancy of H₂, which causes heat of combustion to be released upwards more than circumferentially as the leaked mass ascends in the atmosphere; hydrogen fires are more survivable than fires of gasoline and of wood.^[15] This article is about the chemistry of hydrogen. ...

Cause of ignition

Sabotage theory

At the time of the disaster, sabotage was commonly put forward as the cause of the fire, in particular by Hugo Eckener, former head of the Zeppelin company and the "old man" of German airships. (Eckener later publicly endorsed the static spark theory — see below.)

Another proponent of the sabotage hypothesis was Max Pruss, commander of the Hindenburg throughout the airship's career. Pruss flew on nearly every flight of the Graf Zeppelin until the Hindenburg was ready. In a 1960 interview conducted by Kenneth Leish for Columbia University's Oral History Research Office, Pruss said early dirigible travel was safe, and therefore he strongly believed that sabotage was to blame. He stated that on trips to South America, which was a popular destination for German tourists, both airships passed through thunderstorms and were struck by lightning but remained unharmed.^[16]

In 1962, A. Hoehling published Who Destroyed the Hindenburg?, a book that rejects all theories but sabotage. It even names the likely saboteur — Eric Spehl, a rigger on the Hindenburg who died in the fire. Ten years later, Michael MacDonald Mooney's book, The Hindenburg, also identified Spehl as the saboteur. Mooney's book was made into the movie The Hindenburg, whose producers were sued by Hoehling for plagiarism, but Hoehling lost.^[17] The Hindenburg (1975) is a movie based on the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg. ...

The historians and researchers putting Spehl forward as a saboteur, cite:

• His girlfriend's anti-Nazi connections; she reportedly was a communist.
• The fire's origin near Gas Cell 4, Spehl's duty station.
• Rumours that in 1938 the Gestapo was investigating Spehl's involvement.
• Spehl's interest in amateur photography, making him familiar with flashbulbs that could have served as an igniter. A dry cell battery that might have powered a flashbulb was found in the wreckage.
• A flash or a bright reflection that crew members near the lower fin had seen just before the fire.

Since it is very unlikely that Spehl wanted to kill people, proponents of this sabotage theory say that he wanted the airship to explode after the landing (already over 12 hours late) but was too busy to reset the bomb.

During the landing maneuver, rigger Hans Freund dropped a landing line in front of the lower fin. The line became caught in the bracing wires of the airship, so No. 2 helmsman Helmut Lau climbed up from the lower fin to release it. When both men looked up toward the front of the airship, they were surprised by what they saw.

Freund described a flash like a flashbulb's, and Lau said he saw a brilliant reflection between cells 4 and 5. They then heard a muffled detonation and a thud as the Hindenburg's back broke. Some believe that this is evidence for sabotage. Others believe Freund was actually looking rearward, away from cells 4 and 5, but that Rudolf Sauter, another crew member in the lower fin had seen the flash.^[18]

Another suspect was a passenger, a German acrobat named Joseph Spah, who survived the fire. He brought with him a dog, a German shepherd named Ulla, as a surprise for his children. (Ulla did not survive.) He often made unaccompanied visits to the stern to feed, talk and play with the dog. Some, noting that Spah told many anti-Nazi jokes, and that he was an acrobat who could climb into the airship's rigging, accuse him of planting a bomb when he was with his dog.

It has even been suggested that Adolf Hitler himself ordered the Hindenburg to be destroyed in retaliation for Eckener's anti-Nazi opinions.^[19].

However, opponents of the sabotage hypothesis argued that only speculation supported sabotage as a cause of the fire, and no credible evidence of sabotage was produced at any of the formal hearings.

Eric Spehl died in the fire and was unable to refute the accusations. The FBI investigated Joseph Spah and reported finding no significant evidence of sabotage.

Neither the German nor the American investigation endorsed any of the sabotage theories. Proponents of the sabotage theory argue that any finding of sabotage would have been an embarrassment for the Nazi regime, and they speculate that such a finding by the German investigation was suppressed for political reasons.

Eckener believed that the reason why Pruss, Lehmann, and Rosendahl all supported sabotage was because they may have felt guilty for their acts. Pruss made the sharp turn, Lehmann pressured Pruss to make it, and Rosendahl called the airship in.^[20].

Static spark theory

Another theory posits that the fire was started by a spark caused by a build up of static electricity on the airship. Whether the spark ignited hydrogen or the outer skin has been disputed. Electrostatics (also known as static electricity) is the branch of physics that deals with the phenomena arising from what seem to be stationary electric charges. ...

Proponents of the static spark theory point out that the airship's skin was not constructed in a way that allowed its charge to be evenly distributed throughout the craft. The skin was separated from the duralumin frame by non conductive ramie cords, in effect electrically insulating the skin from the frame and allowing a difference in potential to form between them. Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium or dural) is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. ... Binomial name Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaudich. ... In physics, a potential may refer to the scalar potential or to the vector potential. ...

In order to make up for a delay of more than 12 hours in its transatlantic flight, the Hindenburg passed through a weather front of high humidity and high electrical charge. This made the airship's mooring lines wet and thus conductive and may have given its skin an electrical charge. When the mooring lines, which were connected to the frame, touched the ground, they would have grounded the frame but not the skin. Though they were dry, they could have gotten wet as the light rain fell. This could have caused a sudden potential difference between skin and frame (and the airship itself with the overlying air masses) and set off an electrical discharge — a spark. The spark would have jumped from the skin onto the metal framework. At the same time, hydrogen was leaking, and was ignited by the spark. In meteorology, a weather front is a boundary between two air masses with differing characteristics (e. ...

Some witnesses reported seeing a glow consistent with St. Elmo's fire along the tail portion of the airship just before the flames broke out, but these reports were made after the official inquiries were completed. For other uses, see St. ...

Harold G. Dick was Goodyear Zeppelin's representative with Luftschiffbau Zeppelin during the mid-1930s. He flew on test flights of the Hindenburg and its sister ship, the Graf Zeppelin II. He also flew on numerous flights in the original Graf Zeppelin and 10 round trip crossings of the north and south Atlantic in the Hindenburg. In his book The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships Graf Zeppelin & Hindenburg, he observes:

In addition to Dick's observations is the fact that during the Graf Zeppelin II's early test flights, measurements were taken of the airship's static charge. It is clear that Dr. Ludwig Durr and the other engineers at Luftshiffbau Zeppelin took the static discharge theory seriously and considered the insulation of the fabric from the frame to be a design flaw in the Hindenburg. For other uses, see Graphite (disambiguation). ...

A variant of the static spark theory, presented by Addison Bain, is that a spark between inadequately grounded fabric cover segments of the Hindenburg itself started the fire, and that the spark had ignited the highly flammable outer skin. The Hindenburg had a cotton skin covered with a finish known as "dope". It is a common term for a plasticised lacquer that provides stiffness, protection, and a lightweight, airtight seal to woven fabrics. In its liquid forms, dope is highly flammable, but the flammability of dry dope depends upon its base constituents, with butyrate dope being far less flammable than cellulose nitrate, for example. When the mooring line touched the ground, a resulting spark could have ignited the dope in the skin. Addison Bain is a retired NASA technician and writer who is credited with postulating the Bain Incendiary-Paint Theory (IPT) that posits that the Hindenburg disaster was initiated by the electrical ignition of lacquer and metal based paints used on the outer hull of the airship. ... Aircraft dope is a plasticised lacquer that is applied to fabric-coated aircraft to tauten, stiffen, adhere and provide protection to the skin material. ... Plasticizers are additives that soften the materials (usually a plastic or a concrete mix) they are added to. ... In a general sense, lacquer is a clear or coloured coating, that dries by solvent evaporation only and that produces a hard, durable finish that can be polished to a very high gloss, and gives the illusion of depth. ... Nitrocellulose (Cellulose nitrate, guncotton) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose (e. ...

Lightning theory

A. J. Dessler, former director of the Space Science Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and a critic of the incendiary paint theory (see below), favors a much simpler explanation for the conflagration: natural lightning. Like many other aircraft, the Hindenburg had been struck by lightning several times. This does not normally ignite a fire in hydrogen-filled airships, because the hydrogen is not mixed with oxygen. However, many fires started when lightning struck airships as they were venting hydrogen in preparation for landing, as the Hindenburg was doing at the time of the disaster. The vented hydrogen is mixed with air, making it readily combustible. For other uses, see NASA (disambiguation). ... Aerial view of the test area at Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is a lead NASA center for propulsion, Space Shuttle propulsion, external fuel tank, crew training and payloads, International Space Station (ISS) design and construction, for computers, networks, and information management. ... Not to be confused with lighting. ...

However, Dr. Eckener believed that the way the fire appeared was not consistent with that of a fire caused by lightning. Witnesses described the fire appearing in a wave motion. Eckener believed that the shape of the fire was consistent with that of a static spark.^[20].

Engine exhaust sparks theory

On the 70th anniversary of the accident, The Philadelphia Inquirer carried an article^[21] with yet another theory, based on an interview of ground crew member Robert Buchanan. He had been a young man on the crew manning the mooring lines.

The excessively stormy day had not only delayed the dirigible's arrival but also soaked him and many of the other mooring crew. As the airship was approaching the mooring mast, he noted that one of the engines, thrown into reverse for a hard turn, backfired, and a shower of sparks was emitted. He and others think that this was the trigger that ignited the craft, not static electricity, as the official version goes.

When the Hindenburg ignited, instead of an explosion there were just three sequential plumes of flame on the outer shell. Another ground crewman named Robert Shaw saw what looked like a blue ring behind the tail fin. He too had seen sparks coming out of the engine.^[22] The cotton cover with its coating, was quite flammable (this is disputed), and the heat and sparks from the backfiring engine may have been the ignition source.

However, it is unknown if sparks could ignite the doping compound, and Dr. Eckener rejected that hydrogen could be ignited when the theory was mentioned at an unofficial inquiry at night. This was a chat with crew members. He believed that the hydrogen could not have been ignited by any exhaust because the temperature is too low to ignite the hydrogen. The ignition temperature for hydrogen is 700 °C, but the sparks from the exhaust only reach 250 °C.^[20] The Zeppelin Company also carried out extensive tests, and hydrogen could never be ignited. Additionally, the fire was first seen at the top of the airship, not near the bottom.

Fire's initial fuel

Most current analysis of the fire assumes that ignition due to some form of electricity was the cause. However, there is still controversy over whether the fabric covering of the airship or the hydrogen used for buoyancy was the initial fuel for the fire.

The incendiary paint theory

The incendiary paint theory asserts that the major component in the fire was the skin because of the doping compound used on it.

Proponents point out that the coatings on the fabric contained both iron oxide and aluminum-impregnated cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB). These components are potentially reactive, even after fully setting. In fact, iron oxide and aluminum are sometimes used as components of solid rocket fuel or thermite. The propellant for the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster includes "aluminum (fuel, 16%), (and) iron oxide (a catalyst, 0.4%)." The Space Shuttle is initially launched with the help of solid-fuel boosters A Solid rocket or a solid fuel rocket is a rocket with a motor that uses solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). ... A thermite mixture using Iron (III) Oxide A thermite mixture using Iron (II,III) Oxide Thermite is a kind of pyrotechnic composition of aluminium powder and a metal oxide which produces an aluminothermic reaction known as a thermite reaction. ... The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) is the rocket that provides 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. ...

Addison Bain received permission from the German government to search its archives and discovered that during the Nazi regime, German scientists concluded that the dope on the Hindenburg's fabric skin was the cause of the conflagration. Bain interviewed the wife of the investigation's lead scientist, and she confirmed that her husband had told her about the conclusion and instructed her to tell no one, presumably because it would have embarrassed the Nazi government.^[23] Addison Bain is a retired NASA technician and writer who is credited with postulating the Bain Incendiary-Paint Theory (IPT) that posits that the Hindenburg disaster was initiated by the electrical ignition of lacquer and metal based paints used on the outer hull of the airship. ...

The paint theory is limited to the source of ignition and to the flame front propagation, not to the source of most of the burning material as that was clearly the hydrogen.

Critics point out that port side witnesses on the field, as well as crew members stationed in the stern, saw a glow inside Cell 4 before any fire broke out of the skin, indicating that the fire began inside the airship (or that it was a hydrogen fire feeding on the whole cell). Newsreel footage supports this.^[1] Proponents of the paint theory claim that the glow can be explained. They claim that what witnesses saw was the fire on the starboard side (another proponent claims that a witness saw the fire start from the starboard side) through the structure, looking like a glow. However, photographs of the early stages of the fire show the gas cells of the Hindenburg's entire aft section fully aflame. Burning gas spewing upward from the top of the airship was causing low pressure inside, allowing atmospheric pressure to press the skin inwards. It should also be noted that not all fabric on the Hindenburg burned. The fabric on several of the tail structures was not completely consumed. That the fabric not near the hydrogen fire extinguished itself is not consistent with the "explosive" dope theory.

Mythbusters have further de-bunked the theory, finding that the aluminum/iron oxide ratios in the Hindenburg's skin were inconsistent with those required to create thermite. Had the skin in fact contained ratios consistent to thermite, the Hindenburg would have been some three times heavier. They also discovered that the Hindenburg's coated skin was more resistant to fire than untreated material, however, when ignited, reacted more violently. MythBusters is an American popular science television program on the Discovery Channel starring American special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of various rumors, urban legends and news stories in popular culture. ... A thermite mixture using Iron (III) Oxide A thermite mixture using Iron (II,III) Oxide Thermite is a kind of pyrotechnic composition of aluminium powder and a metal oxide which produces an aluminothermic reaction known as a thermite reaction. ...

The hydrogen theory

Those who believe hydrogen was the initial fuel discount arguments for the incendiary paint theory as not credible. They point out that cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) varnish is rated within the plastics industry as combustible but nonflammable. That is, it will burn when placed in a fire but is not readily ignited by itself. In fact, it is considered to be self extinguishing.^[24] That many pieces of the Hindenburg's skin survived despite such a fierce fire is cited as proof. In his experiment, Addison Bain used a high energy ignition source (a spark) to make it burn.

Fe₂O₃ + 2Al → Al₂O₃ + 2Fe (aluminum and iron oxide reaction)

They point to pictures that show the fire burning along straight lines coinciding with the boundaries of gas cells. This suggests that the fire was not burning along the skin, which was continuous. Crew members stationed in the stern reported actually seeing the cells burning.^[25]

Although the hydrogen was odorised with garlic, nobody reported smelling the odor. Odorised hydrogen would have been detected only in the area of a leak. The fire started near the top of the airship far from any crew or passengers. Once the fire was underway, more powerful smells would have masked any garlic odor. There is however, no official document that the hydrogen was even odorized.

Support that any leak happened was that the airship remained stern heavy for the last few minutes. Though Pruss believed that this stern heaviness was normal, attempts to correct it had failed and the airship seemed to get even heavier after the second and last sharp turn. This suggests a massive leak of gas occurred and it started to fill up the space in between the outer skin and the cells.^[20]

How gas could have leaked remains debatable. Many believe it was that a bracing wire cracked (see below), while others believe that a vent was stuck open and gas leaked through the vent. During a trip to Rio a gas cell was nearly emptied when a vent stuck open; gas had to be transferred from other cells.^[1].

Puncture theory

A variant of the theory above cites the newsreels of the landing approach. Newsreels show the Hindenburg making sharp turns towards port, and then starboard just before bursting into flames. Some speculate that one of the many bracing wires within the airship snapped and punctured at least one of the internal gas cells. Gauges found in the wreckage showed the tension of the wires was much too high. Some of the wires may have been substandard. One bracing wire tested after the crash broke at only 70% of its rated load.^[1] A punctured cell would have freed hydrogen into the air and could have been ignited by a static discharge (see above).

It is also possible that the broken bracing wire then whipped a girder, causing sparks to ignite the leaking hydrogen.^[1].

A ground crew member, R.H. Ward, reported seeing a piece of the airship fluttering, perhaps providing an opening for a spark to reach escaping hydrogen inside the airship, or vice versa. He said that the fire began there, but that no other disturbance occurred at the time when the fabric fluttered.^[20] Another man on the top of the mooring mast had also reported seeing a flutter too.^[2] People on board the airship also reported hearing a muffled sound, and another ground crew member on the starboard side reported hearing a crack. Some speculate the sound was from a bracing wire snapping.^[1]

Advocates of this theory believe that the hydrogen began to leak approximately five minutes before the fire.^[20]

Dr. Eckener was the one to conclude that the puncture theory was the most likely cause of the disaster. After this, he believed that Captains Pruss and Lehmann, and Charles Rosendahl were to blame for the whole disaster.^[20] He believed that Lehmann told Pruss to make the sharp turn, and that Pruss and Rosendahl were concerned more about the time delay than the weather, because an unobserved storm front occurred just when the Hindenburg approached.^[20] But in his heart, he found himself to blame, for a decision eight years earlier, which was a close secret.^[26][20]

Eckener concluded that the fire was caused by the ignition of hydrogen by a static spark:^[20]

One must know that the airship actually proceeded in two sharp turns. The first turn was towards port at full speed as the airship circled the landing field. After circling the landing field, the wind shifted direction towards southwest, and a sharper turn towards starboard was ordered near the end of the landing maneuver. After the last turn the airship seemed to drop even more at the stern, though a slight stern heaviness was already noticed before this turn. One or both of these turns towards opposite directions could also have weakened the structure.

Other controversial hypotheses

Structural failure

Captain Pruss believed that the Hindenburg could withstand tight turns without significant damage. Others believe that the airship would have been weakened by being repeatedly stressed. Even a 10 meter, full scale replica of the Hindenburg's passenger quarters, displayed in the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, has developed some metal fatigue. Zeppelin Museum refers to at least three different collections in Germany: Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen Zeppelin Museum Meersburg Zeppelin Museum Zeppelinheim Category: ... Friedrichshafen is a town on the northern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria. ...

The airship did not receive much routine inspection, even though there was evidence of some damage on previous flights. It is not known if damage was repaired and if all the failures had been found. The Hindenburg once lost an engine and almost drifted over Africa, where it could have crashed. Dr. Eckener was furious and ordered all section chiefs to inspect the airship during flight.

In March 1936, the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg made three-day flights to drop leaflets and broadcast speeches via loudspeaker. Before the airship's takeoff on 26 March 1936, Captain Lehmann chose to launch the Hindenburg with the wind blowing from behind the airship, instead of into the wind as per standard procedure. During the takeoff, the airship's tail struck the ground, and part of the lower fin was broken.^[27] Many spectators' cameras were confiscated to prevent negative publicity, but Harold G. Dick concealed his camera and took pictures of the damaged fin. Dr. Eckener was very upset and rebuked Captain Lehmann: March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Harold G. Hal Dick (January 19, 1907 – September 3, 1997) was an American mechanical engineer employed by Goodyear, who flew on almost all of the Hindenburg flights. ...

How could you, Herr Lehmann, order the ship to be brought out in such wind conditions. You had the best excuse in the world for postponing this idiotic flight; instead, you risk the ship, merely to avoid annoying Herr Goebbels. Do you call this showing a sense of responsibility towards our enterprise?^[18] Paul Joseph Goebbels (German pronunciation: IPA: ; English generally IPA: ) (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) was a German politician and Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda during the National Socialist regime from 1933 to 1945. ...

Though the damage was repaired, the force of the crash may have already forced up the fin and caused internal damage.

Only six days before the disaster, there was a plan assisted by the U.S. Navy to make the Hindenburg have a hook on her hull to carry aircraft in a similar way to what the Navy did with the USS Akron and the USS Macon. However, the trials were unsuccessful; the biplane had bashed the hook several times. This could have also caused an amount of damage weakening the structure. USS Akron (ZRS-4) was a rigid airship of the United States Navy. ... USS Macon (ZRS-5) was a rigid frame airship built and operated by the United States Navy for scouting. ...

Photographs and Newsreels of the disaster show that the stern section of the airship collapsed inward in a similar way to an eggshell. with an inward dent directly behind the passenger decks, which appeared the moment the airship burned. When the airship collapsed with the bow facing upwards, this part collapsed inward, causing another plume of fire to start.

This theory of the cause of the fire has not been very popular, because it does not explain exactly why the fire started, instead supporting the puncture theory.

Fuel leak

The 2001 documentary Hindenburg Disaster: Probable Cause suggested that 16-year-old Bobby Rutan, who said he had smelled "gasoline" when he was standing below the Hindenburg's aft port engine, had detected a diesel fuel leak. The day before the disaster a fuel pump had broken during the flight. A crew member said this was fixed but it may not have been. The resulting vapor would have been highly flammable and could have self combusted. The film also suggested that overheating engines may have played a role.

During the investigation, Commander Charles Rosendahl dismissed the boy's report.

Critics say the documentary is misleading, because it misconstrued the statements by the crewmen in the Hindenburg's lower fin. The crewmen said they saw a flash in the axial catwalk, but the film placed the flash in the keel catwalk closer to the passenger areas.

Luger pistol among wreckage

Some more sensational newspapers at the time said that a person on board committed suicide because a Luger pistol with one shell fired was found among the wreckage.^[18] Yet, there is no such evidence suggesting an attempted suicide. It is important to note that the Luger pistol is an automatic pistol which automatically extracts each spent cartridge. It is not unusual for owners of automatics to leave one spent cartridge in the chamber as a safety precaution precluding accidental discharge^[28]. The Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), popularly known as the Luger pistol is a semi-automatic self-loading pistol patented by Georg Luger in 1898 and manufactured by Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) starting in 1900. ...

Rate of flame propagation

Fabric of the Hindenburg, held in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Regardless of the source of ignition or the initial fuel for the fire, there remains the question of what caused the rapid spread of flames along the length of the airship. Here again the debate has centered on the fabric covering of the airship and the hydrogen used for buoyancy. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 643 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2578 × 2402 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 643 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2578 × 2402 pixel, file size: 2. ... Entrance to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Aerial view of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia. ...

Proponents of the incendiary paint theory also contend that the fabric coatings were responsible for the rapid spread of the fire. They point out that the combustion of hydrogen is not usually visible to the human eye in daylight, because most of its radiation is not in the visible portion of the spectrum. Thus what can be seen burning in the photographs cannot be hydrogen. However, black and white photographic film of the era had a different light sensitivity spectrum than the human eye, and was sensitive farther out into the infrared and ultraviolet region than the human eye. The motion picture films show the fire spreading downward along the skin of the airship.

Proponents claim that in 1935, a helium filled blimp with an acetate aluminium skin burned near Point Sur in California with equal ferocity.^[29] Proponents also claim that even the USS Macon burned. Opponents point out that these two incidents had nothing to do with the dope. The small blimp burned because of a fuel leak, and the Macon burned because it was firing flares.

Those skeptical of the incendiary paint theory cite recent technical papers which claim that even if the airship had been coated with actual rocket fuel, it would have taken many hours to burn — not the 32 to 37 seconds that it actually took.^[30] Proponents claim that this criticism does not take into account the conditions that lead to firestorms, such as convection and ignition from radiant energy. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Convection in the most general terms refers to the movement of currents within fluids (i. ...

Also, while hydrogen tends to burn invisibly, the materials around it would be combustible and change the color of the fire. While fires generally tend to burn upward, including hydrogen fires, the enormous radiant heat from the blaze would have quickly spread fire over the entire surface of the airship, thus explaining the downward propagation of the flames. Falling, burning debris would appear as downward streaks of fire.

The most conclusive proof against the fabric theory is in the photographs of the actual accident as well as the many airships which were not doped with aluminum powder and still exploded violently. When a single gas cell explodes, it creates a shock wave and heat. The shock wave tends to rip nearby bags which then explode themselves. In the case of the Alhorn disaster during World War I, explosions of airships in one shed caused the explosions of others in sheds nearby, wiping out the airships at the base.

The photos of the Hindenburg disaster clearly show that after the cells in the aft section of the airship exploded and the combustion products were vented out the top of the airship, the fabric on the rear section was still largely intact, and air pressure from the outside was acting upon it, caving the sides of the airship inward due to the reduction of pressure caused by the venting of combustion gases out the top.

The loss of lift at the rear caused the airship to nose up and the back to break (the airship is still in one piece), at that time the primary mode of spread for the fire was along the axial gangway which acted as a chimney conducting fire which burst out the nose right when the airship's tail touched the ground, as seen in one of the most famous pictures of the disaster. As the flames burst from the nose, the fabric on most of the forward part of the airship was still intact, showing that the propagation of the fire was via hydrogen, not the fabric.

Also supporting the fact that hydrogen was burning was that a few seconds after the fire burst out the nose a fire started in the cell behind the passenger decks when the airship bent on the side due to a crack in the side just behind the passenger decks.

Modern experiments that recreated the fabric and coating materials of the Hindenburg seem to discredit the incendiary fabric theory.^[31] They conclude that it would have taken about 40 hours for the Hindenburg to burn if the fire had been driven by combustible fabric. Two additional scientific papers also strongly reject the fabric theory.^[30]

Even if the fire was started by the fabric, it would have set off the leaking hydrogen. Hydrogen would still be required to increase the burn speed of the fire, regardless of what was ignited first. If the Hindenburg was filled with helium and still burned, the fire would be slower and most people, if not all, would have survived.

Television investigations

The Discovery Channel series MythBusters explored the incendiary paint theory (IPT) and the hydrogen theory in an episode that aired 10 January 2007.^[32] The show's hosts, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, demonstrated that when set alight with a blowtorch a 1:50 scale model of the Hindenburg burnt twice as fast in the presence of diffused hydrogen as without it. A thermite reaction was observed in the burning skin which would have accelerated the fire but they concluded that hydrogen was the main fuel. The hydrogen filled model produced a fire with flames that came out of the nose and resembled the newsreel footage of the Hindenburg disaster. Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel founded by John Hendricks which is distributed by Discovery Communications. ... MythBusters is an American popular science television program on the Discovery Channel starring American special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of various rumors, urban legends and news stories in popular culture. ... is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Adam John Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American television co-host on the program MythBusters on the Discovery Channel. ... James Earl Hyneman (born September 25, 1956), known as Jamie Hyneman, is an American visual effects expert, best known for being the co-host of the television series MythBusters on the Discovery Channel. ... A thermite mixture using Iron (III) Oxide A thermite mixture using Iron (II,III) Oxide Thermite is a kind of pyrotechnic composition of aluminium powder and a metal oxide which produces an aluminothermic reaction known as a thermite reaction. ...

The program concluded that the IPT myth was "Busted". MythBusters is an American popular science television program on the Discovery Channel starring American special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of various rumors, urban legends and news stories in popular culture. ...

The National Geographic program Seconds From Disaster had air crash investigator Greg Feith study all of the available evidence, including eyewitness accounts, interviews with the last two living survivors, newsreel footage, weather reports, & the Hindenburg blueprints. In the program Feith burns a sample of doped cloth and it took one minute to burn the whole piece. He concludes that the skin could not be the fatal accelerant. The program concludes that the puncture theory remains the most probable cause, as the airship made two sharp turns. The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... Seconds From Disaster was a documentary television series that investigates the worst man-made disasters and several natural disasters in modern history, and analyses the causes and events that led up to each disaster. ... Greg Feith was an American Senior Air Safety Investigator (now retired) with the National Transportation Safety Board. ...

In Search of..., hosted by Leonard Nimoy, made an episode based on this tragic accident, and it immediately raises the question of whether it was an accident or a sabotage made by then-Nazi Germany. In Search Of . ... Leonard Simon Nimoy (born March 26, 1931) is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. ...

Memorial

Current marker at the disaster site, shown with hangar one in background

The actual site of the Hindenburg crash at Lakehurst Naval Air Station (reestablished as Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Naval Air Engineering Station (NAES) Lakehurst, or "Navy Lakehurst" for short^[33]) is marked with a chain outlined pad and bronze plaque where the airship's gondola landed.^[34] It was dedicated on 6 May 1987; the 50th anniversary of the disaster.^[35] Hangar #1, which still stands, is where the airship was to be housed after landing. It was designated a Registered National Historic Landmark in 1968.^[36] Pre-registered tours are held through the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society. Due to security concerns, no foreign nationals are permitted on the tours.^[37] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ...

Popular culture

Audio

• English rock group Led Zeppelin's eponymous first album has a picture of the Hindenburg disaster on the front cover. The band's name itself is a reference to Keith Moon's quotation that the band would "go over like a lead balloon." The album cover is in fact a pen and ink illustration of the famous UPI photograph drawn with a Rapidograph pen by graphic artist George Hardie. Their 2007 compilation album Mothership also has a picture of the Hindenburg on the album cover.
• Folk/blues musician Huddie Ledbetter (AKA Leadbelly) wrote a two-part song about the Hindenburg crash called "The Hindenburg Disaster".
• Richard M. Sherman and Milt Larsen's 1960s-era satirical album, Smash Flops contains "When the Hindenberg Lands Today" including lyrics: "There'll be a hot hot time in Lakehurst, New Jersey, when the Hindenberg lands today" as well as "and we know that your motto is 'New Jersey or Bust!'"^[38]

For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Rock band (or rock group) is a generic name to describe a group of musicians specializing in a particular form of electronically amplified music. ... For the bands 1969 eponymous debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... Led Zeppelin is the eponymous debut album of English hard rock band, Led Zeppelin. ... Keith Moon at his Pictures of Lily-drumkit Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. ... Front of UPI Headquarters, Washington, D.C. “UPI” redirects here. ... A technical pen is a specialized instrument used by an engineer or draftsman (British: draughtsman) to make lines of constant width for architectural, engineering or technical drawings. ... Graphic design is the applied art of arranging image and text to communicate a message. ... Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Yes, Styx, Scorpions, and Black Sabbath. ... Mothership is a compilation album by English rock group Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records and Rhino Entertainment on November 12, 2007 in the United Kingdom, and November 13, 2007 in the United States. ... Leadbelly (January 29, 1885 - December 6, 1949) was an influential blues singer and guitarist. ... Richard Sherman redirects here. ... Milt Larsen was originally a writer for the venerable audience participation Ralph Edwards TV classic, Truth or Consequences starring Bob Barker. ...

Film and television

From Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

• Actual footage of the Hindenburg is shown in the 1937 Charlie Chan film Charlie Chan at The Olympics, recently released on DVD by 20th Century Fox films. The movie depicts Chan onboard for a flight across the Atlantic, and mentions nothing concerning the disaster.
• The Hindenburg (1975 movie) is a speculative thriller based on the events leading up to and including the disaster.
• In the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indy and his father board the LZ 138 Zeppelin; Indy swipes a plane and flies away (to hangar planes aboard an airship was however an exclusive US Navy invention).
• The movie The Rocketeer concludes with a final confrontation between hero and villain set in and on the Zeppelin Luxembourg, which explodes Hindenburg-style over the hills of Hollywood.
• The film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow opens with the Hindenburg III approaching the Empire State Building to dock (the building was originally designed to serve this purpose).
• The Discovery Channel television show Mythbusters produced an episode that demonstrates with a scale model how they believe the Hindenburg caught on fire.
• In the The Waltons season 5 episode "The Inferno", first aired on 10 February 1977, John-Boy goes to Lakehurst, New Jersey, to report on the landing of the Hindenburg

Image File history File links Hindenburgiii. ... Image File history File links Hindenburgiii. ... Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a 2004 American pulp adventure, science fiction film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut. ... 1938 titlecard Number One Son with the seat of his pants on fire in Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers, reportedly in part under inspiration from the career of Chang Apana. ... The Hindenburg (1975) is a movie based on the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg. ... This article is about the film. ... The Rocketeer is a 1991 superhero adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures/Touchstone Pictures[1] and directed by Joe Johnston. ... Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a 2004 American pulp adventure, science fiction film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut. ... The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, New York at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel founded by John Hendricks which is distributed by Discovery Communications. ... MythBusters is an American popular science television program on the Discovery Channel starring American special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of various rumors, urban legends and news stories in popular culture. ... For other uses, see The Waltons (disambiguation). ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ...

Other

• The Hindenburg is the primary motif of the first section of Three Tales by Steve Reich and Beryl Korot.
• The last flight of the Hindenburg is a major plot element in Allen Steele's science fiction fix up novel Chronospace (the relevant part previously published as a stand alone novella "...Where Angels Fear to Tread", winning the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1998). Two researchers from the future travel to 1937 and replace Mr. and Mrs. Pannes, real passengers who were killed in the disaster, and inadvertently prevent the Hindenburg from being destroyed until after the passengers and crew disembark. The novel assumes that Eric Spehl planted a flashbulb-triggered bomb in gas cell 4.
• In the novel The Never War by D.J. MacHale, the main character can choose to keep the Hindenburg Disaster from happening, which he thought would keep World War II from starting. However, he decides not to, since he discovers that the airship is carrying payment to German spies that would allow the Nazis to develop atomic weapons before the Allies.
• "Weird" Al Yankovic uses the line, "Oh, the humanity!", on Couch Potato, (from "Poodle Hat") 2003.

In literature, a motif is a recurring element or theme that has symbolic significance in the story. ... Three Tales is a contemporary video-opera in three acts, composed by American composer Steve Reich in 2002. ... Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3, 1936) is an American composer. ... Allen Mulherin Steele, Jr. ... The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works. ... The Never War is a book in the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale. ... D.J. MacHale is the author of the fantasy Pendragon series. ... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Alfred Matthew Weird Al Yankovic (IPA pronunciation: ) (born October 23, 1959) is an American musician, satirist, parodist, accordionist, and television producer. ... For other uses, see Couch potato (disambiguation). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

A crash cover, also known as an air accident cover or interrupted flight cover, is a cover (envelope) that has been recovered from an airplane or airship crash or other accident. ... Hindenburg Disaster Newsreel Footage[1] is a 1937 documentary film which shows the burning, explosion, and crash of the zeppelin Hindenburg. ... Herbert Morrison (May 14, 1905 – January 10, 1989), American radio reporter, was best known for his vivid description of the fire that destroyed the Hindenburg zeppelin on May 6, 1937. ... 1919 American Wingfoot Air Express. ... Zeppelins are types of rigid airships pioneered by German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century, based in part on an earlier design by aviation pioneer David Schwarz. ... Harold G. Hal Dick (January 19, 1907 – September 3, 1997) was an American mechanical engineer employed by Goodyear, who flew on almost all of the Hindenburg flights. ... Rear view of the Zeppelin Museum. ... // Docudramas tend to demonstrate some or most of the following characteristics: A strict focus on the facts of the event being treated, as they are known; A tendency to avoid overt commentary or authorial editorializing; The use of literary and narrative techniques to flesh out or render story-like the... is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

References

Notes

is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the British television station. ... is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Nitrocellulose (Cellulose nitrate, guncotton) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose (e. ... This page is about the second airship, for other meanings, see Graf Zeppelin The Graf Zeppelin (LZ 130) was the last of the great Zeppelins built by the Zeppelin Luftschiffbau during the period between the World Wars. ...

Bibliography

is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Video

• Footage from Castle and Pathé coverage of the Hindenburg disaster at Internet Archive
• YouTube video: Universal Newsreel - 10 May 1937 Special report on the Hindenburg disaster.
• YouTube video: Footage of the Hindenburg over New York City, circa 1936
• YouTube video of Herb Morrison's famous report synchronized with newsreel footage

Internet Archive headquarters is in the Presidio, a former US military base in San Francisco. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Articles

• Hindenburg: Sky Cruise. Illustrated account of a flight on the Hindenburg - with maiden voyage and final flight passenger lists
• Page at Great Zeppelins website, with various pictures
• The Hindenburg in the development of zeppelins
• Hindenburg & Hydrogen
• FBI investigation into the Hindenburg disaster
• Harold G. Dick Airship Collection (Harold G. Dick was an American engineer who flew on most Hindenburg flights.)
• "The Hindenburg" - Failure Magazine (January 2002)
• ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co KG. The company is still in the airship business today.
• Thirty-Two Seconds - An article about the disaster that features rare photos of the disaster, a photograph of the surviving crew and a report on Cabin Boy Werner Franz.
• "What Happened to the Hindenburg?" Transcript: Secrets of the Dead (15 June 2001, PBS)
• Passenger and Crew List of the Hindenburg on its final voyage

is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

Flammable fabric disaster theory

• An Article Supporting the Flammable Fabric Theory. Retrieved with the Wayback Machine
• Two Articles Rejecting the Flammable Fabric Theory
• Experiments Reject the Flammable Fabric Theory
• An article supporting the engine exhaust spark theory: "The real cause of the Hindenburg disaster?" Philadelphia Inquirer, 6 May 2007 (the 70th anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster)

Coordinates: 40°01′49″N, 74°19′33″W Aviation encompasses all the activities relating to airborne devices created by human ingenuity, generally known as aircraft. ... This is a timeline of aviation history. ... This list of aircraft is sorted alphabetically, beginning with the name of the manufacturer (or, in certain cases, designer). ... This is a list of aircraft manufacturers (in alphabetic order). ... List of aircraft engines: // Two- and four-stroke rotary, radial, inline. ... This is a list of aircraft engine manufacturers both past and present. ... This is a list of airlines in operation (by continents and country). ... This is a list of air forces, sorted alphabetically by country, followed by a list of former countries air forces. ... This is an incomplete list of aircraft weapons, past and present. ... Below is a list of (links to pages on) missiles, sorted alphabetically by name. ... A Boeing 720 being flown under remote control as part of NASAs Controlled Impact Demonstration The following is a list of Unmanned aerial vehicles developed and operated by various countries around the world. ... This is a list of experimental aircraft. ... The SR-71 Blackbird is the current record holder. ... Flight distance records without refueling. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of altitude records reached by different aircraft types. ... The flight endurance record is the amount of time spent in the air. ... Aircraft with a production run greater than 5,000 aircraft. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...