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LZ 129 Hindenburg
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LZ 129 Hindenburg (; Registration: D-LZ 129) was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the largest flying machines of any kind ever built. The airship flew from March 1936 until destroyed by fire 14 months later at the end of the first North American transatlantic journey of its second season of service. Thirty-six people died in the accident, which occurred while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey.
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LZ 129 Hindenburg (; Registration: D-LZ 129) was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the largest flying machines of any kind ever built. The airship flew from March 1936 until destroyed by fire 14 months later at the end of the first North American transatlantic journey of its second season of service. Thirty-six people died in the accident, which occurred while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey. The event was widely reported by film, photography and radio media.
The Hindenburg was named after the late Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), President of Germany (1925–1934).
Design and development
Hindenburg had a Duralumin structure, incorporating 15 Ferris wheel-like bulkheads along its length. Sixteen cotton gas bags were fitted between these, and the bulkheads were braced to each other by longitudinal girders placed around their circumferences. The airship's skin was of cotton doped with a mixture intended both to protect the gas bags within from damaging ultraviolet light and from infrared light that would cause them to overheat. However, the dope used was a mix of aluminum and iron oxide, which, when heated violently react in a thermite reaction.
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. 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 Zeppelins 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. Those who traveled on board the Hindenburg believed that it was the most luxurious aircraft ever to fly, and not a single passenger suffered from airsickness.
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 swiveling 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."
Use of hydrogen instead of helium
Helium was initially selected for the lifting gas as it was the safest to use in airships, as it is not flammable. At the time it was extremely expensive, and was available from natural gas reserves in the United States. Hydrogen, by comparison, could be cheaply produced by anyone and had considerably more lift. The American rigid airships using helium were forced to conserve the gas at all costs and this hampered their operation. While a hydrogen-filled ship could routinely valve gas as necessary, a helium-filled ship had to resort to dynamic force if it was too light to descend, a measure which took a toll on its structure. Despite a ban the U.S. had imposed on helium exports, the Germans nonetheless designed the ship to use the gas in the belief that the ban would be lifted; however, the designers learned as they were working to complete the project that the ban was to remain in place, forcing them to re-engineer the Hindenburg to use hydrogen for lift. Although the danger of using flammable hydrogen was obvious, there were no alternative gases that could be produced in sufficient quantities that would provide sufficient lift. One beneficial side effect of employing hydrogen was that more passenger cabins could be added. The Germans' long history of flying hydrogen-filled passenger airships without a single injury or fatality engendered a widely-held belief that they had mastered the safe use of hydrogen. While the decision to fly with hydrogen may appear incredibly dangerous today it can be seen as quite reasonable at the time. The Hindenburg's first season performance appeared to demonstrate this.
Operational history
After five years of on-and-off construction that had commenced in 1931, the Hindenburg was finally completed in early 1936 and made six "shake down" flights over the first three weeks of March. The airship was operated commercially by the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei GmbH which was jointly established in March 1935 by the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, the German Air Ministry and Deutsche Lufthansa AG. (This company also operated the Graf Zeppelin's last two years of commercial service to South America from 1935 to 1937.) Hindenburg was the first of two airships which were purpose-built for regular transatlantic passenger operations but was the only one of these to actually enter commercial service.
Die Deutschlandfahrt
The airship's first "official" function was not to be in the commercial transatlantic passenger service for which it was designed and built, but instead as a vehicle for Nazi propaganda. Three days after its first flight on 4 March, German troops occupied the Rhineland region abutting the borders with the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France, an area which the Treaty of Versailles had specified in 1920 to be de-militarized in order to provide a buffer between Germany and the four neighboring countries to the west of the Rhine River. In order to then "justify" this action, a plebiscite was quickly called by Hitler for 29 March for the purpose of "asking the German people" to reaffirm him as Reich Chancellor (Reichskanzler) and Führer, and to "ratify" the Rhineland occupation which had been taken in violation of the Locarno Pact. The Hindenburg and the Graf Zeppelin were designated to be a key part of the process.
For the four days prior to the balloting, German Propaganda Minister Dr. Joseph Goebbels demanded that the two airships fly "in tandem" over Germany on a so called "Hitler Re-election and Rhineland Referendum Flight" ("Deutschlandfahrt") taking off together from Friedrichshafen on the morning of 26 March. It was on this day the name Hindenburg finally appeared on the airship although it had been known more than a year in advance that this is what it was to be called.
Wind conditions were not good for takeoff that morning, but the Hindenburg's commander, Captain Ernst Lehmann, was determined to impress the politicians that were present on the field by rushing the takeoff. As the airship began to rise in a majestic manner with full engine power, however, a gust of wind hit the ship and the lower tail fin hit the ground, damaging the rear end of the fin. Dr. Hugo Eckener was furious and rebuked Lehmann:
How could you, Herr Lehmann, order the ship to be brought out in such windy 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?
The Graf Zeppelin thus left alone on the propaganda mission while temporary repairs were made to the Hindenburg which then joined up with the smaller airship later that day. As millions of Germans watched from below, the two giants of the sky flew throughout Germany for the next four days and nights dropping propaganda leaflets, blaring martial music and slogans from large loudspeakers, and broadcasting election speeches from a makeshift radio studio on board the Hindenburg.
Two days after the "election" (in which Hitler received a 99% "yes" vote), Hindenburg made its first commercial flight, a transatlantic passage to Rio de Janeiro. For the first time since the death of Count Zeppelin, Dr. Eckener was not the commander, however, and had no operations control over the airship on which he was only to be a passenger while Captain Lehmann commanded the ship.
During the trip, Eckener received disturbing news – a reporter notified him that he was now considered a "nonperson" by the Nazis and was banished from being mentioned in any media. During the flight out to Rio, an engine broke down because of a wrist-pin breakage, and was fixed at Recife, but could no longer run at full power. During the return flight, the same problem occurred with another engine, and while mechanics attempted to repair it, another engine broke down. The Hindenburg was now running on two engines and almost drifted into the Sahara Desert where it could have crashed. The crew raised the ship in order to search for counter-trade winds which were usually above 5,000 feet, well beyond the pressure height of the ship. However Hindenburg found a wind at 3,600 ft which brought it back to Friedrichsafen. The two engines restored partial power after repairs were made and were later overhauled. No subsequent problems occurred with either engine.
Commercial and passenger operations
Hindenburg made 17 round trips across the Atlantic Ocean in 1936, its first (and only) full year of service, with 10 trips to the U.S. and seven to Brazil. In July 1936, the airship 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. The airship flew 308,323 km (191,583 miles) with 2,798 passengers and 160 tons of freight and mail during the season, and its success encouraged the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Company to plan the expansion of its airship fleet and transatlantic services.
One year to the day before it crashed, the Hindenburg departed Germany on 6 May on its first of 10 North American flights flown in 1936 and arrived in Lakehurst, New Jersey three days later. Passengers observed that the ship was so stable (a pen or pencil reportedly could be stood on a table without falling) that some missed the takeoff and believed the ship was still on the ground. The cost of a ticket between Germany and Lakehurst was US$400 (about US$5,900 in 2008 dollars), which was quite a considerable sum for the Depression era. Hindenburg passengers were generally affluent, including many leaders of industry.
From time to time Hindenburg also continued to be used for propaganda purposes as well. The Hindenburg flew over the Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) in Berlin during the 1 August opening ceremonies of the 1936 Summer Olympic Games, when shortly before the arrival of Adolf Hitler, the airship crossed over the massive stadium trailing the Olympic flag from its gondola.
During its first year in 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.
Over 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. In addition, "gutters" were installed to collect rain for use as water ballast.
Final flight
After making its first South America flight of the 1937 season in late March, the Hindenburg left Frankfurt for Lakehurst, New Jersey on the evening of 3 May on its first scheduled round trip between Europe and the United States that year. Although strong headwinds slowed the crossing, the flight had otherwise proceeded routinely as it approached for a landing three days later.
Around 7:00 p.m. local time on 6 May, at an altitude of , the Hindenburg with Captain Max Pruss at the helm approached Naval Air Station Lakehurst and prepared to land. Twenty-five minutes later, the airship caught fire and quickly became completely engulfed in flames in only 37 seconds. Of the 36 passengers and 61 crew on board, 13 passengers and 22 crew died. One member of the ground crew was also killed, making a total of 36 lives lost in the disaster.
The location of the initial fire, the source of ignition, and the initial source of fuel remain subjects of debate. The cause of the accident has never been determined, although many theories have been proposed. Escaping hydrogen gas will burn after mixing with air. The covering also contained materials which are highly flammable, and many think that a single spark of static electricity lit it on fire. .
Popular culture
- Actual footage of the Hindenburg is shown in the 1937 Charlie Chan film , which depicts Chan onboard for a flight across the Atlantic to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin (1 Aug-16 Aug 1936). The movie was released 15 days after the actual Hindenburg disaster on 21 May 1937.
- The image of the airship exploding was used as the cover of Led Zeppelin's self-titled debut album.
- The plot of the third book of the Pendragon fantasy book series, The Never War is based around the Hindenburg disaster.
- In the original theatrical release of the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones gets a ride on the Hindenburg. The name was digitally removed from the zeppelin's fixtures in subsequent releases, apparently because the film's action took place in 1938 and the Hindenburg was actually destroyed a year earlier in 1937.
Specifications
See also
Bibliography
- Archbold, Rick. Hindenburg: An Illustrated History. Toronto: Viking Studio/Madison Press, 1994. ISBN 0-670-85225-2.
- Birchall, Frederick. "100,000 Hail Hitler; U.S. Athletes Avoid Nazi Salute to Him". The New York Times, 1 August 1936, p. 1.
- Botting, Douglas. Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine: The Great Zeppelin and the Dawn of Air Travel. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2001. ISBN 0-80506-458-3.
- Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederi. Airship Voyages Made Easy (16 page booklet for "Hindenburg" passengers). Luftschiffbau Zeppelin G.m.b.H., Friedrichshafen, Germany, 1937.
- Dick, Harold G. and Douglas H. Robinson. The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships Graf Zeppelin & Hindenburg. Washington, D.C. and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985. ISBN 1-56098-219-5.
- Duggan, John. LZ 129 "Hindenburg": The Complete Story. Ickenham, UK: Zeppelin Study Group, 2002. ISBN 0-9514114-8-9.
- Hoehling, A.A. Who Destroyed The Hindenburg? Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1962. ISBN 0-44508-347-6.
- Lehmann, Ernst. Zeppelin: The Story of Lighter-than-air Craft. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1937.
- Majoor, Mireille. Inside the Hindenburg. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. ISBN 0-316-123866-2.
- Mooney, Michael Macdonald. The Hindenburg. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1972. ISBN 0-396-06502-3.
- National Geographic. Hindenburg's Fiery Secret (DVD). Washington, DC: National Geographic Video, 2000.
External links
Video
(shows docking team, passengers)
(passengers descend ramp)
Articles
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- — The webportal for Zeppelin mail and airship memorabilia
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