LZ 129 Hindenburg, The End

LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German zeppelin. Along with its sister-ship LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II, it was the largest 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, USA, on May 6, 1937. Thirty-six people and two dogs died in the accident, which was widely reported by film, photographic, and radio media.

An airship or dirigible is a buoyant lighter than air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers. Rigid airships with a full skeleton, such as the massive Zeppelin transoceanic models, are now a thing of the past. The term 'zeppelin' is a trademark that originally referred to airships manufactured by the Zeppelin Company. Their crafts' names were usually prefixed with the word Luftschiff, German for "airship".

Airships were the first aircraft to make controlled, powered flight. (Wikipedia)

For more pictures of this and other WW1 era vehicles and equipment go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/7700258@N05/

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Luftschiff
• airship
• dirigible
• Hindenburg
• German
• zeppelin
• aircraft
• tragedy
• disaster
• hindenberg

[davetonia1233]

is it true that the coverings of the ship where made of stuff that is pretty much similar to thermite in chemical makeup?

[philthydirtyanimal]

@davetonia1233 No, I don't think so. I think it was perhaps large parts of the frame that were made from an Aluminium alloy (Duralum?), which once it starts burning is very difficult to extinguish. (Similar to what happened to HMS Sheffield in the Falklands War)

[MidnightSun1994]

Do you see? There are some seconds missing.

In 0:08, you see the Hindenburg flying, but in 0:10, you see it burning. Why don't we see how it started to burn?

A trick?

[philthydirtyanimal]

The whole film is a fabrication; moving footage & soundtrack are from 2 different sources. The man talking was on radio, so there were no images. In the years between then and now the two different media were edited together. It was so long ago that people now think that this was filmed with sound.

There is other film footage. And a documentary on Discovery Channel showed it and the competing theories.

But evidence is strongest for the static discharge theory.

[atomicButler1]

Thats impossible because if u look at it closely u see that the hindenburg was burning from the interior and never from the exterior and at a point u c that the front of it bursts into flames while the outside of the front never even caught on fire yet and if it was static then you would have saw the whole outside burst into flames before the interior.

[philthydirtyanimal]

It's not impossible. The airship was not completely filled with hydrogen. The gas was contained in large cells or compartments within the structure that you see. It could have been burning for a number of seconds on the inside before being visible on the outside.

The static discharge theory is the one that is widely regarded as the most plausible.

[sepkripper]

omg! thats so sad

[LissaaGirl]

yes that´s right!!

[dearmalika]

OMG! What a horror!

[MarceloAvero]

A "Led Zeppelin"

[Keinlicht]

@LissaaGirl How the fuck are comments like these highest rated?

[Mindraker1]

@philthydirtyanimal The film skipped because it wasn't a digital film, like we have today. Imagine a phonograph player needle jumping due to the shockwave.

[metalmillita666]

Ohhhh the humanity

[Steaphany]

Regardless where I've seen this footage, that jump is always there.

Remember, this was the first flight of the season and the prior years went successfully with out a problem.

I'm suspecting the photographer stopped shooting and only restarted the camera after the fire was already burning.