On May 6, 1937, while preparing to land at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, the Hindenburg burst into flames and crashed to the ground, killing thirty-five of the ninety-seven people on board and one member of the ground crew. ...
Why did the Hindenburg explode?
Hugo Eckener argued that the fire was started by an electric spark which was caused by a buildup of static electricity on the airship. The spark ignited hydrogen on the outer skin. ... Seeking the quickest way to ground, the spark would have jumped from the skin onto the metal framework, igniting the leaking hydrogen.
What disaster happened in 1937?
The Hindenburg disaster . The airship Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever built and the pride of Nazi Germany, bursts into flames upon touching its mooring mast in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 passengers and crew-members, on May 6, 1937.
Did anyone survive Hindenburg?
Werner G. Doehner, the last survivor of the Hindenburg disaster, which killed three dozen people in 1937, died on Nov. 8 in Laconia, N.H. He was 90. The cause was complications of pneumonia, his son, Bernie Doehner, said.
Was there a bomb on the Hindenburg?
“But, no evidence of a bomb has been found in 80 years ,” he added. The Zeppelin Co., which owned the Hindenburg, was the first to speculate that deliberate action may have brought down the passenger ship. ... However, conspiracy theories die hard, and the Hindenburg inferno kept stirring the public imagination.
Who was famous in 1937?
>1937 Major News Stories including Amelia Earhart , Hindenburg Disaster, Memorial Day Massacre, Joe Louis, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dust Bowl Storms, Mississippi River Flooding ... 1937 unemployment continued to drop to 14.3% dropping some 6.7% from the previous year.
What was invented in 1937?
1937 – The walkie talkie .
How many passengers could the Hindenburg carry?
The Hindenburg took its first flight in 1936. That year, the vessel went on 10 round trips between Germany and the United States and carried a total of 1,002 passengers during the journeys, according to History.com. The vessel could carry up to 50 passengers and had room for the airship’s crew.
What went wrong with the Hindenburg?
Almost 80 years of research and scientific tests support the same conclusion reached by the original German and American accident investigations in 1937: It seems clear that the Hindenburg disaster was caused by an electrostatic discharge (i.e., a spark) that ignited leaking hydrogen .
How much did it cost to ride the Hindenburg?
In 1936, a one-way ticket from Frankfurt to Lakehurst, NJ cost $400. This was roughly the cost of a car at the time. A round-trip ticket saved passengers $80, bringing the cost down to $720. The price of tickets continued to rise over the years, eventually reaching $450 for a one-way trip .
Why are blimps no longer used?
The main reason you never see airships in the sky anymore is because of the huge costs it takes to build and run them . ... Airships require a large amount of helium, which can cost up to $100,000 for one trip, according to Wilnechenko. And the prices of helium keeps going up due to a world-wide helium shortage.
What day did the Hindenburg crash?
“We’re happy to be the ones that show the world something new on this tragic accident.” The German airship, seen as a luxurious new form of travel, was attempting to dock at Naval Air Station in New Jersey when it burst into flames on May 6, 1937 .
How much did the Hindenburg weigh?
With a length of 803.8 feet, a diameter of 135.1 feet (7,063,000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas volume), and weighing approximately 242 tons , the Hindenburg required massive engine power to ply the sky.
Is the Hindenburg wreckage still there?
A victim of the Hindenburg disaster is taken away in a stretcher in the aftermath of the airship crash in Lakehurst, N.J., May 6, 1937. ... The remains of the wreckage of the German Zeppelin Hindenburg are removed from the U.S. Naval field in Lakehurst, N.J. , on May 15, 1937.
Can a blimp pop?
It’s hard to bring down. You can’t just stick a pin in a JLENS blimp and pop it. At optimal altitude of 10,000 feet, the internal pressure of the helium is about the same as that of the outside atmosphere — so even if you were to puncture it with thousands of holes, the helium would leak out slowly.
Who survived the Hindenburg disaster?
Werner Doehner , Last Survivor of the Hindenburg Disaster, Dies at Age 90. In early May 1937, 8-year-old Werner G. Doehner and his family boarded the Hindenburg for a trans-Atlantic flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to New Jersey.
