Eleanor Cardell - The Hindenburg

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12

2 Flash Points

May 6, 1937

e German airship Hindenburg is about to land in

Lakehurst, New Jersey. Aer trips, this is the rst

time the airship has crossed the Atlantic Ocean that

year. Hundreds of people have gathered for its arrival.

e crowd waits for the airship, which was delayed by

storms over Lakehurst. Finally, the silver rounded nose of

the airship peeks over the treetops. It dris in slowly before

dropping lines, which the ground crew hurries to pick up.

As the airship is towed toward its mooring , ames

suddenly erupt from the back of the ship. Members of the

ground crew begin to run as the orange ame quickly turns to black

smoke. en, there is a series of explosions. Within seconds,

the entire airship is on re. It comes crashing to the ground.

One member of the ground crew and passengers die, witnessed by

friends and family in the crowd. is is the end of airship travel.

The

Hindenburg

mooring: a place where

a boat or ship is tied up

Disaster!

The Hindenburg was feet (245 meters)

long, which is longer than two football elds.

Did you know?

Airships are also called zeppelins, after

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Von Zeppelin

designed one of the rst airships in 1874.

Bad Weather

at day, the weather over Lakehurst was bad.

ere had been several storms. e captain

had been told that he couldnt land until the

weather improved. He waited for several

hours. Eventually the storms began to clear.

e captain was told it was okay to land.

Traveling in Luxury

Traveling on an airship was popular.

It was also a luxury. e Hindenburg

had a fancy dining room, live piano

music, and comfortable cabins. It was

twice as fast, and twice as expensive,

as traveling on a ship at sea.

4 Flash Points

How and Why

Accidents and disasters oen have more than one cause.

Many dierent things come together to cause events that

can greatly impact the future. Take a moment to explore

some of the things that led to the Hindenburg s ery crash.

Flammable Gas

e large balloon on top of the airship

was lled with gas. is helped it stay

in the sky. e Hindenburg s tank was

built to be lled with helium, which

does not burn. e United States was

the worlds top manufacturer of helium.

But they wouldnt sell it to other

countries. ey were afraid it would

be used to make weapons. Instead,

the Germans lled the Hindenburg s

tank with hydrogen. Hydrogen catches

re very easily and burns fast.

Static Electricity

Nobody knows for sure

what actually started the

re. ere was a hydrogen

leak at the back of the

ship. Any small spark

could have started the re.

Many experts think it was

static electricity. A spark

from the static could

have lit the gas on re

and destroyed the ship.

Disaster!

What Happened Next

One of the people who watched the Hindenburg s

crash was reporter Herbert Morrison.

Morrison was recording a news segment.

e radio planned to play it later in

Chicago. His news report quickly

turned to horror as he watched the

airship burn. Oh the humanity! he

cried. Later, people laid those words

over newsreel lms of the ship crashing

and burning. is recording is now very

well-known.

ere were people on board the Hindenburg .

A total of people died because of the crash. Twenty-six of

them died during the crash or in the re. Another died in the next few

days from their injuries. But most of the passengers and crew survived.

e video of the Hindenburg s crash was played all over the world. It was

the rst public broadcast that went around the globe. Everybody could see

the dramatic lm of the huge ship on re. People were shocked and upset.

ey lost faith in airships. Airships seemed scary and dangerous.

6 Flash Points

newsreel: a short

video about news

or current aairs

Did you know?

In 1935, the Hindenburg ew between

Germany and the United States

times. In that time, it carried more

than 1,000 passengers.

Disaster!

The Hindenburg was also carrying

about 17,000 pieces of mail when it

crashed. Of those, were recovered.

Ripple Effects

A single event, no matter how big or small it may

seem at the time, can have a big impact on the future.

e Hindenburg s crash had many far-reaching eects.

Nazi Airship

Destroyed

The Hindenburg

was a German-made

airship. It was owned

and operated by the Nazi

Party, the political group

in charge of Germany at

the time. Its loss was a

blow to the Nazi Party.

It was also a national

embarrassment

for Germany.

Public

Disaster

The Hindenburg crash was not

the most deadly airship accident.

However, it was dierent from the

others in one important way. The

Hindenburg s destruction was

very public. Everyone saw the

video, and afterward, the

production of airships

stopped.

8 Flash Points

End of an Era

Now, there are almost

24,000 airplane ights

in the United States

every day. That adds up

to million passengers

every year. There are a

few airships in existence

today, but they are no

longer used to carry

passengers.

Change to

Planes

Airplane technology was

advanced during World War II

Next page

12

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