The Hindenburg Disaster: The End Of Airship Era

When someone says the word “Zeppelin”, the primary thing most of the Rock N Roll fans escort is “Led Zeppelin”…….But not many folks don’t think or maybe associate it with the blimp era which came to an endwise May 6, 1937. When the worlds most luxurious blimp burst into flames during it’s landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The Zeppelin left Frankfurt, Germany just 3 days before it’s crash and was also meant to be the top 10 cross Atlantic trips.

At that time in history, it was literally impossible for planes to get across the whole Atlantic Ocean. And as reported by the scientist of those days "These long, sleek, silver machines could be beautiful, and their light-weighted design cruises through the air effortlessly.

The inside of the airship had an attractive public room, private cabins, ship-shape crew's quarters, and also the streamlined framework." Passengers enjoyed an eatery, bar, lounge, and, during a surprising sign of the days, a smoking room, sealed for "safety."

What Went Wrong?

Per Scientists, helium was and still remain the ideal gas for the airship, whether it's The Graf Zeppelin or the 'blimps' which was used as an anti-aircraft defence in war II and now for advertising today. But within the 1930s, Germany had no choice but to lift its zeppelins, including the Hindenburg with hydrogen due to the US government's constant refusal to supply foreign countries, mainly Germany, with non-flammable helium gas.

Also at that point in history, the US had a monopoly on the world supply of helium and feared that other countries might use the gas for military purposes, that the US banned the export of Helium.

Most people know that Hydrogen is extremely flammable and with a smoking area in an airship that is fueled by hydrogen the chances get doubled. As a result, the highly flammable hydrogen caught fire and also the resulting disaster killed 36 of the 97 people on board; The Zeppelin was so close to the ground, that a lot of survivors jumped out of the zeppelin's windows and ran away as fast as they might.

The Hindenburg disaster is additionally particularly notorious because of the radio reporter Herbert Morrison's on the scene heart-rending eyewitness account, including his famous, oft-quoted line "Oh, the humanity!". 

And the disaster is still remembered. The name for the famous band “lead zeppelin” was also set out after the Hindenburg. Before it had been The Yardbirds and they also tributed the Hindenburg by using the photo of the airship in one of their albums.