The Sailor
13-01-2008, 22:22
'OH THE HUMANITY'
I'd like to show my comprehensive book on the Hindenburg and a series of photos I have taken of the book's contents.
After being launched in 1936, the Hindenburg had completed ten and one-half round trips between Germany and the United States before burning in 1937. Cruising across the Atlantic took 50 to 60 hours under constant power form four 1,200-H.P., V-16 Mercedes-Benz Diesel engines. Wooden propellers 20 feet in diameter were turned by the V-16 engines. The fully loaded range was about 10,000 miles or about 5 to 6 days at cruise speed. It was the largest airship ever built, with an 813-foot long aluminum frame filled with 7,200,000 cubic feet of hydrogen contained in 16 bags made of two layers of woven fabric with a gelatin-latex plastic film cemented between. Two 30-kilowatt diesel-powered generators carried the regular loads and a stand-by unit could deliver additional electric power if needed.
Germany's Nazi Third Reich provided funding to build the Hindenburg. It was run by the Nazi Minister of Propaganda. Huge swastikas were painted on the tail fins and loudspeakers made Nazi propaganda announcements when the giant ship toured cities that it passed. Thousands of small Nazi flags were dropped to float down like tiny parachutes to thrill school children and others that watched the giant Zeppelin pass. Although observation balloons were used in the U.S. Civil War, Germany was the first to widely exploit the military possibilities of dirigibles in World War I.
The Hindenburg type of airship represented considerable technical advancement and posed a much larger threat because it could fly to virtually any target, drop bombs, saboteurs, or propaganda, and fly back to Germany without stopping. After the Hindenburg burned, much speculation about sabotage entered the investigation. Was the disaster caused by lightening or sabotage? Nazi investigators were never convinced that the fire was caused by natural sources.
Designer: Ludwig Dürr
Manufacturer: Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Manufactured: 1936
Maiden flight: 4 March 1936
Fate: Destroyed by fire 6 May 1937
General characteristics
Passengers: 50 (later 72)
Length: 245 m (804 ft)
Diameter: 41 m (135 ft)
Gas type: Hydrogen
Gas capacity: 200,000 meters³ (7 million feet3)
Disposable lift: 112 tons
Power plant: 4 x 1,200 horsepower Daimler-Benz diesel engines
Max speed: 135 km/h (84 mph, 73 knots)
I'd like to show my comprehensive book on the Hindenburg and a series of photos I have taken of the book's contents.
After being launched in 1936, the Hindenburg had completed ten and one-half round trips between Germany and the United States before burning in 1937. Cruising across the Atlantic took 50 to 60 hours under constant power form four 1,200-H.P., V-16 Mercedes-Benz Diesel engines. Wooden propellers 20 feet in diameter were turned by the V-16 engines. The fully loaded range was about 10,000 miles or about 5 to 6 days at cruise speed. It was the largest airship ever built, with an 813-foot long aluminum frame filled with 7,200,000 cubic feet of hydrogen contained in 16 bags made of two layers of woven fabric with a gelatin-latex plastic film cemented between. Two 30-kilowatt diesel-powered generators carried the regular loads and a stand-by unit could deliver additional electric power if needed.
Germany's Nazi Third Reich provided funding to build the Hindenburg. It was run by the Nazi Minister of Propaganda. Huge swastikas were painted on the tail fins and loudspeakers made Nazi propaganda announcements when the giant ship toured cities that it passed. Thousands of small Nazi flags were dropped to float down like tiny parachutes to thrill school children and others that watched the giant Zeppelin pass. Although observation balloons were used in the U.S. Civil War, Germany was the first to widely exploit the military possibilities of dirigibles in World War I.
The Hindenburg type of airship represented considerable technical advancement and posed a much larger threat because it could fly to virtually any target, drop bombs, saboteurs, or propaganda, and fly back to Germany without stopping. After the Hindenburg burned, much speculation about sabotage entered the investigation. Was the disaster caused by lightening or sabotage? Nazi investigators were never convinced that the fire was caused by natural sources.
Designer: Ludwig Dürr
Manufacturer: Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Manufactured: 1936
Maiden flight: 4 March 1936
Fate: Destroyed by fire 6 May 1937
General characteristics
Passengers: 50 (later 72)
Length: 245 m (804 ft)
Diameter: 41 m (135 ft)
Gas type: Hydrogen
Gas capacity: 200,000 meters³ (7 million feet3)
Disposable lift: 112 tons
Power plant: 4 x 1,200 horsepower Daimler-Benz diesel engines
Max speed: 135 km/h (84 mph, 73 knots)