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The Hindenburg Airship World Naval Ships Forums Archive

The Hindenburg Airship

Posts 1 to 18

[B]'OH THE HUMANITY'[/B] 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)
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I remember buying that book back in '96 at the tender age of 11. One of my prize possessions just for nostalgic value. Archbold and Marschall produce great books together (with Bob Ballard too when he needs to highlight a dive). It's a shame that the U.S. government declined to allow Germany to have helium after the Hindenburg disaster - it would have been interesting if the LZ-130 had continued the Hindenburg legacy on the North Atlantic Run. And it was definitely sad that the original Graf Zeppelin had to stop the trips down to Brazil, although despite her obvious safety record she would have probably been too heavy to fly with helium I should think. If memory serves the official explanation re: static electricity was regarded with much skepticism, although if the German government wanted to prove a point I'm sure it could have leant on Dürr and Eckener to produce a report "proving" sabotage. There's always the interesting film "Hindenberg" as well. If you ignore the sabotage parts of the film it was rather faithful to the actual events, portraying many of the actual passengers to quite an extent. Harley

Your quote: 'OH THE HUMANITY', comes from the radio broadcast of that terrible accident. I guess you know that. Somewhere I have a recording of that. It's most dramatic. Now I read somewhere that the airship is making a comeback. But with helium!

Harley, I am a bit shocked to learn that you are only 23. I thought you were an old timer like the rest of us on here. This being the geriatric forum and all. Is it really 1996 since that book came out? Books are like cars. You buy one and then it is ten years old before you know it. Herk, yes the saying "Oh the humanity" went down into the history books. In fact they are working on a completely new project in California to bring back the commercial airship. Here is a pic.
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Good pic! I believe that the Germans are once again heavily into airships.

[QUOTE=The Sailor;2273]Harley, I am a bit shocked to learn that you are only 23. I thought you were an old timer like the rest of us on here. This being the geriatric forum and all. Is it really 1996 since that book came out? Books are like cars. You buy one and then it is ten years old before you know it.[/QUOTE] Ahem, 22! As they say, you can't put an old head on young soldiers so if I come out with rubbish it's because I don't yet know better. I actually first read the book in '95 on a cruise (sunburn meant peace and quiet and little movement were needed), however 9 year olds can't afford such nice books :p. I always wondered what happened to the Zeppelin NT mentioned in the book, I'm glad to see some progress was made. Once again, an interesting coincidence (I can tell I'm going to love this forum); the drama-documentary "Hindenburg" is showing on TV. Time to sit back and relax and refresh my memory... Harley

22, I'm really impressed. Let me explain this by quoting you a definition of admiration. [B]Admiration[/B], Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves." - Ambrose Bierce

(carefully avoiding birthdays) Ermm which TV Harley? We don't all live in the same country!

Very kind words, thank you! Especially when quoted from Ambrose Bierce (I never knew he was so incisive). Herakles, It's on Channel 4, here in Britain. At an obscene time where no-one but the most keen would watch it unfortunately. Harley

Well they might be considered kind but there are some who might read into that quote and accuse me of judging you at my own altruistic level, thereby using the quote cleverly to project my own importance.

I took it the only way I could, as a compliment. Who's to say I didn't read into the comparison implicit in the quotation ;). Harley

[QUOTE=Harley;2283] Herakles, It's on Channel 4, here in Britain. At an obscene time where no-one but the most keen would watch it unfortunately. Harley[/QUOTE] Some of the best TV in the UK is on Channel 4 in the dim dark hours of the night in my experience. You got a video recorder?

As fossil fuels decline I think that fuel guzzling cruise liners and aircraft will have to ultimately decline also. The obvious replacement for both of them is the airship. An ocean liner that does over 100 knots with an aerial view.

If I recall correctly tests were done on some of the fabric (or a replica of same) with which Hindenburg was covered. The high proportion of aluminium in the paint suggested why she burned with such rapidity. It is still astonishing, watching footage of the disaster, that there were any survivors.

Aluminium and hydrogen. Quite a mix. I didn't know they used aluminium. This surprises me. Clearly the company knew the potential risk having to use hydrogen. You'd think they would say: Mein Got. Ve must not use aluminium as vell!

hi guys i payed a tenner for my copy a fantastic book gary

Sailor, re your pic of the giant airship in California, is this "for real" as the saying goes? With the demise of the supersonic Concord, my hopes of ever finding a faster trip to Australia are dimming. Perhaps the airship one day, or maybe just a pair of good old fashioned seven-league boots. regards, Vivian

Vivian, Sailor is no longer with us. But I can answer your question. Airships have made a comeback. But the intention is to carry cargo long haul I think. The problem is the prevailing winds as I understand it. As for quicker trips over a long distance - you need to be very patient. There are some exciting ideas on the drawing boards. And already a few terrifyingly fast planes now that are kept well away from the public's gaze.

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