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LZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the largest flying machines of any kind (by dimension) ever built. The Hindenburg was named after the late Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), President of Germany (1925–1934). Helium was initially selected for the lifting gas because it was the safest to use in airships, as it is not flammable. At the time it was extremely expensive, and was available from natural gas reserves in the United States. Hydrogen, by comparison, could be cheaply produced by any industrialized nation and had slightly more lift. The American rigid airships using helium were forced to conserve the gas at all costs and this hampered their operation. While a hydrogen-filled ship could routinely valve gas as necessary, a helium-filled ship had to resort to dynamic force if it was too light to descend, a measure which took a toll on its structure. Despite a ban the U.S. had imposed on helium exports, the Germans nonetheless designed the ship to use the gas in the belief that the ban would be lifted; however, the designers learned as they were working to complete the project that the ban was to remain in place, forcing them to re-engineer the Hindenburg to use hydrogen for lift. Although the danger of using flammable hydrogen was obvious, there were no alternative gases that could be produced in sufficient quantities that would provide sufficient lift. One beneficial side effect of employing hydrogen was that more passenger cabins could be added. The Germans' long history of flying hydrogen-filled passenger airships without a single injury or fatality engendered a widely-held belief that they had mastered the safe use of hydrogen. While the decision to fly with hydrogen may appear incredibly dangerous today, it can be seen as quite reasonable at the time. The Hindenburg's first season performance appeared to demonstrate this. Around 7:00 p.m. local time on May 6, at an altitude of 650 ft (200 m), Hindenburg approached Naval Air Station Lakehurst with Captain Max Pruss at the helm. Twenty-five minutes later, the airship caught fire and crashed, completely engulfed in flames, in only 37 seconds. Of the 36 passengers and 61 crew on board, 13 passengers and 22 crew died. One member of the ground crew was also killed, making a total of 36 lives lost in the disaster. The location of the initial fire, the source of ignition, and the initial source of fuel remain subjects of debate. The cause of the accident has never been determined, although many theories have been proposed. Escaping hydrogen gas will burn after mixing with air. The covering also contained materials which are highly flammable, and many think that a spark of static electricity started the fire. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
