The dirigible was built to be the fastest, largest and most
luxurious flying vessel of its time. It was more than 800 feet long, had a
range of 8,000 miles, could carry 97 passengers and had a state-of-the-art
Mercedes-Benz engine. It was filled with 7 million cubic feet of hydrogen, even
though helium was known to be far safer, because it made the flying ship more
maneuverable.
The Hindenburg had made 10 successful ocean crossings the
year before and was held up by Germany's Nazi government as a symbol of
national pride. Flying at a speed of 85 miles per hour, the Hindenburg was
scheduled to arrive in New Jersey at 5 a.m. on May 6. However, weather
conditions pushed the arrival back to the late afternoon and then rain further
delayed the docking at Lakehurst. When the dirigible was finally cleared to
dock, Captain Max Pruss brought the ship in too fast and had to order a reverse
engine thrust. At 7:20 p.m., a gas leak was noticed. Within minutes, the tail
blew up, sending flames hundreds of feet in the air and as far down as the
ground below.
A chain reaction caused the entire vessel to burn instantly.
The nearly 1,000 spectators awaiting the Hindenburg's arrival felt the heat
from a mile away. Some on the blimp attempted to jump for the landing cables at
the docking station but most died when they missed. Others waited to jump until
the blimp was closer to the ground as it fell. Those who were not critically
injured from burns often suffered broken bones from the jump. Fifty-six people
managed to survive.
On WLS radio, announcer Herbert Morrison gave an
unforgettably harrowing live account of the disaster, "Oh, oh, oh. It's
burst into flames. Get out of the way, please . . . this is terrible . . . it's
burning, bursting into flames, and is falling . . . Oh! This is one of the
worst . . . it's a terrific sight . . .oh, the humanity."
Check out this newsfootage from the disater:
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