It only took thirty-four seconds for loss of 36 lives and for Hindenburg to turn into a mass of tangled steel and smoking wreckage.
The HIndenburg Disaster 1937 was said to be "the worst of the worst catastrophes in the world" by Herbert Morrison, when the world's largest airship exploded in a ball of fire. It is one of those significant events to the period between the two world wars and it was also the greatest disaster ever in air travel.
In 1934, the Zeppelin Company began work on its 129th airship. 'Hindenburg' was named after the veteran German soldier, Paul von Hindenburg, also the last democratically elected president of Germany before Hitler's rise. The size of Hindenburg was extreme. It was over 245 metres long, with a maximum diameter of 40 metres, making it the largest airship in the world. It was nearly the size of the Titanic.
Up until that evening of 6 May 1937, the HIndenburg, for last 12 months, had made eighteen safe travels across the Atlantic from Frankfurt in Germany to Lakeshurst in New Jersey, USA, taking over 1,500 passengers in all. The strong winds had affected the Hindenburg to be slowed down and it was arriving at Lakehurst twelve hours late.
It was raining heavily when the airship arrived. The tragedy occurred while the Hindenburg was floating down towards the mooring mast at 7.21 pm. As it approached the mooring mast during a thunderstorm, the hydrogen caught fire and gave the airship a small wisp of flame near the tail of the ship. Within seconds the flames rapidly engulfed the whole tail portion and the Hindenburg lost its lift in anytime. It fell down to the ground with flames racing along, the nose pointing upwards to the sky. Thirty-four seconds were all it took from the first flame until the red-hot wreckage collapsed.
Passengers jumped out the windows and ran for safety. One old lady walked out of the normal exit, another passenger hacked his way out with his hands.
