Airship "Hindenburg": history, technical characteristics and the collapse of the giant. Airship Hindenburg: last flight and disaster German airship Hindenburg

The construction of the airship, codenamed LZ 129, began in Germany in 1931 - even before Hitler came to power - and took almost five years. Structurally, it was the so-called rigid airship - the most common type of the era of passenger airship construction. Dural aluminum frame Duralumin- lightweight, durable alloy of aluminum with copper and magnesium. was covered with fabric, and closed chambers with gas were placed inside. Rigid airships were huge: otherwise, the lift was very small.

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The first flight of the LZ 129 took place on March 4, 1936. At that time it was the largest passenger airship in the world. At first they wanted to name him after the Fuhrer, but Hitler was against it: any trouble with the car could damage his image. Then the airship was given the name "Hindenburg" - in honor of Paul von Hindenburg, who since 1925 served as Reich President Reich President- Head of the German state in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich from 1919 to 1945. Germany. It was he who appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor in 1933, but after the death of Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler abolished the post of Reich President and assumed all the powers of the head of state.

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The Hindenburg was 245 meters long and only 24 meters shorter than the Titanic. Four powerful engines allowed him to reach speeds of up to 135 km / h - that is, he was faster than passenger trains of that time. There could be 100 people on board the di-ri-zhable, and in total he was able to lift about 100 tons of cargo into the air, of which 60 tons accounted for the supply of fuel.

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A one-way transatlantic flight on the Hindenburg cost a lot of money for the mid-1930s - $ 400 (which is almost $ 7,000 in 2017 prices), so the main passengers of the Hindenburg were politicians, athletes, artists and large industrialists. Passengers on board tried to create maximum comfort. Initially, the Hindenburg was even equipped with an ultra-light aluminum piano, but later, like some other design elements, it was removed to get rid of excess weight and add several passenger cabins. Over the entire period of operation, the airship has experienced a number of alterations, but the promenade deck with large windows remained unchanged. By the way, you can see in the third part"Indiana Jones", in which father and son Jones attempt to escape Germany by airship.

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Unlike a number of other German airships, the passenger cabins of the Gindenburg were not in the gondola. Gondola- a room for people in an aerostat or airship. and at the bottom of the main body. Each cabin was three square meters and equipped with two beds, a plastic washbasin, a small built-in locker and a folding table. There were no windows or toilets.

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In the first third of the 20th century, Germany was the absolute leader in airship building. Once in power, the Nazis saw airships as an important means of propaganda abroad, making them their calling card. From this point of view, flights to North America were considered especially important. Just two months after the test flight, on May 6, 1936, the Hindenburg made its first flight to the United States on the route Frankfurt - Lake Hurst Air Force Base (New Jersey). The flight took 61 hours and 40 minutes: in Lakehurst, flying along the path over New York, the Hindenburg arrived on May 9th.

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During the first transatlantic flight, there were many celebrities aboard the Hindenburg. Among them was the Catholic missionary Paul Schulte, known as the Flying Priest. During the First World War, he served as a combat pilot, and then became a missionary in Africa, getting to remote areas by plane. Before the flight of the Hindenburg, Schulte personally asked for papal approval to serve the world's first "air mass" and, having received it, held a service on Wednesday, May 6, 1936, when the airship was over the Atlantic.

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At least twice the Hindenburg was used as a propaganda tool within Germany. So, on August 1, 1936, during the Berlin Olympics, he flew over the Olympic stadium at an altitude of 250 meters. The airship with the Olympic rings on board circled over the city for about an hour, and the German press wrote that 3 million people saw the flight. Later, on September 14, 1936, the Hindenburg also flew over the NSDAP congress NSDAP- the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which existed from 1920 to 1945. From July 1933 to May 1945 it was the ruling and only legitimate party in Germany. in Nuremberg, an annual event celebrated in Leni Riefenstahl's film Triumph of the Will.

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Once over the territory of the United States, the Hindenburg crew always sought to fly over major cities, but the Lakehurst airbase, located almost 100 kilometers from New York, was the invariable landing site for passengers. Before World War II, it was the center of US airship building, to which the largest American airships were assigned - including the military airship-airship aircraft carrier Akron, which crashed off the coast of the United States in 1933. It was the largest disaster in terms of the number of victims of the airship era: out of 76 crew members, only three survived. However, the crash of the Hindenburg quickly overshadowed that of the Akron, mainly because it was one of the first crashes to occur on live television.

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On May 6, 1937, during the next flight to the United States, the Hindenburg crashed while landing at the Lakehurst base. Under the control of Captain Max Pruss, the airship left Germany on the evening of May 3 with 97 people on board, and reached New York on the morning of May 6. Demonstrating the airship to the Americans, Pruss flew up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, after which he headed for Lakehurst. The storm front forced the Hindenburg to wait for some time, and only at eight o'clock in the evening the captain received permission to land. A few minutes before the start of the disembarkation of passengers, a fire broke out in the gas compartment, and the flaming airship collapsed to the ground. Despite the fire and falling from a great height, 62 out of 97 people survived. 13 passengers, 22 crew members and one base employee who was on the ground were killed.

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The Hindenburg was filled with highly flammable hydrogen instead of the much safer helium, which is why the fire spread so quickly. In the first half of the 20th century, the United States was the main supplier of helium, but its export to Germany was prohibited. During the initial design of the airship in 1931, it was assumed that by the beginning of operation it would be possible to obtain helium, but after the Nazis came to power, US policy on this issue became even tougher, and the Hindenburg was modified to use hydrogen .

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Listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most important photographs in human history, this image was taken by Sam Sher of International News Photos. He was one of two dozen reporters and photographers who met the Hindenburg at Lakehurst. Of the dozens of photographs taken at the scene of the tragedy, it was this photo that got on the cover of Life, and then was reprinted by hundreds of publications around the world. And 32 years later, in 1969, Sher's photo also became the cover of Led Zeppelin's debut album.

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A memorial service for 28 victims of the disaster (all of them of German origin) was held in New York on May 11, 1937, at the pier from which ships departed for Germany. According to the American press, more than 10,000 members of various German organizations attended the ceremony. After flowers were laid at the coffins of the victims and the Nazi salute was given, the coffins were solemnly loaded onto the German steamer Hamburg and sent to Germany for burial.

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At the end of 1937, the duralumin frame of the Hindenburg was sent to Germany and given for remelting for the needs of the Luft Waffe. Luftwaffe - air force of Nazi Germany.. Despite some conspiracy theories (the main one was supposed to be a time bomb on board), both the American and German commissions came to the conclusion that the explosion of internal gas cylinders was caused by cable break that damaged one of the cylinders.

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Immediately after the disaster, Germany stopped all passenger flights of dirigibles. In 1940, two other passenger airships - LZ 127 and LZ 130, the so-called Graf Zeppelin and Graf Zeppelin II - were dismantled, and their dur-aluminum-minium frames were sent for remelting.

Viktor Korshunov

Noah's Ark was built by an amateur. The Titanic was built by professionals

The most major disasters of the 20th century that occurred on water, on land and in the air: the tragedy of the Titanic ocean liner, the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the death of the Hindenburg airship. Experts still understand the causes of these disasters.

Huge and majestic, the Hindenburg made the same contribution to the development of aviation as the mighty Titanic did to the development of shipping. But due to bad luck, or ironically, "Hindenburg" suffered the same take into account.

Some facts from the history of air disasters

At the end of the 30s of the 20th century, the airship was rightfully considered not only fashionable, but also one of the most modern technical achievements of mankind. One of the main advantages of airships is overcoming huge distances for those times - hundreds and thousands of miles without refueling. At the same time, airships could carry several hundred tons of payload. In wartime, they could become scouts and giant bombers. In addition, in unforeseen situations, in the event of a shutdown of all engines, the airships did not break into a steep dive, but continued to glide, gradually descending, while saving the lives of the crew and passengers.

In the history of aeronautics, there were many grandiose victories, achievements, discoveries, expeditions and travels related to aeronautics and aviation. But, alas, there were also tragic moments in it, which put the development of this certainly convenient means of transportation into question. Therefore, this type of transport began to lose ground.

The main reason was several terrible disasters that resulted in the death of dozens of people. The whole world was especially shocked by the accidents of giant airships.

Here are some examples.

1928 After a very successful flight to the North Pole, the airship "Italy" crashed on the ice. A large number of aircraft and ships went to search for the brave explorers of the Arctic, and soon U. Nobile's expedition was found: a Swedish pilot and the Soviet icebreaker Krasin helped.

1930. New accident - airship R-101 crashed. It was designed to serve flights on the routes "England - Canada", "England - Egypt - India - Australia". R-101 crashed on its first flight. It was the largest English airship (volume more than 140,000 m3). But the size did not save him: having lost most of his hydrogen reserves, the flying ship began to decline sharply and crashed into a hill. Then there was a fire and an explosion. At the same time, 48 of the 57 people on board died.

1930 February 5. "Osoviahim" ("USSR V-6"), the best Soviet airship at that time, rushing to the rescue of the Papanins stuck on an ice floe, crashed in the Arctic, not far from Kandalaksha (Murmansk region). He crashed into an unmarked rock.

The American aeronauts were also unlucky. In the mid-thirties, two airships, Akron and Mekon, perished. These giants had volumes of 180,000 m3, a length of 239 m and a diameter of 40.5 m. Several versions are known about these disasters: adverse weather conditions (storm), technical problems (breakage of rudders, hull fractures due to large bending moments). The most tragic was the death of the Akron airship. Of the 76 people, only three were lucky enough to survive.

But, despite the statistics of deaths in accidents that were described above, the first place among the tragedies of aeronautics belongs to the accident of the airship LZ-129 "Hindenburg", in which 35 people died out of 97 passengers and crew members.

Hindenburg - Hitler's flagship

Germany's airship with the number LZ-129 was rightfully the pride of the Third Reich. The Hindenburg was a modern-day triumph of German engineering, technology, and scientific thought. With a swastika on its stern, it soared proudly through the German skies.

As a symbol of the revival of the "Third Reich", the airship became an indicator of national wealth: the largest and most expensive aircraft ever built by man. Hitler considered it irrefutable proof of the superiority of the Aryan race. "The proud angel of the new Germany" - this is how one of the Bavarian poets called him

However, the "Hindenburg" for the designers meant more than just an advertising symbol of Nazi Germany. It was the safest means for aeronautics, equipped with the most modern navigation instruments and equipment for those times.

As of the end of May 1937, more than 3,000 people were delivered to their destinations by the Hindenburg, He completed 21 flights across the North Atlantic and 16 through the South.

The first flights of the Hindenburg

The first "white light" of the largest aircraft "Hindenburg" (zeppelin LZ 129) was seen on March 4, 1936. He was solemnly taken out of the boathouse - a place for assembling airships. The airship got its name in honor of Paul von Hindenburg, the Reich President of Germany. It was the largest aircraft of all that had ever risen above the ground until that time.

The airship in the sky over Germany was first seen during the elections to the Reichstag.

Simultaneously with his "colleague" - the airship - "Graf Zeppelin" - he operated flights from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad). Nazi pennants fluttered on the sides of the ship. The tail was adorned with a swastika. Thousands of leaflets with Nazi propaganda rained down from the sky on those who were on the ground, and the loudspeakers trumpeted: "Do your duty - choose the Fuhrer!" Perhaps this action played the role allotted to it: on the single-mandate list, the NSDAP party received almost 99 percent of the votes. These are the official statistics of the March 29, 1936 elections.

The Hindenburg began its first flights with passengers in May 1936.

He flew to America: North (Lakehurst) and South (Rio de Janeiro). At the same time, the Hindenburg set a speed record by breaking the North Atlantic in 43 hours. By the end of May 1937, the airship had made 37 successful flights across the Atlantic. He delivered about 3,000 people to their destinations.

Specifications "Hindenburg"

lina - 245 meters (according to other sources - 248 meters), for comparison - the length of the Titanic is 240 meters;
maximum diameter - 41.2 meters (according to other sources - 40 meters);
nominal volume - 200,000 cubic meters of gas in cylinders; aluminum tanks, as a rule, were filled to 95% - i.e. about 190,000 cubic meters of hydrogen;
engines - four Daimler-Benz diesel engines;
maximum engine power - 1200 liters. With. every;
carrying capacity - 242 tons (of which 100 tons were payload);
maximum speed - up to 135 kilometers per hour (and with a tailwind - up to 150 kilometers per hour);
The maximum flight range is more than 15,000 km with a payload of 90-100 tons.
For that time, these were very high figures.

The Hindenburg's skin was made of extra-strong cotton-based fabric. The fabric was pre-treated with a solution that included cellulose acetate butyrate, iron oxide, and an aluminum powder additive. With this, the designers wanted to ensure not only the strength of the shell, but also protect the airship from a possible fire.

The cigar-shaped body of the ship was divided into 16 compartments, which served as "tanks" for fuel - hydrogen.

You can't forbid living beautifully

The passenger quarters of the Hindenburg were incomparably more comfortable than on any other aircraft that had ever existed before it. A real "flying palace" - that's what his contemporaries called it. Wealthy clients not only flew from Europe to America and back, but also enjoyed a comfortable environment.
To do this, they were given:
26 double comfortable cabins they were equipped with showers with running hot water (bathtubs would be too heavy);
salon, in which there was a small, lightweight aluminum piano specially made for the airship;
reading room;
walking galleries;
observation platform, located at the bottom of the airship;
smoking room; 333
restaurant, in which passengers, sitting at comfortable tables, viewed from a bird's eye view the area passing by below;

bar, which served the "signature drink" - a chilled cocktail "Hindenburg";
excellent cuisine, where the finest German chefs prepared gourmet meals and served them on gilded blue porcelain.

Most passengers spent their free time in the dome with large windows, or on the observation deck.
Wealthy clients were served by 10 staff members and 40 teams.
How much did such a trip cost?
In various sources, the figures differ significantly: from 400 to 800 dollars. Most likely the first one.

Security measures

and you can’t forbid living beautifully.

But, nevertheless, with all its equipment, numerous cabins, bars, marble bathrooms and more, the Hindenburg was, in fact, a huge flying hydrogen bomb. In cylinders placed inside a giant airship, there were almost 200,000 cubic meters of the most explosive gas - hydrogen. In order for a powerful explosion to occur, a small spark would be enough.

As the calculations of Hugo Ekner, one of the creators of the airship, showed, the Hindenburg could become safe if its cylinders were filled not with hydrogen, but with non-combustible helium. But the only developed natural helium field at that time was located in the United States, Texas. So there were circumstances that the Americans became monopolists in this area. Therefore, they were able to dictate their terms. Germany was willing to make any concessions in order to buy about a million cubic meters of this required gas. But, contrary to the wishes of the Nazis, US Congressmen passed a special law prohibiting the sale of helium to them.

It was the safest aeronautical facility, equipped with the most modern (at that time) navigation instruments and other necessary equipment. The requirements for ensuring the safety of passengers and crew on the airship were much stricter than on other aircraft and ships, and they were observed with German pedantry.

The most stringent ban that was in effect on the Hindenburg was a ban on any open sources of fire, which literally posed a threat to life on the Hindenburg. Therefore, everyone, including the most eminent passengers, must hand over matches, lighters, electric lights and any other devices that could cause a spark when boarding.

The team wore outerwear made of anti-static fabric and shoes with hemp soles.

But, despite such severe restrictions, the Hindenburg had a specially equipped smoking room, which housed the only electric lighter on the airship. To prevent hydrogen from entering the "smoking room", a slight increase in air pressure was constantly maintained in it. It was possible to enter the room through a special "pass" - an air lock.
So the designers solved one of the problems of ensuring fire safety.

last flight

nothing foretold...

It was this time for the Hindenburg that became the starting point of its last flight.
The airship, not for the first time, rose above the ground and headed for America.
There were 36 passengers on board. Almost 900 kg of hand luggage were loaded into the luggage compartments: suitcases, suitcases and other small things. The captain of the ship - Max Pruss - took his place in the control gondola. He was an experienced aeronaut, military pilot, participated in the First World War. He knew his business by heart.
Typically, the journey to New York was between 65 and 70 hours. But a fairly strong headwind blowing over the Atlantic made travelers late by almost 10 hours.

The airship "Hindenburg" is the largest airship that has ever been built in the world. It was built in Germany in 1936. It got its name in honor of the President of Germany named Paul von Hindenburg. A well-known tragic story is connected with the airship. In 1937, while landing in the United States, it caught fire and collapsed. Of the 97 people on board, 35 were killed. Another victim was a member of the ground crew.

The crash of the Hindenburg did not become the most massive airship disaster, but caused a great

Airship construction

The construction of the Hindenburg airship began in 1931. This took about five years. The first flight took place in 1936. The characteristics of the airship "Hindenburg" impressed many.

At the time of construction, it was the largest in the world. The design of the airship "Hindenburg" was the most advanced. Its length was 245 meters. The volume of gas in cylinders was about 200 thousand cubic meters. The zeppelin had four diesel engines with about 900 horsepower. There were special tanks for storing fuel with a volume of two and a half thousand liters each.

The technical characteristics of the airship "Hindenburg" were impressive. It was capable of lifting up to 100 tons of payload and 50 passengers into the air. The maximum speed was 135 kilometers per hour. These technical characteristics of the airship "Hindenburg" were simply amazing for their time.

Helium instead of hydrogen

The history of the airship "Hindenburg" is interesting in that such large dimensions were due to the fact that it was planned to use helium as a carrier gas. It was planned to replace them with flammable hydrogen, which was previously used.

Interestingly, it was originally planned to build a hydrogen zeppelin, which would actually become the successor to the popular airship Graf Zeppelin. But due to the catastrophe of the English airship, the project was redone. Then, out of 54 people on board, 48 died. The cause was the ignition of hydrogen due to a leak.

At the time of the construction of the Hindenburg airship, the United States was the only major supplier of helium in the world. But the country had an embargo on its export. Still, one of the developers of the zeppelin, Hugo Eckener, hoped that helium could be obtained, for this he even met with the American president in the White House in 1929.

But these plans were not destined to come true. When the National War Goods Control Board came to power in Germany, the US refused to lift the ban on helium exports. The Hindenburg had to be redesigned to use hydrogen.

Zeppelin equipment

The German airship "Hindenburg" was equipped with everything necessary. There was a restaurant and a kitchen on board. The deck was equipped with two promenade galleries with windows located at an angle. Due to weight restrictions, instead of bathtubs, showers were located on board. Virtually everything was made of aluminium, even the grand piano designed for the salon of the Zeppelin.

Before boarding, all passengers were required to hand in lighters, matches, and any other devices capable of causing a spark. Interestingly, even with such strict restrictions, the Hindenburg had a smoking room. There you could use the only electric lighter on board. In order to protect passengers and crew from a possible fire as much as possible, excess pressure was maintained in the room. This prevented the penetration of hydrogen into the room. The only way to get into it was through an airlock.

By 1937, passenger compartments, as well as public spaces, were globally modernized. This made it possible to significantly increase the capacity - from fifty to 72 passengers.

airship flights

The airship Hindenburg made its first flight in 1936. He took to the air in Friedrichshafen. During the first few weeks, he made five test flights, and on March 26 he went on his first publicity flight. There were 59 passengers on board.

The airship began to carry out direct commercial flights from March 31. With 37 passengers on board, the zeppelin set off for South America. We also managed to lift more than a ton of cargo.

Since May 1936, the airship began to be used for regular passenger traffic. He made flights across the Atlantic Ocean, making an average of two flights a month.

In September, the Hindenburg set off for Nuremberg, the flight took less than a day, and from there to the east coast of America. By the end of the year, he made three more flights to Recife and Rio de Janeiro. About ten commercial flights were made to the American Lakehurst.

It is worth emphasizing that at that time the airship was one of the most popular ways to cross the Atlantic. Tickets sold out almost immediately, there were simply no empty seats.

In winter, modernization was carried out, after which flights across the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil continued. The Hindenburg also carried passengers on a promotional tour over the western part of Germany and Rhineland-Palatinate.

In total, the airship made 63 successful flights.

last flight

The Zeppelin made its last flight on May 3, 1937. There were 97 people on board. Among them - 61 passengers and 36 crew members. The flights took place in fairly comfortable conditions, and a large number of attendants were always present on board to ensure the convenience of passengers. Tickets at the same time were expensive - an average of about four hundred dollars.

The baggage compartment was also full. The airship received more than 17 thousand postal items, the total amount of luggage and cargo was approximately one ton. The place on the captain's bridge was taken by Max Pruss, an experienced pilot, a veteran of the First World War.

Disaster of the airship "Hindenburg"

The airship took off from Germany at 20:15 local time. Having crossed the Atlantic Ocean, he found himself over Manhattan.

The crew traditionally cared not only about the comfort of passengers, but also about creating an unforgettable experience. Captain Pruss decided to show the passengers the sights of America, and at the same time show the Americans the famous German airship. To do this, he flew so close to the observation deck of the Empire State Building that visitors and passengers could get a good look at each other and wave.

After that, the Hindenburg briefly circled over the city itself and headed for the air base in Lakehurst. It was there that the landing was planned. Around 16:00, the zeppelin was near the place of its landing.

Landing at Lakehurst

Directly in Lakehurst, weather conditions deteriorated significantly. A storm front was rapidly approaching from the west, which could soon reach the landing field. The weather was so unpredictable that the head of the air base, Charles Roosendahl, even urged Pruss to postpone the landing of the airship.

The zeppelin sailed along the coast. By this time, the storm front began to move north. At 18:12, a radiogram arrived on board the Hindenburg, which reported that the weather conditions had become favorable, it was possible to head back to the base and land. At 19:08 another message arrived. It urged the crew to land as soon as possible, because the weather could deteriorate again.

At 19:11, the airship began its descent, dropping to a mark of 180 meters. At that time, the American journalist Herbert Morrison was following him, who was reporting from the ground about the arrival of the Hindenburg in the United States.

At 19:20, the zeppelin was balanced, two were dropped from its nose. Direct preparations for landing began. The situation began to get out of control at 19:25, when a fire broke out in the tail section. Literally in 15 seconds, the fire spread towards the bow for several tens of meters. Immediately after this, the first explosion on the Hindenburg airship thundered.

Exactly 34 seconds later, the zeppelin crashed to the ground.

Tragedy victims

The Hindenburg airship crash killed 36 people: 22 crew members and 13 passengers. Another victim was a member of the ground service.

Most of them died in the fire or suffocated with carbon monoxide. Several people managed to jump out of the burning airship, but crashed when they fell to the ground.

Directly in the crash itself, 26 people died, of which 10 were passengers. The rest died later from their injuries.

Disaster investigation

The investigation of the crash of the airship "Hindenburg" was carried out by a commission of inquiry from Germany. It was found that a steel wire brace, which ran along the inside of the entire frame, exploded in the tail section of the hull. At the same time, it served to transfer pressure to gas cylinders.

Two cylinders were damaged due to the rupture. This caused a hydrogen leak, resulting in an explosive mixture in the space between the cylinders and the outer shell.

After the landing ropes were dropped, the Zeppelin shell was not as well grounded as the hull material. This led to the potential difference. The weather also played a role. Humidity has been increased, and a spark has been created due to a recent thunderstorm front. As a result, the air-hydrogen mixture instantly ignited. American experts also conducted their own investigation and came to similar conclusions.

Conspiracy version

Interestingly, there is also a conspiracy version of the death of the Hindenburg airship. It was put forward by an amateur historian from the United States, Adolf Heling.

He believes that the Hindenburg destroyed the time bomb. It was deliberately installed by one of the crew members, technician Erich Spel, on the bottom of the cylinder at number four. It was assumed that the explosion would occur immediately after landing, when both passengers and crew left the ship. Heling thinks so. But due to the fact that the Hindenburg made an extra circle, which was caused by bad weather conditions, the clock mechanism worked before the landing of everyone on board the airship.

Spel himself jumped out of the burning zeppelin, but soon died in the hospital from his burns. Interestingly, the head of the German Gestapo, Heinrich Müller, put forward the same version.

The aftermath of the crash

The collapse of the airship "Hindenburg" was the beginning of the end of the era of airships in the world. Shortly after this incident, the German leadership officially banned passenger transportation on airships, as well as using them for foreign flights for any purpose.

An exception was made only for postal items and air shows that were held in Germany.

Farewell to airships

After the disaster at the Hindenburg, the commercial use of airships actually ceased. German companies have canceled all flights to Brazil and the US. The German government has imposed a ban on passenger transportation on zeppelins.

The airship "Graf Zeppelin" was transferred to Frankfurt. There it was placed in the museum as a huge exhibit in an exhibition dedicated to von Zeppelin himself and his creations.

The next airship from this series was completed, but it was used exclusively for propaganda and military purposes. Already in 1940, German Aviation Minister Goering ordered both airships to be scrapped.

The death of "Hindenburg" in culture

The disaster at the Hindenburg has been reflected in world culture. For example, in 1975, American director Robert Wise made a feature-length feature film called The Hindenburg, which won two Oscars. In it, the main version of what happened was sabotage.

One of the episodes of the popular documentary series "Seconds to Disaster" details what happened on the airship in May 1937. The filmmakers conducted their own investigation, which concluded that the initial version of a hydrogen fire on board is more likely than versions of an explosion or deliberate arson.

The Hindenburg is also mentioned in the documentary series Life After People. It shows faded photographs of the airship, which supposedly three centuries after the disappearance of mankind are stored in the archives.

In the fictional fantasy series Out of Time, in the very first episode of the first season, the characters travel back in time just at the moment of the death of the Hindenburg. They intend to catch a terrorist whose goal is to change the course of history.

On May 6, 1937, the world's largest airship, the LZ 129 Hindenburg, crashed at Lakehurst Air Force Base. This accident almost overnight ended the era of air giants. But three-quarters of a century has passed - modern technologies may well revive the passenger airship industry from the ashes. Moreover, there are all the prerequisites for this.

The Aether project by British designer Mac Byers has sparked a lively debate in airship circles. The inspiration for the designer was the aesthetics of the NASA Space Shuttle, Star Wars and, of course, the legendary Hindenburg.

After LZ 129, another passenger giant was built - LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II. At the time of the “self-immolation” of the Hindenburg, it was about half finished, and it was economically unprofitable to stop construction (although it was frozen for some time while a decision was made on further actions). Due to the delay, the Graf Zeppelin II made its first flight only in September 1938, shortly before the war, and a year and a half later, Hermann Goering ordered the destruction of both the airship, the unfinished frame of the next giant, and the hangars. Germany had other problems.

Since then and to this day, all the airships built in the world can be safely called small. Imagine: the Hindenburg was 245 m long, with a maximum diameter of 41.18 m and a volume of 200,000 m3. Compared to it, even the largest aircraft, the AN-225 Mriya, looks like a chicken with its pathetic 84-meter fuselage. But the dimensions of the LZ were determined by the need to transport a large load and, importantly, people, and with considerable comfort. A passenger airship can be compared to an ocean liner. Yes, the plane is faster. But on the liner there are individual cabins, entertainment lounges, comfortable restaurants - all this makes traveling a pleasure, and not a jump from one point to another. This is one of the reasons for the resurgent interest in passenger airships today - there are enough wealthy people in the world who are ready to prefer such an air limousine to a high-speed flight.

There are a number of other reasons - a potentially larger carrying capacity than aircraft, environmental indicators. To date, the largest operated airship of the Zeppelin NT series has a length of only 75 m. By the way, it is also the only serial (four copies made) semi-rigid airship in the world - the rest of the used machines do not have a frame. The Zeppelin NT is slightly heavier than air and takes some of its lift from the vector propellers, making it a hybrid vehicle. Another thing is that this is not entirely correct - airships are considered hybrid, whose lifting force is divided between the shell filler (helium) and engines in a ratio of at least 60:40. But, one way or another, there is no talk about rigid airships (a supergiant must be rigid so that the loads are transferred to the frame, and the internal capacity is divided into independent cavities). Although, stop ... it's just going. It's more about implementation.

Manned Cloud, developed by French designer Jean-Marie Massot in collaboration with the Onera aerospace laboratory. According to the project, the gondola of the cetacean airship contains 20 double cabins, a restaurant, a gym, a library (it seems that the project was completed in 2008, when e-books were less common) and a large wardroom. Despite the technical justification of the project, it is noticeable that the primary component in the development was beauty.

Conceptual future

The idea for the article on large airships came about when we saw the design project Aether by British student Mac Byers. A graduate of the University of Huddersfield's Department of Transportation Design, Byers developed the concept of a super-large luxury airship with the possibility of implementation by 2030. The author admits that his mathematical calculations are basic, but theoretically, when using ultralight materials, such a design is viable. Aether is an airship with a length of about 250 m (since the project is a design project, it is difficult to determine the exact parameters). The basis of its interior space is a spacious two-story lobby in a modern open space style, to which the restaurant adjoins. All tables are at the windows - so you can dine while watching the landscapes passing under the airship. Huge kitchen, large cabins with double beds, equipped with the latest technology, panoramic views ... Basically, Byers designed the Hindenburg of the 21st century.

On July 4, 2013, Aeroscraft's first full-sized airship, the 70-meter Dragon Dream, was taken out of the boathouse for the first time. Dragon Dream is a smaller version of the planned 235-meter ML 868 with a payload of 250 tons.

But did the designer think how such an airship would fly? Yes, I thought. Mack relied on the development of the Californian company Aeroscraft, which had already successfully built and even lifted into the air its first experimental airship - a rigid design, for the first time in many years. The technology behind the Dragon Dream built by the company is called control of static heaviness (COSH). This is a variable buoyancy system that allows the airship to be heavier than air at the moment of landing (that is, it does not require a leash and can land on the ground by turning off the engines) and lighter than air when flying. This result is achieved with the help of special containers (Helium Pressure Envelopes, HPE), which contain helium under pressure. Depending on the need, the system compresses the helium at high speed, making it heavier than air and thus reducing the airship's lift, or allowing it to expand, making the airship lighter than air. The know-how of the creators is just energy converters that control the degree of compression of helium and its supply to HPE tanks through a system of pipes and valves. Thus, Dragon Dream carries a replenishable supply of ballast. The length of Dragon Dream is 70 m, and the carrying capacity is not declared at all (it is purely experimental), but in case of successful tests, Aeroscraft engineers promise to build a whole line of various airships, the largest of which is the 280-meter giant ML86X, capable of lifting up to 500 tons. Estimated airship speed - up to 185 km / h.

One way or another, the Aeroscraft technology already proven in work and the demonstration of the first rigid airship after many years leaves hope for the revival of zeppelins. On the basis of COSH, it is possible to build passenger cars like Aether - capable of landing “on their belly” and providing maximum passenger comfort.

heavenly palace

But Aeroscraft is not the only viable super-large airship project. No less interesting is the SL150 SkyPalace from SkyLifter. The carrier part (shell) of the SL150 airship is disc-shaped, like that of the Russian Locomoskiner (Popular Mechanics, No. 3 "2010), which greatly simplifies loading and movement relative to air flows. The shell is filled with helium. But in this case it is even more interesting the concept of interchangeable nacelles - the SL150 can be cargo, passenger, rescue - whatever. The airship nacelle is attached to the shell with a long flexible link, through which the service personnel and crew can move directly in flight. That is why it is possible to attach different configurations of gondolas.

At the moment, two types have been developed - the cargo SkyLifter and the passenger SkyPalace. The latter is a five-story cylindrical pavilion with a diameter of 25 m. A unique feature compared to other structures is the presence of an open terrace on the roof of the gondola. There are several SkyPalace loading options: a purely transport Trekker (600 passengers in "airplane" conditions) and two luxury ones - SuperCruiser and Safari, 60-80 passengers each in individual cabins, with two floors of entertainment.

The SkyLifter team has already built two small prototypes, the SL3 Betty and SL18 Vikki, and is looking forward to industrial production of the small SkyRover SL20 and SL25 models for promotional and observational purposes. And there it will come to huge "flying saucers".

The interchangeable SkyPalace gondola can be a portable home - for example, the SL150 can deliver it directly to the resort, where it will serve as a resort building. In the figure, the passenger part is fastened with cables to the pilot's gondola; in other configurations, it is attached directly to the pipe connecting it to the shell. In fact, SL150 is a constructor.

Where do projects go?

Large projects are more likely to be completed early. For example, the SkyCat project that thundered in 2000 has since calmed down and practically does not move. SkyCat engineers proposed to build a line of hybrid airships for various needs, which would combine the qualities of a balloon and a heavier-than-air aircraft. The lineup included airships of various purposes, including the huge passenger yacht SkyLiner, designed for 120 passengers in an economy configuration and 70 in a luxury version. A smaller test copy, SkyKitten, made an experimental flight on July 23, 2000, and a full-size version was promised to be built by 2008, but things are still there.

Russian projects

A number of interesting projects have recently appeared in our latitudes. The craziest and at the same time interesting of them is the DC-N1 all-metal airship presented in 2007 by Avgur-RosAeroSystems with a declared length of 268 m. The project was based on the ideas of Tsiolkovsky, who dreamed of such a machine, but the technologies, of course, were already the most modern. Another thing is that the company did not dare to invest in the construction of an experimental machine, and third-party investors were not interested in the project. Another project of the 250-meter A-35 airship was proposed in 2009 by the engineers of CJSC Aerostatics.

Other projects can be classified as fantastic at all, although the successes of Aeroscraft can breathe new life into them. One of the most interesting in recent years is Manned Cloud (“Human Cloud”) by Parisian designer Jean-Marie Massot. The project was developed in collaboration with the French aerospace laboratory Onera; the technical part of it is thought out, and with proper funding, the "cloud" has a chance of being implemented.

Masseau's Manned Cloud is a huge whale-shaped blimp hotel, designed for 40 people with a staff of 15. Theoretically, it is capable of making a three-day non-stop flight at speeds up to 170 km / h. An interesting technical idea embedded in the 210-meter machine is that a passenger staircase leads from the gondola to the upper part of the shell directly through the cell internal structures, allowing hotel guests to climb to the observation deck. A similar concept was developed a little earlier by the creators of the airship-hotel Strato Cruiser, where there was no gondola - all the interiors were located between the cells with helium, right inside the frame. Another thing is that the Strato Cruiser was a purely fantastic idea, not designed for technical implementation.

Summing up, we can say that there is hope for the emergence of new passenger zeppelins. Both COSH technology from Aeroscraft, and hybrid systems, and even traditional schemes of the 1930s, taking into account the emergence of new materials and calculation methods, are quite viable. Recently, a number of high-profile projects of water cruise liners have been implemented - why not appear by air? It is unlikely that there are fewer fans of a slow and comfortable flight than 70 years ago. So a new era of air giants is coming.

On May 6, 1937, one of the most famous disasters in the history of aeronautics occurred. Luxurious German airship "Hindenburg" burned down while landing in the United States. This crash was one of the most resonant in history - on a par with the death of the Titanic. The cause of the fire on board is still a mystery. Various versions are being put forward, ranging from an accidental spark to a terrorist attack.

Birth of the Hindenburg

Construction began in Germany in 1931. It was the heyday of the airship era. These aeronautic vehicles were considered at that time the most promising mode of transport for long-distance flights. Although ships were still the most popular medium for transatlantic routes, airships threatened to displace them with their speed. The airship flight took much less time. Airplanes were not at all competitors to airships due to the fact that they had too little carrying capacity, a limited flight radius and unreliability.

True, the airships also had one very vulnerable spot. Hydrogen, a flammable gas, was used as the carrier gas. Therefore, any insignificant spark could cause a fire, which literally destroyed the ship in a few seconds. Therefore, the designers of the Hindenburg from the very beginning designed it with the expectation of using helium - a more expensive, but much safer gas. However, there was one problem - in sufficient quantities, helium production was developed only in the USA. And in America, helium was considered a strategic military commodity (airships were actively used for military purposes), and the Americans were not eager to share it with the rest of the world. Therefore, an embargo was imposed on the export of helium.

One of the most famous aeronauts in the world, Hugo Eckener (he made the first round-the-world flight in history), personally came to America to persuade lawmakers to lift the ban on the sale of helium. However, soon the Nazis came to power in Germany and it became obvious that now the Americans would definitely not give up their embargo. Right on the move, the design of the airship had to be changed to take into account the use of cheaper and more dangerous hydrogen.

The construction of the airship took five years. But the result exceeded all expectations. It was the largest aeronautical apparatus in the world. The airship reached 245 meters in length and developed a speed of 135 kilometers per hour. And the gondola, where the passengers were, could satisfy even the most demanding traveler. The famous German designer Fritz Breuhaus was responsible for the creation of passenger cabins and public spaces, who set himself an ambitious goal: to make passengers spend most of their time in public spaces, and not in cabins.

On two decks there were a restaurant, lounges, work rooms, walking galleries, a dance hall, a library. There was even a grand piano made entirely of aluminum to save weight. For the same purpose, bathtubs had to be abandoned, replacing them with shower cabins. Nevertheless, even in this form, the Hindenburg surpassed any passenger aircraft even in the 21st century in terms of comfort.

On the second deck, in addition to the dining room for the crew, there was a single smoking room. Smoking in other rooms and even the simple possession of matches was strictly prohibited, passengers handed over all flammable items even before boarding.

At the construction stage, the airship did not yet have a name, only the registration number - LZ129. He made his first test flight in March 1936 and even then did not yet have a name. Berlin was supposed to host the Olympic Games in a few weeks, so a new airship took off with the emblem of the five Olympic rings. Only after the second voyage did he finally receive the name "Hindenburg". In honor of the recently deceased President of Germany, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg.

A few days later, the airship finally made its first official flight. The passengers of the ship were journalists from popular German newspapers, who were supposed to glorify the miracle of technology throughout the country.

Pride of Germany

At the end of March 1936, the Hindenburg made its first commercial flight to Rio de Janeiro. Of course, you had to pay for the comfort and time savings. Therefore, not every representative of even the middle class could afford airship tickets. The average price of a ticket for a transatlantic flight at that time was $400, which is about $7,000 in today's prices.

On the first nine-day flight to Brazil and back, there were problems with the engines, but everything ended well. The airship successfully returned to Germany in the status of the pride of the German airship industry. Only a few airships then in existence in the world were suitable for regular transatlantic flights, and the Hindenburg seemed to open a new chapter in aeronautics.

Of course, the Nazi leaders could not miss the opportunity to use the popularity of the ship in propaganda. The airship took part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Berlin, as well as in some other popular international competitions.

Among the passengers of the airship, one could easily see movie stars, famous athletes, politicians, the richest businessmen, aristocrats and the like. The very arrival of the Hindenburg turned into an event, journalists came to the landing site of the airship, radio reports were made, in a word, each flight of the airship caused a stir.

Oh humanity!

On May 3, 1937, the airship left Germany for the United States. This was the 63rd flight of the Hindenburg, which became his last. There were 61 passengers and 36 crew members on board. The ship was piloted by the most experienced airship pilot Max Pruss, who had more than 170 transatlantic flights under his belt. The flight took place in a regular mode, no emergencies arose. The only incident that forced a change in the original plan was the appearance of a thunderstorm front, due to which the landing of the airship at Lakehurst airbase had to be delayed for several hours. Pruss was forced to take the airship aside for several hours.

On the evening of May 6, the airship began landing. In the course of the descent, landing ropes were dropped, after which a fire suddenly broke out in the tail section of the airship. The fire spread with incredible speed, within a few seconds the shell of the airship was engulfed in flames. All this happened in front of many people who came to watch the arrival of the airship. It was the first transatlantic flight of the season from Europe to the US, so there were many journalists on site. In addition, video filming and also a radio report were made, from which the whole world learned about the tragedy live. The broadcast was hosted by Herbert Morrison, and his desperate and weeping cry on the air: "Oh, humanity!" made this report one of the most famous in the history of radio, and the phrase itself in the Western world became associated with this particular tragedy.

A little over 30 seconds after the start of the fire, the remains of the Hindenburg collapsed to the ground. Although the airship disaster became one of the most resonant in the history of mankind, the number of victims of the crash was actually not as significant as one might think. 2/3 of the people on board were saved. 36 people died.

Most of the dead were crew members - 22 people. Among the passengers, 13 people died. Another victim was an employee of the airfield, on whom burning fragments of an airship fell. The bias towards the crew is due to the fact that its members were mainly in the bow, performing the necessary actions for landing. It was there that the strongest fire raged and there were minimal chances of escape. Some passengers received minor burns that were not life-threatening. Some even turned out to be so lucky that they did not receive any injuries.

Versions of death

The death of the Hindenburg became the main topic for the world's leading newspapers for a long time. The media voiced versions of one another more incredible. For example, some newspapers seriously suspected that the airship was shot down by a nearby farmer who allegedly complained about the noise from the flights.

Hugo Eckener, awakened by reporters who informed him of the death of the airship, initially put forward the version of sabotage, saying that perhaps someone fired at the airship. However, after considering everything properly, he abandoned this version and further insisted on an accidental spark. Versions were also put forward about a lightning strike or an explosion of one of the engines, but they did not enjoy serious support.

The reasons for the death of the airship tried to establish two investigations at once. The first was carried out by the Americans, the second by the Germans. Ultimately, both sides abandoned the sabotage version and accepted the accidental spark version as official. Shortly before landing on the ship, hydrogen leaked from one of the cylinders. After the landing ropes were dropped to the ground, an accidental spark flared up due to the potential difference. Which, in turn, was caused by the passage through a thunderstorm front and the design features of the airship (the aluminum frame was separated from the shell by poorly conducting materials, so after the ropes were dropped, the shell turned out to be grounded worse than the frame).

This hypothesis was accepted as the official version. However, most of the surviving crew members did not agree with this, who claimed that during flights to South America they repeatedly passed through thunderheads, but never had any problems. They adhered to the version of sabotage. The captain of the "Hindenburg" Pruss, who miraculously survived the disaster, was also a supporter of the version of sabotage. However, none of them believed that the terrorist could be among the crew members, so they suspected one of the passengers - acrobat Joseph Spa.

The spa was virtually unscathed in the crash. At the time of the fire, he broke the window and hung down, holding on to his hands. As a result of the fire, the back of the airship abruptly went down and approached the ground at a distance of only a few meters (the nose, on the contrary, lifted up), and at that moment Spa jumped to the ground. Crew members recalled that he behaved quite strangely, wandered around the ship, looked very agitated and preoccupied, and someone even heard that he was telling other passengers anti-fascist jokes. In addition, Spa's acrobatic skills made him suitable for the task. The FBI even conducted a check on this passenger, but in the end they did not find a single hint that he could be involved in the disaster.

In addition, nothing remotely resembling an explosive device was found at the crash site. Therefore, even Germany, despite the assurances of the crew, did not put forward a version of sabotage.

But after the war, the version of the death of the airship as a result of a terrorist attack again began to gain popularity. Several researchers, on the basis of indirect facts, put forward a version of the involvement in the disaster of one of the crew members, Eric Shpel, who died that day.

Shpel did not support the Nazi regime, and his girlfriend was a staunch communist at all. As a member of the crew, he knew all the weak points of the ship, had access to compartments where passengers could not get, knew all the secluded places in order to hide an explosive device. Perhaps he was going to destroy the airship as a symbol of Nazi power (the tail of the Hindenburg was decorated with a large swastika, and the airship itself was actively used in propaganda). But Shpel did not plan the death of people. The bomb was supposed to explode at the moment when no one was on board. But due to an unforeseen travel delay of several hours, the explosion occurred at the moment when everyone was on board. And Shpel himself, for some reason, could not change the timer on the "infernal machine". However, even the supporters of the hypothesis themselves emphasize that it is based on a large number of assumptions and indirect hints.

Nevertheless, almost the entire crew of the airship, including the captain, adhered to the version of sabotage (not by Shpel, but in general). In addition, the supporter of this version was the commander of the air units of the Lakehurst airfield (where the tragedy occurred) Rosendaal. Eckener, who at first also claimed sabotage, later supported the official story.

End of a beautiful era

The death of the Hindenburg, which occurred almost live, shocked the whole world. The Germans deliberately raised interest in the airship with various PR actions, so the Hindenburg was very well known in the world and its crash was almost comparable to the death of the Titanic in its resonance. Ultimately, the death of the aeronautical vessel led to the end of the era of airships, on which many hopes were placed between the two world wars. The death of the ship, circulated in the media, led to a sharp outflow of passengers. Few people now wanted to travel with such an expensive and at the same time unsafe mode of transport. In addition, Germany, which was one of the world leaders in the field of airship construction, banned passenger flights on airships after this disaster.

Two and a half years after the death of the Hindenburg, World War II began, which led to an almost complete cessation of international travel. During the war years, technology in aviation made such a giant leap that had not been made in the previous twenty years. By the end of the war, aircraft were already clearly superior in any characteristics (except for comfort) to airships. Even safer devices that ran on helium could no longer compete with jet aircraft. The age of luxurious aeronautic ships is finally a thing of the past.