LZ 129 as the airship was officially titled was later named after the late German president, Paul von Hindenburg 1847–1934, German field marshal and president (1925–34), b. Poznan (then in Prussia). His full name was Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Hindenburg und Beneckendorff. He fought in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) and was appointed (1878) to the general staff. Though retired after 1911, he was made commander in East Prussia early in World War I. President Von Hindenburg who was succeeded by Adolf Hitler was 87 years old when he died.

The manufacture of LZ 129 Hindenburg  started in autumn 1931 at Friedrichshafen, Germany and lasted until the spring of 1936.

 After completion of the ship in the beginning of 1936 she made a great number of test rides; on 19. March she was approved for passenger service by the air vehicle test office of the State Aviation Ministry. In the further course of this year until December she made 55 rides over 300.000 km [186.000 mi], crossed the north or south Atlantic 34 times, carried 2800 passengers and 170 tons of cargo, and all this without incidents. Before resumption of operation in March 1937 she was examined anew by the test office, and the approval was renewed.

At 804 feet long, 136 feet wide and 150 feet high, the LZ129 Hindenburg was the worlds biggest flying ship ever made. Even to this day nothing as large has been built to fly, she was enormous a giant of the air.

It was held aloft by 7 million cubic feet of flammable hydrogen gas and could achieve 84 MPH with her 4 Daimler Diesel engines. Her tail fins were adorned with huge Nazi Swastikas.

The illustration above is to scale and gives a comparative look at the Hindenburg's size in respect of a Modern Boeing 747 Jumbo jet and the Titanic

Launched in March 26 1936, she was the worlds first transatlantic commercial air liner.

The overall accommodation for the passenger was of the highest luxury that was available at the time. And the experience aboard her was meant to remain in one's memory long after the journey. The fare was $400 one way or $720 return. To those that were a passenger on her they said that It was the best way to travel.  The Hindenburg spoke of wealth and prosperity and at the time it symbolised Germany as a great nation.

The Hindenburg prepares for its first flight, and this picture shows a clear view of the bridge. (control room where the Hindenburg was piloted from)

There were two decks for the passengers aboard the Hindenburg, Decks A and B.

Deck A Comprised of  Stately accommodation and was situated on the lower part of the Airship. It offered exquisite luxury to the passengers. Though it initially contained 25 two-berth passenger cabins, an extra set of nine 2-berth and one 4-berth cabins were added in December 1936. This increased the passenger capacity and enabled the Hindenburg to actually carry a maximum of 72 passengers. Within deck A  was situated a reading room, a writing room a lounge with a small grand piano, and the dining room. 

The sides of the lounge and dining room offered a panoramic view of the outside world through the large windows.

Deck B contained water closets and a shower, the galley, crew quarters, a cocktail bar, and a pressurized smoking room, that could only be entered through an air-tight sealed door.

This photo of the kitchen aboard the Hindenburg may be a surprise to many due to the reasonable size of it. Most people would assume the kitchen area to be a pokey hole where a cook rushed around in cramped conditions. Not so, the kitchen was the same as any found in any moderate establishment. Fully equipped to cook fantastic cuisine for its passengers and crew.

Passengers embarking in the Hindenburg actually had any pocket cigar lighters and matches taken from them. The only lighter was in the smoking room attached to a chain to the table, as a safety precaution. If the passengers were not aware of how highly flammable hydrogen was then certainly the crew did !

At this time in history the Germans were not capable of manufacturing the non volatile Helium gas. The USA was the world largest producer of Helium and they would not sell any to them. This was probably because of the fact that Germany used Zeppelins in the first world war to fly over enemy territory and drop bombs on them so the fear that Hitler would put Helium gas to some sort of military application was real and therefore avoided.

So Germany had to make do with the next best thing...the volatile Hydrogen

The Hindenburg un-beknown at the time, was on her final voyage. She left Frankfurt, Germany on 3 May 1937 and flew across the Atlantic,  due to arrive at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey USA at 06:00 am. Strong winds and bad weather over the Atlantic Ocean made her progress much slower than normal.

The weather was unrepentant when the Hindenburg was over the States and the ship had to make a detour away from Lakehurst and headed toward Atlantic City. The rain started to fall quite heavily for ten minutes or so and then as the skies cleared up  the Hindenburg got back on her original course. She flew to her fate...

She hits the ground and passengers cascade out of her, fighting and running for their lives.

Thirty-six people died in the crash. One of them was Captain Ernst Lehmann. He survived the initial crash, and as he was lead away he was heard to mutter " I just can't under stand it " but due to the injuries that he had received he died the following day.

The loss of only 37 people makes one think that the loss of the Hindenburg hardly constitutes a great loss or indeed a really terrible tragedy as so often advertised ( even on this web page ). A sorry loss of life yes, as always in any incidents such as these. Why I believe the loss of the Hindenburg was such big big news at the time and why it is still talked about is:

Publicity of the Hindenburgs loss was highlighted by the fact that it was filmed as it burst into flames and crashed in a gigantic ball of fire, this helped to increase the dramatisation of the tragedy. Today we are sadly used to stories of 747 jetliners crashing or similar disasters where 100 or 300 people die at a time but in the late 1930's this type of accident was quite unprecedented. Maybe  because it was perhaps the first air disaster of this kind that ultimately helped its infamy just as the loss of the Titanic some 25 years earlier did for maritime disasters.