As the huge airship freed itself from the ropes that held it and began to rise smoothly into the evening sky, applause rang out below. The people who saw him off shouted "hurray!" and for some time ran after the retreating giant. Champagne flowed, a brass band thundered. In honor of the opening of the new season of aeronautics and the first transatlantic flight of the Hindenburg airship from Frankfurt to New York in 1937, musicians dressed in blue and yellow uniforms performed bravura marches and, at the end, the German national anthem. The music stopped only when the airy giant - the pride of the Nazi Reich - rose to a height of ninety meters and its huge wooden propellers, powered by four diesel engines, began to spin. But people did not disperse for a long time,looking for its glowing lights in the dark sky.
So on the evening of May 3, 1937, the largest airship in the world, an amazing creation of human hands, named after the German Reich President "Hindenburg", was seen off in Frankfurt am Main. “The German miracle should surprise the New World,” wrote all German newspapers. - The air giant has conquered Europe, will also conquer America. The sky belongs to us!"
The Zeppelin Company, headed by Ernst Lehmann, was absolutely confident in the reliability of the Hindenburg, which was to lead a series of aircrafts for transatlantic flights. "Colossal" - former fans of the "Zeppelin" - huge air ships of the First World War, said about him. These airships made a lot of noise in their time: the Germans used them for bombing from the air and for aerial reconnaissance.
The Hindenburg was significantly different from the air ships of 1915, it used the achievements of the last two decades. The crew consisted of 55 people, 25 comfortable cabins were designed for fifty passengers. Cold and hot water was supplied to the cabins. On board were first-class cuisine, a restaurant, a lounge and a skyline. Since the airship was lifted into the air thanks to sixteen hydrogen cylinders with maximum reliable strength, everything on board was electrified for safety. No risk - everything is thought out to the last detail!
"Hindenburg" began its flights with passengers in May 1936. Without any incident, he managed to make flights to America and to Rio de Janeiro. The impressions of the lucky ones who flew in this airship were published in the press. All of them were replete with the most flattering epithets both to the airship itself and to the well-trained team, which did an excellent job with their duties.
The next flight also promised a lot of unforgettable impressions. Forty-two passengers on board the air giant discussed the upcoming flight for a long time and anticipated the joy of soaring in the air in advance, preparing to see the night world and the day world, illuminated by the sun. The sight, as the crew members claimed, was unforgettable. Passengers hardly noticed the rise. Only the rapidly receding lights of the city and the diminishing figures of people testified that the airship was rising to the heavenly heights. Ahead of them were no less amazing spectacles from a height of 150-300 meters - the cities of Europe, then the Atlantic Ocean, Boston and finally New York.
In the captain's cabin, located in front of the gondola, took his place the commander of the airship Max Proust, an experienced pilot, a veteran of the First World War, who flew on the Zeppelin. His task was to control the airship, which (among other things) included the observance of the strictest horizontal airship flight. Even with the slightest tilt (only two degrees), bottles with expensive wines could fall from the tables, and the preparation of delicious dishes in the kitchen became almost impossible.
In the main cockpit was also Ernst Lehmann, director of the Zeppelin Rederai company, which built airships in Germany and served them during transatlantic flights. The company was doing well, tickets for flights were purchased and for many flights were sold a year in advance.
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The Hindenburg left Germany solemnly, crossed the Atlantic and appeared over New York on the third day of the flight. During this time, there were no accidents, only flying over the island of Newfoundland, the captain of the ship slightly lowered the altitude. He wanted passengers to be able to admire the dazzling white icebergs. It was a breathtaking sight. Not a single person has ever been able to see this icy and snow-covered island from a bird's eye view.
The Hindenburg arrived in New York on May 6th. The silver cigar dropped and floated past the skyscrapers. The airship was so close to the Empire State Building that passengers could see photographers in its windows filming the giant flying by. Down on Broadway and the surrounding streets, crowds of people gathered, their heads raised, looking up. And despite all the hatred for the Nazi regime and the Fuhrer, people rejoiced, smiled and welcomed the miracle of German technology.
Exciting the New Yorkers with his appearance, satisfying his own vanity, Captain Proust sent the Hindenburg to the landing site - in the suburb of Lakehurst. Several hundred people were already waiting here for their relatives and friends returning from Europe. A special mast was erected for mooring the airship, but strong winds and the onset of a thunderstorm delayed the stop. It was too dangerous to cling to a metal mast when lightning flashed in the air. Due to bad weather, the airship circled over Lakehurst for over an hour. Finally, having described a wide loop over the airfield and still struggling with the downpour, he headed for the dock mast. The mooring lines had already been dropped, and the Hindenburg was only twenty meters from the ground. The greeters included journalists and radio reporters. Reporter Herb Morrison was assigned to broadcast the Hindenburg meeting live for Chicago radio listeners. He talked about what the airship looks like, what its dimensions are, his report was constantly accompanied by his own enthusiastic exclamations: “So, ladies and gentlemen, he is approaching the mast. Oh, what a magnificent sight it is! How powerful motors rumble! …
And suddenly something absolutely incredible happened. First, a dull explosion was heard, then a sheaf of flame appeared in the stern, which in a few seconds engulfed the entire airship. And soon the airship fell flat to the ground. This terrible tragedy happened so suddenly, so quickly that all the people gathered at the airfield at first were simply confused. Then panic arose, and the crowd began to scatter in different directions in turmoil. Flames burst from the long hull of the airship with tremendous force, and four minutes later the Hindenburg was already on fire.
Fire trucks and ambulances screamed towards the flaming giant. In these terrible moments, the airfield was a huge tangle of cars and people rushing in all directions. Chaos made rescue work very difficult, ambulances, doctors and nurses with great difficulty managed to make their way among the fleeing people.
In a broken voice, Morrison continued his report: “The airship exploded! Oh God it burns! Move away! Please stay away! This is terrible … This is one of the greatest disasters in history! Flames rise 150 meters into the sky …”.
One of the passengers who survived the crash, the acrobat O'Laughlin, later said: “We soared over the airfield and thought about anything but the possibility of misfortune. We were full of the thought that in a few minutes we would be able to hug our loved ones … I entered my cabin - and suddenly a bright flash illuminated everything around. I looked out the window and saw the earth rushing towards the falling airship. Flames blazed around. It is unlikely that I was thinking about what in those moments - there was no time. I jumped - and in time, because almost at the same instant the airship reached the ground, hitting it with a terrible crash. Someone ran up to me, and I half lost consciousness from fear and could hardly tell anything about the disaster. But it was a nightmare!"
Of the 97 passengers and crew members, 62 were saved - almost two thirds. Fortunately, most of the people were in the bow of the Hindenburg. They still could not understand anything, but by the inclination of the airship's hull and by the figures of people sweeping on the ground, they realized that something unexpected had happened. And then the passengers and the crew showed a miracle of quick wits and a desire to survive. One of the passengers, finding himself among the burning debris, managed to quickly burrow in the soft, wet sand, which completely covered the airship airfield.
A top-mounted water tank burst over one of the cabins. This momentarily muffled the fire, and the man splashed to the ground with the contents of the tank. Many were fortunate in the fact that when the airship fell, the doors opened on their own and a descent ladder fell out. Many hurriedly jumped along it.
Twelve people of the team, led by Captain Max Proust, were pinned to the ground by the hot parts of the burning fuselage. Badly burned, they nevertheless escaped from the rubble. Max Proust was seriously injured. Like a burning torch, Ernst Lehmann jumped out of the airship, but the next day he died in the hospital.
The airship steward who escaped death threw himself into the fire and pulled out a metal box with money. When the box was then opened in the Zeppelin office, it turned out that the German paper money in it had turned to ash.
The day after the disaster, a film was shown in one of the New York cinemas, which was filmed during the death of "Hindenburg" by five cameramen. Filming began as soon as the airship flew up to the docking mast, so the film reflected the disaster from the beginning. These frames, as well as numerous photographs, were later used by the commission, which investigated the causes of the death of the “miracle of aeronautical technology”.
The film made an extremely hard impression on the audience. Screams of horror were heard in the hall more than once, several women lost consciousness.
And correspondent Morrison ended his report with the words: “Oh my God! Unhappy passengers … Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot speak … Before me is a smoking heap … The earth is burning. I'm trying to find at least some shelter … I apologize, I need to pause: I lost my voice ….
The death of the Hindenburg made the most painful and depressing impression in Germany. All German newspapers devoted entire pages to the disaster. For a long time, according to the official version, the ignition of hydrogen was considered the cause of the tragedy. If, instead of hydrogen, the airship was filled with helium, then such a catastrophe would not have happened. But the Germans could not use helium, since it was produced only in the States, and the Germans, again, could not buy it there for political and financial reasons. Moreover, the Americans themselves were not going to sell it to the fascist regime.
But in 1972 M. Mooney's book "Hindenburg" was published, which completely refutes the official version. Its author, after a thorough study of German and American archives, came to the conclusion that the airship exploded due to sabotage. One of the crew members - Erich Spel, disenchanted with the Hitler regime, planted a phosphorus bomb. As a result of its explosion, a catastrophe occurred that shook the whole world.
Apparently, scientists and specialists will continue to investigate the causes of the tragedy for a long time, but since then the Zeppelin airship company has been closed forever. Since then, hydrogen-powered airships were no longer built. In general, a giant like the Hindenburg was never built again. The tragedy scared humanity for a long time.
From the book: "HUNDRED GREAT DISASTERS" by N. A. Ionina, M. N. Kubeev
