This Nazi-Flagged Airship Burst Into Flames During Landing & Ended Luxury Air Travel Forever

The Hindenburg

On a muggy spring evening in 1937, the world’s largest airship burst into flames in just 32 seconds.

The Hindenburg disaster at Naval Air Station Lakehurst didn’t just kill 36 people. It killed an entire industry.

Here’s what went down that night and how you can join limited tours to visit the site.

The Final Atlantic Crossing

The Hindenburg left Frankfurt on May 3, 1937, starting its second season of passenger service across the Atlantic. Captain Max Pruss led the crew of 61 members, including 21 trainees, with 36 passengers on board.

The huge airship flew over the Netherlands and England before crossing the Atlantic past Greenland. Strong winds slowed the journey, forcing officials to delay the planned morning arrival.

By midday on May 6, the Hindenburg reached Boston. A few hours later, it passed over Manhattan, amazing New Yorkers who looked up at the silver giant in the sky.

The Luxury Flying Hotel

The Hindenburg stretched longer than three football fields, measuring 804 feet from end to end. Inside, 16 giant bags held over 7 million cubic feet of hydrogen gas that lifted the airship.

Rich passengers enjoyed private cabins with real beds and running water. They ate fancy meals in a dining room with fine dishes and relaxed in a lounge with a special aluminum piano built to save weight.

The airship even had a sealed smoking room where people could light up safely, despite all the flammable hydrogen. The trip took only 2-3 days, much faster than ships crossing the ocean.

The Delayed Landing

Storms near Lakehurst forced the Hindenburg to circle and wait after it reached New Jersey on May 6. The crew stayed in radio contact with ground staff, checking when they could safely land.

By early evening, the weather improved enough to try landing. Around 7:00 PM, Captain Pruss ordered a “high landing” where the airship would drop ropes from above so ground crews could pull it down.

At 7:09 PM, ground workers signaled they needed more time. The Hindenburg turned sharply left to circle once more, adding another delay before the final approach.

The Fateful Moment

At 7:25 PM, as the Hindenburg finally neared the landing mast, flames suddenly erupted near its tail. Professor Mark Heald, watching from outside the base, had seen strange blue sparks running along the airship’s skin moments before.

Fire fed by hydrogen spread with shocking speed. In just 32 seconds, the entire structure burned.

The intense heat destroyed the fabric covering and melted the metal frame. The burning tail hit the ground first while the nose stayed briefly in the air.

Then the whole airship collapsed in a ball of fire as the flames raced forward through all the gas cells.

The Recorded Catastrophe

Herbert Morrison, a radio reporter from Chicago, stood near the landing area with sound engineer Charles Nehlsen. They came to record the Hindenburg’s arrival for later broadcast.

As the airship burst into flames, Morrison’s calm reporting changed to shocked cries. His famous words “Oh, the humanity!” captured the horror as he watched people jumping from the burning wreck.

Four camera crews filmed the disaster from different angles. This was the first major disaster caught on both film and audio recording.

News outlets quickly shared these images worldwide, shocking millions of people.

The Rescue Efforts

Chief Petty Officer Frederick “Bull” Tobin led the Navy landing crew.

When the airship caught fire, many people ran away from danger, but Tobin shouted, “Navy men, Stand fast!” His words made sailors turn back toward the flames to save lives.

Tobin knew what to do in an airship disaster. He had survived the crash of the USS Shenandoah in 1925.

Under his leadership, Navy men pulled injured passengers and crew from the wreckage. Military ambulances rushed survivors to hospitals while more than 1,500 men from nearby bases came to help secure the crash site throughout the night.

The Survivors’ Escape

Amazingly, 62 of the 97 people aboard the Hindenburg lived through the disaster. Many escaped by jumping from windows when the airship neared the ground.

Werner Franz, the 14-year-old cabin boy, survived when a water tank broke above him, soaking him completely. This water shield protected him from the flames long enough to escape through a hatch.

Captain Heinrich Bauer tried to level the burning airship for a softer landing. When the ship touched ground, he jumped from a window and ran.

Despite his own burns, he returned to help rescue others.

The Human Toll

The disaster killed 36 people: 13 passengers, 22 crew members, and Allen Hagaman, a ground worker who died while running beneath the burning airship to help with landing. Most victims died from burns or smoke.

Others died from jumping too early or getting hit by falling metal parts as the airship collapsed. Crew members working high inside the hull had the worst chances.

They had few ways to escape as fire consumed the structure around them. Werner Doehner, only 8 years old during the crash, became the last survivor.

He lived until 2019, dying at age 90 in New Hampshire.

The Investigation

German and American teams started investigating immediately. They talked to survivors, studied the wreckage, and analyzed photos and films of the disaster.

They found that hydrogen had leaked from a gas cell near the tail. This created a dangerous mix with air that needed only a spark to explode.

Both teams blamed static electricity for that spark. The stormy weather charged the airship’s skin with electricity.

When metal landing ropes touched the ground, they completed an electrical circuit, causing the fatal spark.

Some later theories suggested sabotage or flammable paint on the airship, but most experts still support the static electricity explanation.

The End of an Era

Before the Hindenburg disaster, airships had safely carried thousands of passengers over a million miles. The Graf Zeppelin had completed 590 flights without serious problems.

The shocking images of the burning Hindenburg, seen worldwide, destroyed public trust in airship travel. Ticket sales stopped almost overnight.

The Graf Zeppelin 2, a sister ship to the Hindenburg, flew briefly afterward but never carried paying passengers. German officials soon grounded it permanently.

By late 1937, passenger airships disappeared from the skies. Though other factors already challenged airship travel, the Hindenburg disaster delivered the final blow to this era of aviation.

Visiting Naval Air Station Lakehurst

To visit the crash site, you must register in advance by calling the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society.

They run two tour periods: November through March, and April to October.

You need to meet security requirements and register at least two weeks before your visit.

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