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1937: This book looks at Germany’s titanic airship and the other silver giants that once silently crossed the skies.
1937: This book looks at Germany’s titanic airship and the other silver giants that once silently crossed the skies.
The giant airship “Hindenburg” crashing to the ground in flames remains one of the most instantly recognizable photographs this century. Truly a flying luxury liner, the “Hindenburg” was the largest object ever launched in the air and her spectacular destruction on May 6th, 1937, marked the end of airship travel.
This book chronicles the great dirigibles, from the pioneering efforts of Count Zeppelin to the years between the wars when the United States and Great Britain competed with Germany for the prestige of building the world’s most advanced airships. British hopes of airship flights spanning the empire had ended before the “Hindenburg” disaster with the crash of the R101 in a French field.
On May 3, 1937, the Hindenburg left Frankfurt, Germany, for a journey across the Atlantic to Lakehurst’s Navy Air Base. It was a flying miracle – measuring some 804 feet and it carried 36 passengers and 61 crew.
This was a sight to behold. A flying airship which was state of the art in its day. This was a real flying machine with ornate smoking rooms and lounges, gilded halls and smart furnishings. There is a range of characters on the ship
The ship left Frankfurt for a journey across the Atlantic to Lakehurst’s Navy Air Base. While attempting to moor at Lakehurst, the airship suddenly burst into flames and the hull of the airship incinerated within seconds. Thirteen passengers, 21 crewmen, and 1 civilian member of the ground crew lost their lives.
Destination: Frankfurt, Germany, New Jersey Author/Guide: Rick Archbold Departure Time: 1937
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