The Hindenburg in Flames: How a Photograph Marked the End of the Airship

By Michael Burgan

When it went down in flames, the Hindenburg went down in history. The era of airship travel ended with a disastrous explosion May 6, 1937. Sam Shere's photo of the Hindenburg in flames has been called the most famous news photograph ever taken. The entire episode from first flash to destruction took less than a minute. It happened so fast that Shere, who could feel the heat of the burning airship, had no time to raise his camera to his eye. His famous photo, which was the first ever to show a major air disaster as it happened, was shot from the hip.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Aug 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9780756555610

Michael Burgan

Michael Burgan has written numerous books for children and young adults during his nearly 20 years as a freelance writer. Many of his books have focused on U.S. history, geography, and the lives of world leaders. Michael has won several awards for his writing, and his graphic novel version of the classic tale Frankenstein (Stone Arch Books) was a Junior Library Guild selection.  Michael graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in history. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his cat, Callie.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ChapterOne:A Landing Gone Wrong

ChapterTwo:Rise of the Airship

ChapterThree:Disaster at Lakehurst

ChapterFour:End of an Era

Timeline

Glossary

Additional Resources

Source Notes

Select Bibliography

Index

Chapter One

A LANDING GONE WRONG

For the people of New York City, May 6, 1937, was just another Thursday, another workday in the city of 7 million people. The weather forecast for the day was mostly cloudy and cool, with showers in the morning. Readers of The New York Times who scanned the headlines saw news from overseas. They also saw a story about efforts in Congress to give less money to people who were out of work. The United States and most of the world were still suffering from the Great Depression. The economic downturn, which had begun in 1929, had cost millions of people their jobs.

Turning to page eight of The Times, readers might have noticed a small article about the delayed arrival of the airship Hindenburg. The giant aircraft was supposed to have docked that morning at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of New York City. But on May 5, as the Hindenburg neared the Atlantic coast of Canada, it ran into stiff winds that slowed its progress. As The Times reported, "With the dirigible slowed to 42 knots, according to reports received by American Airlines, plans to land at Lakehurst, N. J., at 6 a.m. today were abandoned." Now the airship would land at 6 p.m. that evening. The Hindenburg was scheduled to leave that night for its return to Europe across the Atlantic Ocean. The Times assured readers that speedy re-fueling … will enable the airship to start its return trip at midnight.

The Hindenburg lazily floated over New York City on its way to the Naval Air Station in New Jersey.

The Hindenburg had begun regularly carrying passengers back and forth across the ocean the year before. It followed the Graf Zeppelin, which had earlier traveled to Lakehurst two times before beginning regular service between Germany and South America. At the time, the German airships were the only aircraft carrying passengers nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. Passenger planes had just begun flying across the Pacific the year before, but they had to make stops along the way. And these early commercial planes could not match the size and luxury of the Hindenburg.

The Hindenburg was just over 800 feet (244 meters) long, and its hull had a diameter of 135 feet (41 m). Its four engines could propel the airship at a top speed of 84 miles (135 km) per hour—more than twice as fast as any surface ship of the era. On the inside, the Hindenburg and the dirigibles before it were modeled after the great steamships of the day. Since the invention of steam engines, the ocean liners had become the fastest way to cross the Atlantic Ocean. And for people who could afford to travel first class, the ships offered fine dining and beautiful public rooms.

Like an ocean liner, the Hindenburg had a dining room where passengers ate from china with silver knives, forks, and spoons. The