The Hindenburg Disaster

history · aviation · 1937

Biggest airship ever. The Hindenburg was enormous, longer than two and a half football fields, and was designed to carry passengers across the ocean in luxury. It was a rigid airship, meaning it had a metal skeleton inside to hold its shape.

Filled with hydrogen. The airship used hydrogen gas to float because it's super light. Unfortunately, hydrogen is also extremely flammable, which turned out to be a dangerous choice.

Caught fire while landing. On May 6, 1937, as the Hindenburg tried to dock in New Jersey, it suddenly burst into flames. The fire spread so fast that the entire airship was destroyed in just 37 seconds.

Tragic loss of life. Of the 97 people on board, 35 passengers and crew died, along with one worker on the ground. The disaster shocked the world and ended the era of passenger airship travel.

Captured on camera. A reporter was there filming the landing, so the disaster was one of the first major accidents captured on video, which made it even more famous around the world.