Oh, the humanity!—Herbert Morrison
On May 6, 1937, the German airship LZ 129
Hindenburg was about to land at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Lakehurst,
New Jersey, after a trans-Atlantic flight from Frankfurt, Germany with 70 passengers aboard. The gigantic airship was a zeppelin — a lighter-than-air craft like a blimp, but with a rigid internal frame — and was filled with hydrogen rather than the usual helium. It was the largest flying machine ever built at 263m in length, about four times the length of a Boeing 747 (and looking especially
big considering since it was usually seen at a much lower altitude in flight), and was used as a commercial craft, like a luxury liner.
One cannot overstate the appeal of these magnificent airships. People would drop what they were doing and rush outside to see one pass overhead. They would take pictures. It was the kind of thing you told your grandchildren about, especially if you got to tour one while it was landed or — OMG! — ride in one. Cross the technological sophistication of the "Concorde" and the grandeur of "RMS Titanic" and you'll have some idea.
Due to heavy weather conditions, the ship was already late, and Captain Max Pruss had kept in the air for a few additional hours longer than expected until a storm over Lakehurst cleared up. At around 7 p.m., the
Hindenburg came into Lakehurst and attempted an in-air anchoring (called a "flying mooring") in heavy winds. Newsreel cameras were rolling and veteran radio newscaster Herbert Morrison of WLS was making a test recording (on special phonograph disks) of what he thought was going to be a routine landing with subsequent passenger interviews.
The world knows what happened next. With the
Hindenburg only a few feet from its mooring mast, it caught fire and came crashing down in a spectacular fireball. The horrified Morrison kept right on talking, describing exactly what was happening until he was overcome with smoke and emotion and had to step inside the hangar to recover himself. He subsequently reported on rescue efforts and even interviewed survivors. In total, the disaster claimed the lives of 35 people.
Nobody is sure what happened that day, inquiries held afterwards suggested everything from a lightning strike to deliberate sabotage, although most
recent tests indicate that it was a combination of factors. The most likely scenario is that a discharge of static electricity ignited a small amount of leaked hydrogen gas, which quickly grew into an unstoppable chain-reaction. Whatever caused it, the crash of the
Hindenburg is an iconic moment in the histories of aviation and broadcasting. It was the end of the use of airships for passenger flights.
The Hindenburg and its horrific last flight is an example of the following:
- Broadcasting In The United States - A historic moment remembered (and replayed) even today.
- Cool Airship - It remains the largest object made by man to ever fly.
- Intrepid Reporter - Herb Morrison is remembered as a hero by radio and television newscasters. He had a long and successful life and career. His assistant Charlie Nehlsen, who actually operated the disc recording machine, should also be remembered; he had the presence of mind to adjust the needle back onto the disc after the massive explosion had jarred it askew (you can hear this, right after Morrison says, "It burst into flames," if you listen carefully).
- Made of Explodium - Airships were supposed to use helium, which is very stable and nonflammable. But this was available only in and from the United States, which had imposed a ban on overseas sales for strategic reasons. The Germans used the less expensive (and extremely volatile) hydrogen gas instead. If that was not enough, the construction materials involved compounds commonly seen in incendiary weapons, though not in the proportions that would normally be volatile.
- Later studies show that it can't all be blamed on the use of Hydrogen. It's not as volatile as many believe it to be— Hydrogen will only explode when used in extremely compressed quantities. When it burns instead of explodes, it emits a smokeless, clear, cool(er than normal fire) flame (and of note, around 80% of fire deaths are the result of smoke inhalation, not burns). A study done by the University of Miami demonstrated this: they took two cars, one gasoline-powered and one Hydrogen-powered, and penetrated the tanks, igniting them. The gasoline, being liquid, pooled at the source and eventually exploded into a ball of firey death. The Hydrogen? It was a gas, so it dissipated much more quickly, and it merely burned its fuel supply and sizzled out with very minimal damage. This is not to say that the Hindenburg was NOT Made of Explodium, though. Later studies showed that it was not the Hydrogen that caused most of the damage, but the shell case of the balloon housing. This was made with a solidified chemical that was later used as an important component of ROCKET FUEL. NASA and the descendant of the company that produced the Hindenburg both agree on this find.
- Nazi Germany - The Hindenburg bore prominent swastikas, Plus, many of the people involved with the Hindenburg were, of course, Nazis. Its first flights involved dropping leaflets to urge people to vote for Hitler for chancellor. However, manager Hugo Eckener, head of the Zeppelin company and longtime captain of the Graf Zeppelin, was an outspoken anti-Nazi. In fact he quickly named the airship "Hindenburg" after Germany's then-president, before the Nazis could name it the "Adolph Hitler."
- Newsreel - Most people at the time saw the silent footage from the video cameras, or something like this
. Morrison's audio recording was only dubbed onto these films many years later. - Oh, the Humanity!! - Morrison's emotional broadcast recording actually included the words "all the humanities, all the passengers". Humanity was a known Morrison-ism for any large group of people.
- Starship Luxurious - Although actually making very efficient use of space, the Hindenburg could definitely impress fans and passengers as the 30s version of this.
- What Could Possibly Go Wrong? - The Germans had not had any trouble with hydrogen in airships before, and believed they were taking adequate safety precautions. The Hindenburg had been flying back and forth for over a year with no problems. More significantly, the Graf Zeppelin had been flying for over a decade, and none of the other 120 airships built by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin (it was called "LZ-129" for a reason) had spontaneously combusted.
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