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The '''Hindenburg (LZ 129)'''  was the largest [[aircraft]] ever to fly (along with a sister aircraft), having a length nearly as long as the [[Titanic]] and more than three times as long as a [[Boeing 747]].  The Hindenburg weighed a massive 242 tons.  The Hindenburg was a Zeppelin design, an engineering masterpiece.  It was designed to be filled with non-flammable [[helium]] rather than flammable [[hydrogen]] to make it lighter than air and capable of carrying passengers across the [[Atlantic Ocean]].

The '''Hindenburg (LZ 129)'''  was the largest [[aircraft]] ever to fly (along with a sister aircraft), having a length nearly as long as the [[Titanic]] and more than three times as long as a [[Boeing 747]].  The Hindenburg weighed a massive 242 tons.  The Hindenburg was a Zeppelin design, an engineering masterpiece.  It was designed to be filled with non-flammable [[helium]] rather than flammable [[hydrogen]] to make it lighter than air and capable of carrying passengers across the [[Atlantic Ocean]].

But Congress passed a law prohibiting the sale of helium to [[Germany]] in the 1930s, and the Hindenburg was filled with the flammable [[hydrogen]] to make its flights to the [[United States]].  On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg caught fire while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in [[Manchester]], [[New Jersey]]. About one third of those on board, 35 passengers, died not from the [[fire]] but by jumping to the ground the below.  Those who stayed calm and rode the aircraft to its landing survived unharmed.

When the evil Nazi regime came to power, among the actions taken by the United States was a law prohibiting the sale of helium and other resources to [[Germany]] in the 1930s, therefore the Hindenburg was filled with the flammable [[hydrogen]] to make its flights to the [[United States]].  On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg caught fire while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in [[Manchester]], [[New Jersey]]. About one third of those on board, 35 passengers, died not from the [[fire]] but by jumping to the ground the below.  Those who stayed calm and rode the aircraft to its landing survived unharmed.

The tragedy was caught on film, radio and pictures.  The bad publicity destroyed the future of this type of aircraft.  The exact cause of the fire is not known, but there are several theories.  One of which was that the skin of the ''Hindenburg'' was waterproofed with [[cellulose]] [[acetate]], which is very flammable, and was coated with the [[aluminium]] powder that is used as a rocket fuel today. Hydrogen burns with a blue flame, however the ''Hindenburg'' burned with a bright red flame. The hydrogen would have escaped upwards when the bladders opened and did not contribute to the disaster.

The tragedy was caught on film, radio and pictures.  The bad publicity destroyed the future of this type of aircraft.  The exact cause of the fire is not known, but there are several theories.  One of which was that the skin of the ''Hindenburg'' was waterproofed with [[cellulose]] [[acetate]], which is very flammable, and was coated with the [[aluminium]] powder that is used as a rocket fuel today. Hydrogen burns with a blue flame, however the ''Hindenburg'' burned with a bright red flame. The hydrogen would have escaped upwards when the bladders opened and did not contribute to the disaster.