May 1937 - The Hindenburg disaster

From the ill-fated British R101, to more recent efforts to develop large airships for military reconnaissance The Engineer has long taken an interest in the engineering challenges of developing lighter-than-air vehicles.

But it’s the destruction of the German Hindenburg airship in May 1937, that prompted perhaps our most detailed coverage on this fascinating area of transportation.

On May 6th 1937, shortly after arriving in Lakehurst, New Jersey the Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed whilst attempting to dock with its mooring mast. 35 of the 97  people  on board lost their lives.

There’s little doubt that the accident shattered public confidence in airships, but the Engineer, which had recently returned from a trip to Germany to view the Hindenburg and its sister ship the LZ130, clearly felt that the industry would survive one of aviation’s most infamous accidents.  ‘The loss of this fine example of lighter-than-air construction, at a time when British and American interest was again being aroused in the possibilities of a commercial North Atlantic airship service, and when the postal advantages of a two-day voyage between Frankfurt and New York were being recognised by all, will retard progress,’ wrote The Engineer, ‘but it will not stop the further perfecting of the design by Dr Eckener and his trained staff of workers on the building and operation of airships’