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{{Useful Notes|wppage=Hindenburg disaster}}
[[File:Hindenburg disaster.jpg|thumb|300px]]
{{quote|''[[Oh, the Humanity!|"Oh, the humanity!"]]''
|'''Herbert Morrison''', in a radio broadcast}}
On May 6, 1937, the German airship LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' was about to land at what was at that time [[w:Lakehurst Maxfield Field|Lakehurst Naval Air Station]] in [[w:Lakehurst, New Jersey|Lakehurst]], [[Joisey|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.<ref>Helium was only available in the United States at the time, and that country wasn't selling it to any European power.</ref> 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.
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Nobody is sure what happened that day, inquiries held afterwards suggested everything from a lightning strike to deliberate sabotage, although most tests, including those from ''[[MythBusters]]'', 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.
For tropes about the newsreel and Herbert Morrison's commentary, see [[Hindenburg Disaster Newsreel Footage]].
{{tropelist|The ''Hindenburg'' and its horrific last flight are examples of the following:}}
* [[Broadcasting in the United States]] - A historic moment remembered (and replayed) even today. The [[Hindenburg Disaster Newsreel Footage|iconic newsreel footage]] was added to the [[National Film Registry]] in 1997.
* [[Cool Airship]] - It remains the largest object made by man to ever fly.
* [[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 [[Holding Back the Phlebotinum|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 fiery 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."
* [[Starship Luxurious]] - Although actually making very efficient use of space, the ''Hindenburg'' could definitely impress fans and passengers as the 30s version of this.
* [[Stock Shout-Outs]]: As evidenced by the list of references below.
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{{examples|References in media:}}
==
* The Don Simpson-illustrated six-issue "Monster Comics" adaptation of ''[[King Kong]]'' was originally to include a scene wherein Kong, at the top of the Empire State Building, [[Non Sequitur Scene|encounters the Hindenburg flying overhead]]. He is described as becoming "instinctively enraged" by the Swastikas on it ("The symbol of Nazi tyranny!"), and punches it, causing it to crash. Simpson used photos of the actual crash for the panels depicting the Hindenburg's destruction. The scene, totaling two pages, was cut from the sixth and final issue of the comic after it was realized the scene was in poor taste. The deleted scene was included on separate "bonus pages" printed on green paper if you ordered all six issues from Simpson's website.
== Film ==
* The [[Internet Movie Database]] lists at least five documentary TV shows about the airship.
* ''The Hindenburg'' was a 1975 film about its last flight, with its plot centered around a fictional conspiracy to destroy the airship.
* Polly Perkins' telephoned report on the giant robot attack on New York in ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]'' is clearly based in equal parts on [[The War of the Worlds (radio)|Orson Welles' ''War of the Worlds'' broadcast]] and Herb Morrison's ''Hindenberg'' coverage. There's also mention of the ''Hindenberg III'' in Polly's article on the disappearance of Dr. Vargas.
== Literature ==
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== Music ==
* The ''Hindenburg'' disaster is depicted on the cover of the first [[Led Zeppelin]] album, in an obvious [[Visual Pun]].
== Video Games ==
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== Western Animation ==
* [[DuckTales (1987)|The original ''DuckTales'']] managed to combine this airship with the ''Titanic'' in one episode.
* Parodied on ''[[Family Guy]]'':
{{quote|'''Peter:''' To the Hindenpeter!}}
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