Hindenburg: Difference between revisions

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.

 

 

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 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.

 

{{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.

== Comics ==

* 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 ==

 

== 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!}}