May 6 marked the 81st anniversary of the fiery destruction of the Hindenburg at NAS Lakehurst. The cause of the catastrophe is still debated but the prevailing theory is that the airship’s highly volatile hydrogen gas was ignited by static electricity as the Hindenburg descended. The widely circulated film of the burning zeppelin shocked the public. The incident caused Deutsche Zepplelin Reederei (German Zeppelin Transport Company) to ground its airships and suspend its burgeoning transatlantic operations. The outbreak of WWII a few years later prevented DZR from reestablishing its commercial passenger service and all its airships were ordered to be... Read the rest of this entry »
Source: navalhistory.org