Today in History: The Hindenburg Explosion

I love zeppelins. I genuinely do. There is something fantastic about these airships gliding through the atmosphere; something completely romantic about them. I think of the movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang, in which he shows a futuristic city where zeppelins and planes dock on tops of skyscrapers. I think of the game Crimson Skies (which is excellent and cheap, if you’ve never played it!)

Coincidentally, Fritz Lang’s vision wasn’t that far off, as you can see in this video below:

But forgive me for waxing poetic. You see, the Hindenburg crashed today 71 years ago. It was the largest airship ever built, and unfortunately was filled with hydrogen instead of helium; a factor that led to this disastrous explosion. Here is a rare color newsreel that’s been preserved:

NPR did a report on the disaster last year. You can listen to the eyewitness report with the classic radio broadcast here.

The crash site still bears a marker; an airship shaped weather vane. Google Earth can show you the crash site.

I must admit, I’ve never listened to the original broadcast before. Hearing it for the first time is quite upsetting, and I feel terribly for the folks who died that day. I don’t mean to start everyone off on a downer today, but this is history. It’s spectacular, it’s brutal, and it’s real. I think we have all experienced national disasters now, so perhaps we can view this as more than just stock footage, and remember what happened that tragic day.