HINDENBURG EXPLODES

Year Published: 1930s

Creator: Castle Films

Format: 16mm

Description: Released in the late 1930s for the home market by Castle Films, this silent newsreel shows the history of the ill-fated LZ 129 Hindenburg (Luftschiff Zeppelin #129; Registration: D-LZ 129). Hindenburg was the world's largest airship (by envelope volume). It was designed and built by the Zeppelin Company (Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH) on the shores of Lake Constance in Friedrichshafen and was operated by the German Zeppelin Airline Company (Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei). The airship flew from March 1936 until it was destroyed by fire 14 months later on May 6, 1937, at the end of the first North American transatlantic journey of its second season of service. Thirty-six people died in the accident, which occurred while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The newsreel shows the airship making its first trip across the Atlantic (1:23) and being secured to the mooring mast (2:52). At 3:30, Hugo Eckener, manager of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin and commander of the Graf Zeppelin for most of its record-setting flights, is shown. At (3:49), the giant airship arrives over New York City. At 4;33, the disastrous explosion and crash of the Hindenburg is shown.

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