The largest passenger airship ever built. Ninety-seven people aboard. Thirty-four seconds that ended an age.
On 6 May 1937, the German airship Hindenburg approached its mooring mast at Lakehurst, New Jersey, after crossing the Atlantic. Passengers watched from its observation windows while ground crews prepared for another routine landing.
Then fire appeared near the stern.
Within seconds, the enormous airship was engulfed in flames. Before horrified spectators and newsreel cameras, the Hindenburg crashed to the ground in one of the most famous disasters of the twentieth century.
But what actually happened?
The Hindenburg Disaster: The Fiery End of the Airship Age tells the complete story of the remarkable machine and the catastrophe that destroyed it. Discover how giant Zeppelins conquered the Atlantic, what it was like to travel aboard the luxurious Hindenburg, why it was filled with highly flammable hydrogen and exactly what happened during its final journey.
Follow the disaster minute by minute as fire tears through the airship, passengers and crew fight to escape, and members of the Lakehurst ground crew run towards the burning wreckage to rescue survivors.
Then investigate the mystery that has continued for generations. Was leaking hydrogen ignited by an electrical spark? Did the Hindenburg's outer covering contribute to the fire? Could the airship have been sabotaged? And did the disaster really bring the great age of the Zeppelin to an end?
Along the way, uncover the myths, surprising facts and extraordinary survival stories behind an event immortalised by Herbert Morrison's unforgettable cry: "Oh, the humanity!"
Clear, engaging and packed with fascinating detail, this Half Hour History guide is perfect for readers who want to understand one of history's most iconic disasters without reading a 500-page book.
Discover the airship that promised to revolutionise travel-and the thirty-four seconds that changed aviation history forever.
