Airplanes are the most common aircraft in our lives. In fact, human beings have made many attempts to soar into the sky. At the beginning of the 20th century, airships, as an outstanding representative of aerostats, once flourished for a while. Huge airships also It became a unique symbol of that era. However, an airship crash in 1936 dealt a fatal blow to the aerostat industry, and since then it has faded from the stage of history.
In 1931, the German Zeppelin Company planned to build a huge airship, but under the general environment of economic depression, the funds broke down halfway through the construction. In desperation, they found the Nazi government and completed the "devil's deal" with them. "——Nazi funding aid, but the condition is that the airship must be painted with Nazi symbols. In March 1936, after five years, the airship named after German President Hindenburg was officially completed. Its appearance shocked the whole world. It is no exaggeration to describe it as unprecedented.
The "Hindenburg" is 245 meters long, three times as long as the Boeing 747, and close to the length of the Titanic (269 meters). Its huge body also brings unprecedented load capacity. The "Hindenburg" can carry 19 tons of cargo at a time, and the airbags on the airship can hold 200,000 cubic meters of hydrogen, which can last for 8 days and nights without stopping. For a long time, it is a world record that no one can break. Some people may think that such a huge monster must be cumbersome, but in fact, the airship is equipped with four 1,100-horsepower Maybach engines, which can sail 121 kilometers per hour, which is not inferior to other small airships at that time.
On the 4th day after the completion of the airship, the Zeppelin Company announced that the "Hindenburg" was put into operation. Buy a ticket worth 400 US dollars (equivalent to 6,000 US dollars today), and you can fly from Frankfurt, Germany to Lake in the United States. Hearst is also Brazil's Rio de Janeiro. Obviously, those who can afford such a high ticket price are either celebrities or business elites.
However, as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for", the interior luxury of the "Hindenburg" is unmatched by ordinary airships: in addition to standard facilities such as guest rooms, restaurants, and toilets, oil paintings by famous artists, The floor is made of pear wood, a viewing platform for watching the scenery, a piano room, a smoking room... everything.
In just over a year of flying, the "Hindenburg" has created numerous honors: safely transporting 3,059 passengers, sailing for 3,088 hours without accidents, and crossing the Atlantic Ocean 37 times... It can be said that the "Hindenburg" was the first ship at that time. German pride. However, a "voyage to America" in May 1937 became the last performance of the "Hindenburg".
On May 3, the "Hindenburg" flew from Frankfurt to the United States. There were 36 passengers and 61 crew members on this flight. People talked and laughed along the way, but they didn't know that this would be a "death" journey of". When they arrived over the Atlantic Ocean, the airship encountered a storm, and Captain Max had to slow down the speed of sailing so that they arrived at the east coast of the United States already a lot late. At this time, Max received a message from the radio station that there was a thunderstorm at the destination. , so the captain had to let the airship hover over New York, waiting for the end of the thunderstorm. At around 7 o'clock that night, the airship finally arrived at its destination and began to land with ropes.
It is necessary to mention here that an airship is different from an airplane. Its landing is very dependent on manpower. When landing, the people on the boat first drop the rope, and then sixty or seventy strong men on the ground pull the airship to the system tower. It is considered a successful landing.
Despite the cumbersome process, this has never gone wrong before. However, this time there was an accident: Before the passengers disembarked, the tail of the "Hindenburg" suddenly exploded and caught fire. In just 34 seconds, the entire airship burned into an empty shell.
The people on the ground were stunned, screaming, and crying... Fortunately, a few warriors responded quickly and rushed into the flames to save people. Soon, many people spontaneously joined the rescue operation. Fortunately, 61 of the 97 passengers miraculously survived. At that time, 22 cameras at the scene recorded the moment when the "Hindenburg" crashed. The next day, a photo of the airship on fire appeared on the front pages of major newspapers and magazines. The air crash shocked the world. At this point, the safety of the airship aroused people's doubts, and the Zeppelin company also stopped all airship construction amidst accusations and declared bankruptcy in 1940.
As for the cause of the "Hindenburg" fire, the outside world has been arguing endlessly, and there are many conspiracy theories, but there is only one mainstream theory. When the "Hindenburg" passed through the rain layer in the Atlantic Ocean, a large amount of static electricity accumulated on the hull. When the airship arrived at the destination, the captain was eager to land again and made a sharp turn. The pressure formed by the sudden turn tore the airbag instantly. There was a hole, and hydrogen gas began to leak. When the wet rope was placed on the ground, static electricity formed static sparks between the outer skin and the metal cabin, which instantly ignited the hydrogen gas, and the tragedy happened like this.
Some people may ask, why doesn't such an advanced airship use helium as fuel? The answer is simple: only the United States could produce helium at that time, and the U.S. government had previously issued a decree for "absolute monopoly" and refused to sell helium to any country.
