1937 Hindenburg Disaster Anniversary

Today is the 72nd anniversary of the crash of the Hindenburg. I have always been fascinated by zeppelins...maybe because we share a first initial. Zeppelins were created by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century, based on designs he had outlined as early as 1874.

According to Wikipedia: "The Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying airship (commonly referred to as a zeppelin). It was the largest flying machine of any kind (by dimension) ever built. The airship flew from March 1936 until it crashed and was destroyed by fire fourteen months later on May 6, 1937, at the end of it's first North American transatlantic journey. Thirty-six people died in the accident, which occurred while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. The Hindenburg was named after the late Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), President of Germany (1925–1934)."

Below is a new sound composite, produced by C. E. Price, of news footage of the Hindenburg explosion and Herb Morrison's reporting of the event. Both video and audio are in the public domain, as well as this particular composite.

The entire film can be downloaded here: Hindenberg Explodes

Video courtesy of archive.org