1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Eves and welcome to this Day in History Class, 2 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:08,640 Speaker 1: a show that uncovers history one day at a time. 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: Today is March fourth. The day was March fourth, ninety six. 4 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: At about three in the afternoon, a German passenger airship 5 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: called the Hendenburg set off on its first test flight, 6 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: carrying more than eighty crew members and passengers. The Hendenburgh 7 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: was a zeppelin or a cylindrical rigid airship that contains 8 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: internal gas sales. At the time, ships were slow and 9 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: passenger airplanes weren't advanced enough to carry people across the 10 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: ocean efficiently, so it seemed like airships were going to 11 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: be the future of long distance it's travel. They were 12 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 1: relatively fast and provided passengers with the modicum of comfort. 13 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: But even though the Hendenburg traveled more than two hundred 14 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:15,479 Speaker 1: thousand miles during its lifetime, the tragic disaster that ended 15 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: the story of the Handenburg also brought the era of 16 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: airships to a close. The Zeppelin Company started building the 17 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: Handenburg officially known as the l ze Handenburg in Germany 18 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty one. By nineteen thirty five, construction was 19 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: complete and the airship was huge. In fact, it and 20 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: its counterpart, the l Z one thirty, are the largest 21 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: airships ever at over eight hundred and three ft or 22 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: two hundred forty and nearly two hundred and fourteen metric 23 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: tons or two hundred and thirty six US tons. The 24 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: Hendenburg had four diesel engines and it was filled with 25 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: seven million cubic feet of hydrogen gas, and the airship's 26 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: frame was made of Dora lumen, which is an alloy 27 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: of aluminum, copper and other metals. German architect Fritz Auguste 28 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: brie House dey Grout designed its interior. In the Hindenburg 29 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: were an upper deck in a lower deck. On the 30 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: upper deck were the cramped passenger rooms that contained the 31 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: most basic of amenities, like bunks in a wash basin. 32 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: The public rooms, though, were a lot more impressive than 33 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: the passengers quarters. There was a riding room, a lounge 34 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: with a piano, and a dining room with a long 35 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: slanted window running along the deck. Cruise quarters, a mess hall, washrooms, 36 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: and a smoking lounge were located on the lower deck 37 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: of the airship. But even though the Hindenburg had a 38 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: rather cozy interior, there was a lurking problem. Hydrogen is 39 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: highly flammable, and the airship was coated in thermite, which 40 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: is also flammable at high amperatures. But helium is not flammable, 41 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: making it the safer choice for passenger air travel. So 42 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: the plan was to employ helium as the lifting gas 43 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: for the airship. But helium was not easy to acquire 44 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: in Germany and it was expensive and reduced the potential 45 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: payload of the airship. The US had large quantities of helium, 46 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: but there was a ban on exporting the gas, so 47 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: the Germans returned to hydrogen. Hydrogen was cheaper and readily available, 48 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: and it was the best lighter than air gas that 49 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: could give them the most bang for their book. Besides, 50 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: they had to use hydrogen and airships plenty of times 51 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: before without a problem, so hydrogen it was, and on 52 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: March four n the Hindenburg was ready to make his debut. 53 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: The Hindenberg, which was named after the field marshal and 54 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: German commander who had appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany, was 55 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: a vessel for Nazi propaganda. The name Handenberg had not 56 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: been added to the side of the airship yet, but 57 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: it had already been chosen for the dirigible, and it 58 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: already had swastika's painted on its tail fans. The flight 59 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: had been scheduled for the morning, but it was postponed 60 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: until the afternoon due to weather, so around three pm, 61 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: the Handenburg took its first test flight, a three hour 62 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,159 Speaker 1: and six minute trip over Lake Constance and the city 63 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: of Friedrichshafen, Germany. Over the next few weeks, the Hendenburg 64 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: went on more test flights, and it left for its 65 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: first commercial passenger flight on March thirty one, when it 66 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:49,720 Speaker 1: traveled from Germany to Rio de Janeiro. Over the next year, 67 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: the Hendenburg took many more propagandistic and demonstrative flights from 68 00:04:55,400 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 1: Germany to North America, South America, and Europe. More passenger 69 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: cabins were added, and other changes were made to the 70 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 1: airships structure. Passengers were typically wealthy, as tickets for flights 71 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: were not cheap. By its last trip, the Hendenburg had 72 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: taken many successful flights carrying passengers, mail, and other cargo. 73 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: But on May six, when the airship arrived in Lakehurst, 74 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: New Jersey, after being held up by thunderstorms for hours, 75 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: the Hendenburg caught fire. It only took thirty four seconds 76 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 1: for the whole airship to burn thirty six people died. 77 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 1: Even though many people survived the Handenburg disaster, the fire 78 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:50,280 Speaker 1: was the last straw after a series of devastating airship incidents. 79 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: The fire and the resulting media storm effectively ended Zeppelin's 80 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: short but heavy time in the limelight. I'm Eves jeff 81 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,480 Speaker 1: Coat and hopefully you know a little more about history 82 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:09,280 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to learn 83 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: more about the Hyndenburgh, listen to the episode of Stuff 84 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class called the Hendenburg Disaster. You 85 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at T 86 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:27,600 Speaker 1: d i h C Podcast. Thanks for showing up. We'll 87 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:28,919 Speaker 1: meet here again tomorrow.