National Geographic: Hindenburg Page #2

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a fleet of passenger liners.

He gathered together the best and

brightest engineers and designers

to build the greatest airship yet,

which he named after his mentor.

When the Graf Zeppelin was launched

in 1928,

she was hailed as the most advanced

airship ever.

But Eckener was eager

to build on this success.

So he came up with

an unprecedented scheme:

to fly his creation around the world.

If he could pull it off,

it would be a technological triumph-

and a publicity bonanza.

This is very much like the

Lindbergh flight if you will.

It's one of the big events that people

had been waiting for to happen.

Newspaper publisher

William Randolph Hearst

saw the potential and paid

the Zeppelin Company $100,000

for the rights to cover the flight.

And look at the size of

the Graf Zeppelin,

which looks big even with

Atlantic Ocean under it.

This is first leg of long

globe-circling glide of giant ship,

destined to set a record for

round the world travel.

In August, 1929, with the eyes of the

world focused on the Graf Zeppelin,

Eckener piloted the airship

across continents and oceans,

flying thousands of miles

on each leg of his journey.

Oscar Fink was the helmsman on many of

the Graf Zeppelin's flights.

Well, it really was

a great time then,

an experience that didn't exist

before-riding in an airship.

You would see something of the world-

not like today in an airplane,

which flies at a height of

It was practically a sea ship

in the air.

In the end, the Graf Zeppelin

circled the globe

in less than 300 hours of flying time,

a little more than 12 days.

Her triumphant achievement would

make a lasting impression

on those who saw her.

I remember going up

with my mother and father

to the rooftop of the apartment house-

we lived in New York City,

just to go see the Graf.

The country was seized by

what was called Zeppelin fever.

Hugo Eckener had proven

what airships could do.

When he landed at the Naval Air Station

in Lakehurst, New Jersey,

he received a hero's welcome.

It was an achievement in technology and

it was an adventure that had succeeded.

Eckener was the toast of the town,

treated to a ticker tape parade

along Broadway just as

Charles Lindbergh had been

only two years before.

Eckener was probably the most

recognized face in modern civilization.

He's very much like Neil Armstrong

from that point of view.

He's a world figure of world renown

and if his name comes up

in a conversation,

it's like everybody knows

who you're talking about.

Hugo Eckener and his airship had

captured the world's imagination.

The record-breaking flight was even

commemorated in a children's board game

The Graf Zeppelin soon embarked

on a regular route

between Europe and the Americas.

It was history's first regular

transatlantic airliner.

But back in Germany, a more sinister

figure was rising to prominence.

Adolf Hitler and his Nazi followers

enjoyed growing support.

In a few years, they would transform

Germany and push Europe toward war.

But for now, the head of the

Zeppelin Company enjoyed the freedom

to pursue a new dream:

Hugo Eckener envisioned a new airship

much bigger than

any of its predecessors.

This would be the Hindenburg.

It would feature the latest advances

in engineering

and it would carry 50 passengers

in safety and comfort.

It would truly be a luxury liner

in the sky.

At 804 feet, Hindenburg would

dwarf today's jumbo jets.

It would be almost as long as

the Titanic-

the largest passenger liner

of its day.

Building something this huge and

being certain that it could fly

was an enormous challenge for

Zeppelin's designers and engineers.

As with all dirigibles,

the heart of this leviathan

and the secret of its flight

was its lifting gas.

Along its central axis, enormous gas

cells would rest end to end,

taking up almost its entire volume.

They would be filled with

seven million cubic feet of hydrogen.

A rigid framework would be needed

to support them.

It would have to be strong,

but lightweight.

The material of choice:

an aluminum alloy.

To separate the gas cells:

gigantic O-Rings,

some more than a hundred feet

in diameter,

as big as a carnival ferris wheel.

Now the pieces can be assembled,

in a custom-built construction shed.

After more than three years of work,

the giant airship is beginning

to take shape.

Around the frame: her outer surface

is covered with

painstakingly stitched together.

To protect the cotton cloth from

corrosion by saltwater and wind,

and to reflect the sun's heat, it's

painted with a metallic doping compound.

It's an incendiary mixture,

but it's standard procedure

in airship construction.

Finally, the gas cells can be filled.

Eckener's first choice

is nonflammable helium,

but the Americans have

a monopoly on helium,

and refuse to sell this strategic

resource to a potential enemy.

So he is forced to fill

the Hindenburg with hydrogen.

March 1936:
The new airship is ready

for her maiden flight.

With her first public appearances,

it was clear that there had never been

anything quite like the Hindenburg.

Streamlined and elegant,

she was a technical marvel and

a masterpiece of design.

As she floated gracefully

off the ground,

Hugo Eckener basked in the glory.

The Nazis would view his new airship

as a stunning symbol of German might.

Though Eckener himself was no friend

of the Nazi government,

one of Hindenburg's first flights

was ordered up by

Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels

himself:

an aerial tour of the country's

largest cities.

But the Hindenburg's primary function

was to transport passengers,

and within days of her maiden flight,

she made her debut

in the transatlantic airship service.

One of her crewmen was Werner Franz,

who was hired as a cabin boy.

I was 14 years old the first time

I saw the ship.

When I entered the hangar,

I didn't know where the ship was.

All I could see was a grey wall.

I looked left and right,

until it became clear to me that

I was standing right in front of it.

I saw only a part of the ship.

You had to walk to the front and the

back just to take in the whole thing.

Of course, I walked through every inch

of the ship when I wasn't working.

My favorite spot, when I had the time,

was all the way in the front,

in the bow.

There was a little area with a table

and some small benches and a window

where I could see the whole panorama

in front of me.

That was my favorite spot.

I couldn't pull myself away

from the window.

I was sorry

when I had to do some work.

A cabin boy could appreciate the

thrill of flying on the Hindenburg,

but the best views were

from the passengers' deck,

inside the hull of the airship.

One of the youngest passengers

was Elizabeth Kotter.

I was 11 years old

when I was fortunate enough

to fly to Germany on the Hindenburg.

That was an overwhelming experience,

to enter into this big ship,

and to sail away into the clouds.

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