May 6, 1937, 3 days after leaving Germany, the 804 foot long Hindenburg, with 97 people aboard was preparing to moor at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Less than 200 feet from the ground, the great airship burst into flames! Passengers leaped screaming to the ground. 36 died. Many more were badly burned. Cause of this tragedy was never discovered. But no more great dirigibles were built.Wikipedia has an extensive page discussing the history and merits of airships.
The following is the original reel about the famous Hindenburg disaster in 1937, Lakehurst. While not the only such incident, it was widely publicised. Use of airships declined dramatically as the developing WWII and Allied investment in aircraft development, along the the lack of availability of safe helium. More historical information about the Hindenburg and similar airships can be read at airships.net
Update: I recently discovered http://www.airshipventures.com/ which is operating one of only two comercial airships operating today. Happily they have a far better safety record and modern technology has made flights even more fun and relaxing.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting link... "Pimping the blimp for mining and military"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10752333