Lz 129 Hindenburg

The LZ 129 took four years to build at a time when the world was suffering the impact of the Great Depression and it took the financial support of the National Socialists to bring the work to completion. Ownership of the airship passed from her builders, the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH to the 1935-established operating company, the Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei, whose objectives included showing the flag at home and abroad. The Hindenburg was involved in propaganda events of 1936, namely the Plebiscite Flight, the Olympic Games and Party celebrations at the Nurnberg Rally. Following successful service on the South and North Atlantic services, she crashed when coming in to land at Lakehurst in May 1937. Numerous theories as to the cause of the disaster are analysed, including the influence of commercial pressures, which caused a hurried landing to take place in dangerous conditions. A careful analysis of the financial performance of the North American service reveals that an increased number of flights in 1937 would have secured an operational profit. Route details for all flights, together with numerous photographs not published before, complete the story of the Hindenburg.