Luftwaffe-Collection

Hindenburg LZ 129 is the best remembered of all Zeppelin airships because of its tragic end on 6 may 1937 when it caught fire at Lakehurst, New Jersey (USA) with the loss of 35 lives out of a total of 97 crew and passengers. The LZ 129 was launched in 1936 and prior to the accident it had made 62 flights, 36 of which were ocean crossings.

These early airships used the lightest element to provide lift - Hydrogen - with an atomic weight of 1.

Hydrogen is highly flammable, combining rapidly with Oxygen to form water and reasling tremendous amounts of energy in the process. Later airships used Helium, with an atomic weight of 2 and being an inert gas, quite safe.