The airship was invented in 1852 by Henri Giffard Next the airship, known as the “zeppelin” innovated by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, was developed by the Germans in the late 19th century. The German ships had "a light framework of metal girders that protected a gas-filled interior." They were large enough to carry a bunch of passengers.One of the most famous was the Graf Zeppelin, which traveled around the world in 1929. This pioneered a transatlantic transportation service which led to the building of the Hindenburg.
The Hindenburg was 804 feet long and filled with hydrogen gas. Traditionally Zeppelins used Helium but due to a trade embargo by the US on Nazi Germany, the Germans chose to use Hydrogen.
In 1936 the Hindenburg planned to make ten transatlantic trips across the globe carrying a total of 1002 passengers. Things were going well until the second transatlantic trip.
The Hindenburg was scheduled to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey in May of 1937. It carried 36 passengers and a crew of 61. Unfortunately, the Hindenburg burst into flames while landing. 35 people were killed and one member of the ground crew. It is thought that the explosion occurred due to atmospheric electricity and a hydrogen gas leak. Some thought it was an intentional Anti-Nazi attack. The event was caught on film and marked the end of airships as a way of commercial transportation.
Do you think this was an anti-nazi attack or just an accident?
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hindenburg
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-hindenburg-disaster
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hindenburg
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-hindenburg-disaster
I believe that it was more likely an accident than an anti-nazi attack, although no one will no for sure. Given the time period and the amount of work needed to make a huge airship fly across the ocean, it's very possible that a mistake was made one way or another which caused the airship to explode. As tragic as it is, I feel that and accident occurred rather than a planned attack. In addition, if it were a planned attack, why would they plan the attack right before the ship landed? Why not before it took off? Or even during some part of the journey?
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