First flight of LZ 129 Hindenburg

The LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German passenger airship, the largest aircraft ever built, which was operated by the Zeppelin company in the 1930s. It was designed to be filled with helium, but because the United States would not export the gas, it was inflated with flammable hydrogen. It made its first flight in the spring of 1936 and then began a regular transatlantic service between Germany and the United States, carrying passengers in luxurious cabins, and it was used for Nazi propaganda flights. On 6 May 1937 it caught fire while landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, and was destroyed in less than a minute, killing thirty-six people. The disaster, filmed and broadcast by radio, ended the era of passenger airships.

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