Throwback Boston Thursday: The Hindenburg — and Another Strange Airship — Over Boston
Today we’re going to talk about this wild photo:
Yes, that’s the Hindenburg, hovering over Boston, with the Nazi flag prominently displayed on its tail fins. This is a photo that I purchased at that old timey photo place in Faneuil Hall years ago, and there’s a note on the back that reads:
This remarkable photograph shows the Hindenburg as it was recorded on film with a 4X5 speed Graphic Press Camera.
The Zep made its historic passing over Boston enroute to Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937. This was the first and only time the Swastika was permitted to be flown over the United States. Note that the time on the Custom House Tower is 11:40 A.M. At 7:30 P.M. that same evening, the Zep blew up on making its landing approach at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
The photograph is amazing in and of itself, but let’s find out more.
Hindenburg Journey
The Hindenburg, or the Luftschiff Zeppelin 129, a hydrogen-filled rigid airship, had just kicked off its second commercial season in May 1937, and only took to the air for the first time a little over a year before. In its maiden voyage on March 31, 1936, the Hindenburg went to Rio de Janeiro. It would head there seven more time, and to New York City ten times. It was also used for propaganda purposes, flying over the 1936 Olympic games.
I don’t usually quote Wikipedia, but I love their description of the construction of the Hindenburg, that had “15 Ferris wheel-like main ring bulkheads along its length, with 16 cotton gas bags fitted between them.” The gas bags were made by Goodyear, and the engine was made by Daimler-Benz. There were two decks, one with cabins and public lounges, one with crew facilities and a smoking room, accessible by an airlock because you couldn’t light a match anywhere inside. It could carry between 50 to 70 passengers.
(Actually, there were two Hindenburgs — the one we famously know was the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, and was, like the Titanic, the largest to fly and the future of commercial air travel, and like the Titanic, ended in disaster. The Hindenburg disaster was another in a long line of airship disasters, so the plans were scrapped and the second Hindenburg, LZ 130, never flew commercially.)
After leaving Germany on May 3, it arrived to the East Coast on May 6 and, after circling for a while due to thunderstorms, headed into the airfield at Lakehurst, NJ. At 7:25pm, the Hindenburg caught fire and disintegrated within minutes, and while the cause is still unclear, there was either some kind of hydrogen leakage, combined with the static in the air, or something to do with the grounding from the lines thrown out shortly before that caused the spark that destroyed the airship. Thirty-six people died, and of the incident, Herbert Morrison famously exclaimed, “Oh, the humanity.”
Custom House Tower as Airship Dock?
I actually thought this was 100% true until I started doing research for this post and no, the Custom House Tower was never a docking station. (I was apparently conflating the Empire State Building docking station mock-up with reality and moved it north!)
Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Blimp! It’s a Zeppelin? Maybe an Airship…?
Let’s define some terms, because why not?
Dirigible: The catch-all term for any lighter-than-air craft that is steerable and has power.
Rigid or semi-rigid airship: This has a frame with gas cells between, like the Hindenburg.
Zeppelin: This is a brand name (I just found out!), like tissue and Kleenex. So, your airships from the Zeppelin company are called “Zeppelins.”
Blimp: Just a big steerable balloon, with no rigid framework inside.
Aerostat: Any lighter-than-air aircraft, whether it be powered or un-powered.
Fun fact: The Goodyear Blimp is no longer a blimp, even though Goodyear calls it a “blimp.” It’s a Zeppelin (yes, it’s a semi-rigid airship built by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin company).
The Other Mysterious Airship Over Boston
Airships over Boston weren’t just limited to the Hindenburg, as other dirigibles — passenger and military — have floated over the city. But in 1909, an unexplained airship appeared…
Wallace Tillinghast was a Worcester businessman who boasted that he created an airship, and was doing night flights over the Northeast, down to New York City circling the Statue of Liberty, and back to Boston. On December 22, 1909, the New York Times carried a story that someone in a floating airship hovered over Worcester for two hours. And on December 24, 1909, the Boston Globe carried stories of dozens of people seeing a flying object in the sky, with wings and search lights:
“…there is absolutely no doubt that some kind of a flying machine carried the searchlight that was seen. … At Riverbank court…everyone was agog over the passage of the airship. Between 40 and 50 guests of the hotel had seen the light between 6 and 7:45 and some had even seen it later as it sank from sight below the western horizon. … W. D. Allen, another guest at the Riverbank court, saw the light and was positive that it was not a star. He said it must have been moving in a circle, for at times it appeared to be not larger than a saucer, and again the reflection of its rays upon the clouds showed diameter several times larger. … ‘It was 10 times as large as any star,’ said Mr. Davis, ‘and it seemed to stand still just over Cottage farm, or perhaps in Brookline or Brighton. It was undoubtedly a searchlight of an airship, for it certainly moved and at times it seemed as if the operator of the machine describe a complete circle.’ … Even the Somerville board of aldermen was apprised of the presence of the light, and took an adjournment that the members might watch the course taken by it. … The lights were reflected upon the wings of the airship and caused them to look like two great pillows.” And on and on.
The Wright Brothers had only recently flown a few hundred feet, so having a flying, floating aircraft doing donuts around the Statue of Liberty is impossible, and indeed Tillinghast’s craft was never discovered. Still, what was that ship in the sky…?
“We’re Going Back to Germany”
Finally, if you’re like me, I’m sure this is the only thing that comes to mind when we talk about Zeppelins:
