Description
of Hindenburg Crash
(May 6th, 1937- 7 pm)
The
following is from Hindenburg: An Illustrated History by Rick Archbold
and Ken Marschall. To most of the onlookers, the first sign that there
was anything amiss came when a burst of flame appeared just forward of
the upper fin. To Rosendahl (LCDR Rosendahl was the Commanding Officer
of the Lakehurst Naval Air Station from 1934 to 1938) it looked like
“a mushroom shaped flower bursting speedily into bloom.”
 In
seconds the flame engulfed the tail and began moving forward like a
huge “fluorescent tube lighting up,” in the words of Willy von
Meister. The ground crew shrank back as the fire roared toward the bow
and the tail began to fall.
Through
the flames figures could be seen dropping to the ground. The tail hit
first then the rest of the ship came crashing down. Men and women,
some with their clothes on fire, emerged from the inferno. Some
crawled. Some ran. Some stumbled and fell. Between the first flash of
fire and the crash, only thirty-four seconds had elapsed.
In that
unbelievable half minute, broadcaster Herb Morrison suddenly found
himself reporting the biggest story of his life -- and it was almost
too much for him. His smooth delivery became a jumble of impressions
as the emotions of the unfolding disaster took hold. “It’s burst
into flames...get this, Charlie, get this, Charlie... Get out of the
way, please, oh, my, this is terrible, oh, my, get out of the way,
please! It is burning, burst into flames and is falling on the mooring
mast and all the folks we...this is one of the worst catastrophes in
the world!...Oh, it’s four or five hundred feet into the sky, it’s
a terrific crash ladies and gentlemen...oh, the humanity and all the
passengers!”
The moment
Rosendahl saw the first mushroom burst of flame, he knew the
Hindenburg was doomed. Instinctively, he, Lieutenant Watson and Willy
von Meister moved backward. The slight wind blowing at their backs
kept the flames away, but they felt the intense heat as the great
airship was consumed. Rosendahl’s mesmerized gaze followed the front
edge of the fire moving forward along the hull until the flames erased
the name Hindenburg, letter by scarlet letter. As the ship fell, the
forward section telescoped slightly toward the tail, then crashed to
the field.
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