20 Incredible Vintage Photographs Describing the Life of LZ 129 Hindenburg Airship

LZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. The airship flew from March 1936 until it was destroyed by fire 14 months later on May 6, 1937, at the end of the first North American transatlantic journey of its second season of service. Thirty-six people died in the accident, which occurred while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States.

Here are some amazing, also shocking vintage photographs describing the life of LZ 129 Hindenburg Airship from the first flight on March 4, 1936 to its disaster in  Lakehurst, NJ on May 6, 1937.

 Sketch of LZ 129 Hindenburg

The Hindenburg on its first flight, March 4, 1936

The LZ 129 rising into the air for the first time

The Hindenburg after its first flight to Rio, April 1936

The Zeppelin Hindenburg flying over Manhattan, April 1, 1936

Common room of Hindenburg

Passengers watching from the Hindenburg's windows

First landing of the Hindenburg in the US, May 9, 1936

The Hindenburg dirigible attempting to land at Lakehurst, NJ, May 9, 1936

LZ 129 arrival at NAS Lakehurst, May 9, 1936

The Zeppelin Hindenburg floats past the Empire State Building over Manhattan, Aug. 8, 1936

 The Hindenburg over Manhattan, New York, May 6, 1937

The crash of the German Zeppelin Hindenburg in Lakehurst, NJ, May 6, 1937

The fire was blamed on a spark that caused the Zeppelin’s hydrogen to ignite

LZ 129 crashed to the ground with the high rising flame

The crash of the German Zeppelin Hindenburg in Lakehurst, NJ, May 6, 1937

The Hindenburg in flames on its arrival at Lakehurst, New Jersey, May 6, 1937

The wreckage of the Hindenburg the morning after the crash

The Zeppelin Hindenburg was only inert skeleton after the disaster inert skeleton

One of he last scenes of LZ 129 Hindenburg