Mystery of Hindenburg | The World’s Largest Airship | Dhruv Rathee
Mystery of Hindenburg | The World’s Largest Airship | Dhruv Rathee
The Hindenburg Disaster of 1937 was a tragic accident caused by the world’s largest airship built by the Zeppelin Company. It’s one of the most iconic incidents that have happened in the world. The disaster claimed the lives of 36 people and marked the end of the era of passenger air travel. The cause of the fire is still unknown, although it is believed to have been sparked by a combination of static electricity and a hydrogen leak. But what was the full story of this accident? Watch this video by Dhruv Rathee to find out!
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Content
0 -> German Zeppelin Hindenburg,
1.863 -> Queen of the Skies!
6.583 -> Namaskar, friends!
7.605 -> 3rd May 1937, around 8 PM.
11.059 -> A Hindenburg aircraft takes off from Frankfurt, Germany.
15.75 -> This aircraft was headed to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean,
19.304 -> to New Jersey, America.
21.058 -> It carried about 97 passengers,
23.042 -> 36 passengers and 61 crew members.
26.018 -> And when I use the word 'aircraft' here,
28.653 -> I don't mean an aeroplane.
31.472 -> Instead, the word aircraft means an Airship.
34.792 -> Hindenburg was an airship.
36.953 -> The world's largest airship.
39.359 -> 245 meters long.
41.834 -> Compare its size with today's Boeing 747 aircraft
45.408 -> and you will realise how big it actually was.
47.84 -> Titanic, which was once the world's largest ship,
52.157 -> Hindenburg was only 24 meters shorter than it.
55.364 -> This is why Hindenburg was called the Queen of the Skies
59.598 -> and was the pride of Nazi Germany.
62.208 -> The view inside the Hindenburg airship was amazing.
65.122 -> People would see such luxuries while flying in the sky,
68.615 -> which perhaps is lost today.
71.296 -> People had separate rooms to sleep in,
73.423 -> a separate dining room
75.133 -> where everyone could eat together
77.174 -> a separate lounge with a grand piano.
80.806 -> There was also a reading and writing room
83.402 -> and a ticket price was $700 at that time
87.171 -> which is more than $7,000 today.
90.721 -> Basically, only the rich could afford to travel in this.
94.175 -> 6th May 1937
95.988 -> after a 3-day long journey,
97.628 -> Hindenburg reaches America thousands of miles away.
100.794 -> It has to land at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey.
105.197 -> It starts descending slowly.
107.529 -> It was 7 PM.
108.925 -> While landing, people on the ground hold on to its ropes.
112.842 -> It had a different way of landing.
115.135 -> Many people had gathered around to see it land
117.833 -> because it was a very historic ship.
119.905 -> Some cameramen were also present there.
122.206 -> That day, this landing of Hindenburg was being filmed on camera.
126.111 -> The weather conditions weren't favourable.
128.33 -> The sky was overcast with clouds and strong winds.
130.644 -> The captain took a sharp turn
133.705 -> to align the aircraft with the winds.
136.259 -> The crew on the ground rushed to secure the ropes.
139.611 -> The aircraft was about to land
141.349 -> when suddenly a loud bang was heard.
148.202 -> Within the blink of an eye, the airship was engulfed in flames.
152.206 -> The plane crashed in just 34 seconds
156.479 -> and the whole plane was destroyed in the fire.
158.853 -> "The actual crash of the Hindenburg,
161.155 -> an airship destroyed in less than half a minute,
163.816 -> seared in the skeleton of what was once a mighty airship."
170.794 -> The Hindenburg disaster shook the world.
173.136 -> What was the reason behind this disaster?
175.508 -> Experts and investigators try to find the answers.
178.791 -> Three main theories were presented.
180.851 -> The first theory was that this airship was targeted for sabotage.
184.636 -> It was part of a dangerous plan to destroy the pride of Nazi Germany.
189.56 -> Some people believed that some anti-Nazi activist or some other country
193.478 -> had hidden a bomb in the Hindenburg airship.
196.057 -> That's why the sudden explosion occurred.
198.433 -> Some people believed that Adolf Hitler himself
201.386 -> had blown up the Hindenburg airship.
204.558 -> Hitler's people planted a bomb on it
207.23 -> to blow up their own country's airship.
208.834 -> Why would they do that?
210.5 -> Actually, the owner of the company manufacturing these airships
213.927 -> was a man named Hugo Eckener.
216.502 -> He was among the few people
218.682 -> who openly spoke against Hitler and the Nazis during Hitler's rule.
224.081 -> It was not easy to raise your voice against Hitler publicly at that time.
228.175 -> This is the reason why in 1933,
230.307 -> when the Nazi party came to power,
232.203 -> Hitler tried to arrest Hugo Eckener.
236.506 -> But at that time, his arrest was blocked
240.152 -> by the German President Paul von Hindenburg.
243.721 -> You heard it right,
244.801 -> the name of the German President at that time
246.827 -> was Hindenburg.
248.73 -> You can already guess the origin of the name of this airship.
252.18 -> 3 years later, in 1936,
254.616 -> when the world's largest airship was ready,
257.728 -> Hitler's propaganda minister Goebbels requested Eckener
261.661 -> to name the airship after Hitler.
264.64 -> But Hugo Eckener didn't give in.
267.332 -> And he named this airship Hindenburg.
271.035 -> Some people believed that Hitler had blown up this airship with a bomb
274.602 -> in jealousy
275.997 -> and to destroy Eckener's reputation.
278.706 -> Even before this, when Hindenburg airship was on its first flight,
282.603 -> Hitler's government tried to use it
285.413 -> to spread its Nazi propaganda.
287.505 -> You will see that in many photos of this airship
289.465 -> Nazi party flags are drawn on the tail of this airship.
292.603 -> It is said that Hugo Eckener was very strict about safety standards.
296.511 -> But when Nazi Party took control of these airships,
299.457 -> they put anyone they wanted in charge.
301.481 -> But their followers were not qualified enough.
303.976 -> Often they ignored safety standards.
306.681 -> That's why when Hindenburg airship took its first flight,
309.874 -> it had almost crashed.
311.584 -> But the airship was badly damaged.
313.669 -> There was a big argument following the incident
315.71 -> between the Nazi propaganda ministry and Eckener.
318.291 -> But if we come to the second theory,
319.714 -> it points to static electricity
322.775 -> generated in the atmosphere by the airship.
326.174 -> You must have read about static electricity in school.
329.397 -> Static charge was said to have built up on Hindenburg's metal frame.
333.869 -> When it sparked, the hydrogen gas in the airship suddenly ignited.
338.859 -> It is said that the pilot took a sharp turn
342.695 -> which caused the explosion.
344.367 -> Then comes the third theory which focuses on a lightning strike.
348.547 -> As I told you, the weather was bad that day.
350.918 -> It is theorised that lightning might have struck,
352.871 -> which caused the hydrogen to catch fire.
354.721 -> Which theory fits the most here?
356.891 -> Before we understand this,
358.671 -> we need to understand the history of airships.
366.48 -> Today, flying has become very commonplace due to aeroplanes.
370.915 -> But if we go back 500 years,
372.939 -> people could only dream of flying.
375.716 -> In the 1500s,
377.452 -> people used to see birds flying in the sky
379.465 -> and felt very jealous.
380.85 -> People used to wish that they could also fly.
385.036 -> And many people tried to do the same.
387.333 -> In 1507, a man named John Damien
390.645 -> covered his hands with chicken feathers
393.339 -> and jumped from the roof of a castle in Scotland.
397.638 -> He started waving his hands like a bird
400.497 -> in the hopes that he would also start flying.
402.608 -> But unfortunately, he fell from the roof.
405.472 -> He broke his bones.
407.098 -> And when he was asked later,
408.715 -> he claimed that had he used an eagle's feathers instead,
413.696 -> he would have flown.
414.822 -> He was not the only one.
416.279 -> Throughout history, many people have tried
418.646 -> to jump from a tower or a high wall.
422.115 -> Sometimes they stuck feathers on themselves,
424.237 -> sometimes kites, sometimes balloons.
427.715 -> Eventually, people realized that
429.763 -> if we want to fly, there are only two ways.
432.635 -> First, we need to make ourselves lighter than air.
435.233 -> Like through a balloon.
436.5 -> Or second, we need to generate enough power
439.384 -> to be able to take off in the sky.
441.31 -> For the second way, we needn't be lighter than air.
444.17 -> All the aeroplanes and helicopters you see flying in the air today,
448.298 -> they use this second method.
450.475 -> They generate enough power to fly in the air.
454.028 -> But the story of airships, friends,
456.136 -> is of the first method.
458.017 -> Flying in the air by making yourself lighter.
460.834 -> In the 1770s,
462.808 -> two brothers in France,
464.404 -> Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier.
468.186 -> These brothers were highly intelligent and creative.
470.283 -> One day, they saw someone drying clothes over a fire.
474.836 -> Joseph observes that the heat produced by the fire
478.641 -> caused the clothes to start flying upwards.
481.275 -> This gave him an idea of
482.821 -> doing the same thing on a bigger scale.
485.314 -> He started by making a small box from thin wood,
488.643 -> and covered it with a lightweight cloth.
492.009 -> Inside the box, he put a crumpled piece of paper and set it on fire.
496.337 -> He saw that the box started flying once the fire was lit.
500.556 -> Immediately, he started making a bigger model of the box with his brother.
504.736 -> On 14th December 1782, the first test flight was conducted with a full-size model.
509.335 -> They set fire to wool and hay.
511.509 -> The lifting force produced was so strong that
513.929 -> they lost control of their box
516.102 -> and it kept flying for 2 km.
518.75 -> Next year, in 1783,
520.5 -> they did a public demonstration
522.556 -> in the presence of the king of France, King Louis,
524.851 -> in his palace in Versailles.
526.832 -> In this demonstration, they put a duck and a hen in the box,
530.782 -> to demonstrate that animals could fly safely in it.
533.024 -> When the king saw this,
534.976 -> he was pleased.
536.317 -> And thus they got permission to test it with humans inside the box.
540.162 -> And this, friends, is how the hot air balloon was invented.
543.976 -> Jacques-Étienne became the first man to fly in a balloon.
548.155 -> Moving on with our story,
549.631 -> in the 1850s, in a small town in Germany,
552.749 -> lived a young boy named
554.943 -> Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin.
559.587 -> It was certainly a long name with a lot of gravitas.
565.94 -> This boy went to America
567.318 -> and during the American Civil War, he saw how
569.981 -> the Union Army was using balloons in the army.
573.846 -> His interest in balloons increased,
576.021 -> and as he kept rising through the ranks in the army
579.549 -> by 1874, this boy penned down the idea of an airship in his diary.
585.121 -> By this point in time,
587.271 -> balloons had become quite advanced.
588.928 -> Engines were being installed on balloons
590.901 -> so that they could be steered towards the desired direction.
593.511 -> Some balloons used steam engines,
595.839 -> and some used electric-powered engines.
598.416 -> In 1891, Zeppelin resigned from the army at the age of 52
603.274 -> and focused entirely on developing airships.
606.707 -> The base idea was that
608.031 -> there is only one gas bag in a balloon.
610.085 -> But if we were to use multiple gas bags
612.769 -> and somehow the whole structure could be made more rigid,
615.72 -> then a big and sturdy aircraft could be built.
619.351 -> Zeppelin worked with a team of engineers
622.183 -> to refine his idea.
623.574 -> An aluminium framework was made.
625.487 -> In 1898, he received some investment
628.745 -> with which he developed the first airship.
632.659 -> It was called LZ-1.
635.384 -> And friends, this is why
636.998 -> we still call airships Zeppelins.
640.643 -> Because the name of the man who invented them was Zeppelin.
643.986 -> But, there are many problems and hurdles in the story after this.
647.462 -> Zeppelins used to use hydrogen power.
650.091 -> But in America, helium was used.
653.204 -> The difference between the two gases is unsurmountable.
655.315 -> Hydrogen gas can easily catch fire.
658.056 -> But helium is an inert gas.
659.763 -> It doesn't catch fire easily.
661.264 -> The concept is the same.
662.276 -> Both gases are light than air.
663.887 -> They help the airship fly in the air.
666.054 -> On 2nd July 1900,
667.939 -> LZ-1 successfully completed its first flight.
671.67 -> It stayed in the air for 20 minutes
673.16 -> but suffered damages during the landing.
675.225 -> Zeppelin started repairing it
677.6 -> but due to a shortage of funds,
678.798 -> he got his wife's assets mortgaged
682.983 -> to gather more money.
684.466 -> He then completed LZ-2 in 1905
686.844 -> But before it could fly,
688.707 -> a control part broke off
690.919 -> and so it never flew.
692.122 -> It took another year to repair it.
694.445 -> In 1906, he runs it through testing once again
697.003 -> but another major flaw was revealed.
698.34 -> Due to strong winds, the control of the airship was lost.
701.156 -> He used the remaining parts to build LZ-3.
703.86 -> He wanted to prove to the military
705.483 -> that he could successfully build an aircraft.
707.532 -> The military demanded that it needed to be durable for at least 24 hours.
710.95 -> It would need to pass a durability test.
713.357 -> But the airship failed.
715.085 -> To pass this test, he made LZ-4.
720.127 -> But one night, after a strong storm
722.317 -> the LZ-4 was left completely destroyed.
725.634 -> "In high winds,
726.699 -> the Zepplin breaks free from its moorings.
729.399 -> And suddenly, the entire airship explodes."
734.566 -> This story is a very good example of this real-life quote.
737.174 -> Try, try till you succeed.
739.53 -> Those who never stop trying, never fail.
741.819 -> Around the same time, in 1903,
744.346 -> the famous Wright brothers completed their first successful flight
748.101 -> in an aeroplane.
749.592 -> Their story is quite historical in itself.
752.072 -> If you want to know their story,
754.017 -> then I suggest you listen to this audiobook on KUKU FM.
756.801 -> Wright Bandhu.
758.308 -> This audiobook is more than 3 hours long in Hindi,
760.991 -> it will explain this story to you in great detail.
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781.462 -> It will cost you only ₹69 instead of ₹99.
784.436 -> You can find the link in the description below.
786.565 -> You can go and check it out.
787.92 -> Now let's get back to the topic.
789.483 -> After so many attempts,
790.821 -> Zeppelin finally started getting publicity.
792.514 -> People started noticing how hard he was trying
795.861 -> to build airships.
797.254 -> He got more investments
799.156 -> and he founded a company.
800.993 -> He carried out improvements in LZ-3
803.214 -> and finally in 1908
805.177 -> test flights were conducted.
807.043 -> Despite bad weather,
808.432 -> these test flights were successful.
811.702 -> LZ-3 was officially accepted by the government.
815.358 -> And Zeppelin was highly celebrated.
817.439 -> Over the next few years,
818.956 -> Zeppelin made a lot of improvements
820.657 -> but he die in 1917.
823.687 -> After World War I ended in 1918
826.11 -> and the Treaty of Versailles was signed
828.372 -> it held that Germany was not allowed to keep military aircraft any longer.
833.293 -> Till now, these airships were being used only for military purposes.
836.711 -> Here, Dr Hugo Eckener enters our story.
840.432 -> After the death of Zeppelin,
842.018 -> he took over the company.
843.595 -> And he was the first to realise that
845.59 -> not only during military or war,
848.724 -> Zeppelins could be used for commercial flights as well.
852.67 -> After this, in 1924,
854.659 -> LZ-126 takes its first flight.
857.606 -> It was flown by none other than Hugo Eckener himself.
860.71 -> A journey of more than 8000 km was completed in 80 hours.
864.966 -> When this airship landed in America,
867.841 -> people welcomed it with applause.
870.888 -> Calling it an Angel of Peace.
873.565 -> A machine which was, until then, used only for fighting,
877.576 -> was being used for the public.
880.133 -> Eckener developed the next model LZ-127 in 1928.
885.518 -> But there weren't destined to last long.
888.253 -> As I told you, the Nazi Party came into power in 1933,
892.164 -> and Eckener was one of the people who
895.032 -> openly criticised Hitler.
897.086 -> Now, if we get back to the time after the Hindenburg disaster,
900.1 -> after investigation ranging several decades,
902.497 -> it was found that neither Hitler nor the Nazi Party played a role in the disaster.
906.246 -> The biggest reason behind this accident,
909.288 -> what is said to be the most probable theory
911.895 -> is hydrogen leakage
914.057 -> and explosion due to static electricity.
918.421 -> Unfortunately, this disaster ruins the reputation of all the airships.
922.367 -> People realize how easily hydrogen catches fire.
926.539 -> Travelling in airships could be very dangerous.
929.04 -> Although helium gas was also being used at the time.
931.932 -> But the problem was that the supply of helium gas
934.941 -> was majorly restricted to America.
937.163 -> America had imposed a ban on the export of helium gas.
941.268 -> By the 1940s,
943.015 -> on one hand, the reputation of airships was declining.
945.882 -> People were scared to travel in them.
947.85 -> On the other hand,
949.424 -> airplanes started improving.
951.52 -> The speed, reliability and operating cost of passenger airplanes
954.966 -> improved rapidly.
956.482 -> In comparison to aeroplanes,
958.191 -> the speed of airships was very slow.
960.442 -> Around 100 km per hour
962.089 -> Whereas, the airplanes were flying at 700 or 800 or 1,000 km per hour.
966.324 -> It was difficult to get Helium gas
968.609 -> and in bad weather, airships were more vulnerable.
972.803 -> This is why people of our generation
975.176 -> neither travelled in these airships
977.387 -> nor saw them.
978.873 -> It is very unfortunate because the experience of travelling in them
981.68 -> was very different.
983.192 -> Flying slowly at a low altitude,
985.446 -> and with such big windows,
987.237 -> what a view it must've been!
988.989 -> The good news is that in the coming years,
990.856 -> these airships can be revived again.
993.392 -> In 2017, a UK-based company,
995.606 -> Hybrid Air Vehicles,
997.24 -> ran a test flight for their giant airship,
1000.577 -> Airlander 10,
1001.949 -> known as the world's largest aircraft.
1004.246 -> Today, it is not so difficult to get helium gas,
1007.007 -> so it is much safer.
1008.595 -> Plus, due to climate change, the concern for carbon emissions is increasing.
1011.524 -> So, in comparison to aeroplanes, these airships
1013.717 -> release one-tenth of the carbon emissions.
1016.882 -> Fuel costs are also reduced.
1018.482 -> And they fly almost silently without much noise.
1022.456 -> So, it is estimated by this company that
1024.444 -> after 2030, they will start commercial flights in their airships.
1028.954 -> How will it be? Only time can tell.
1031.194 -> But if you liked this video,
1032.796 -> you can watch the video of supersonic planes.
1035.825 -> That is another technology that used to exist at one point in time
1038.545 -> but now it is gone.
1040.007 -> You can click here to watch it.
1041.673 -> Thank you very much!
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO8f9MBdCOQ