shineyourlight: 힌덴부르그호 추락후 75주년: 75 Years Since The Hindenburg Disaster

75 Years Since The Hindenburg Disaster

Last Sunday, May 6, marked the 75th anniversary of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. The massive German airship caught fire while attempting to land near Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 people aboard, plus one ground crew member. Of the 97 passengers and crew members on board, 62 managed to survive. The horrifying incident was captured by reporters and photographers and replayed on radio broadcasts, in newsprint, and on newsreels. News of the disaster led to a public loss of confidence in airship travel, ending an era. The 245 m (803 f) Hindenburg used flammable hydrogen for lift, which incinerated the airship in a massive fireball, but the actual cause of the initial fire remains unknown. Gathered here are images of the Hindenburg's first successful year of transatlantic travel, and of its tragic ending 75 years ago.

1937년에 발생한 독일의 비행선 힌덴부르크호의 폭발사고만큼 사람들의 뇌리에 오랫동안 새겨진 사고는 인류 역사상 그리 많지 않다. 245m 길이의 웅장한 몸집에 나찌의 갈고리 십자가(하켄크로이츠)를 선명히 휘날리며 유럽과 미국을 왕복하던 이 비행선의 공식명칭은 LZ 129였다.

힌덴부르크호는 1936년에 취항한 이후 작은 사고도 없이 62회의 비행을 하였으며, 이중 35번이 대서양횡단 비행이었다. 평균 시속 120 킬로미터로 지상 300에서 1000미터 상공을 유유히 떠다니는 이 호화비행선으로 독일에서 미국의 뉴저지까지 여행하는데 드는 요금은 당시로서는 엄청난 400달러에 달했다. 승객을 위한 객실과 난방장치, 식당은 물론 중량을 고려하여 알루미늄으로 제작된 특수 그랜드 피아노가 설치된 라운지와 바, 심지어는 산책용 통로까지 완비되어 있었다.

운명의 날인 1937년 5월 6일. 힌덴부르크호는 프랑크프루트로부터 목적지인 미국의 뉴저지주의 레이크허스트 국제공항에 도착하여 지상에 계류할 준비를 하고 있었다. 이때 갑자기 거대한 폭발이 일어났다. 기체의 대부분인 수소까스가 폭발하면서 생긴 불지옥에서 승객의 비명을 들은 목격자도 있었다.

시카고 WLS 라디오의 허브 모리슨 기자가 착륙모습을 중계하다가 사고를 보고 남긴 방송녹음과 필름이 전해진다.

"비행선이 폭발했읍니다. 맙소사! 끔직합니다..세계최악의 사고가 발생했습니다."

이사고로 97명의 승객중 35명이 사망했다. 1차대전에서 공군기로 사용되었던 제펠린 비행선과 마찬가지로 이 힌덴부르크호도 수소를 사용하고 있었기 때문에 불에는 매우 취약한 기종이었다. 사고 당시 이 참사가 정전기의 급작스런 발생으로 흘러나온 가연성 수소가스에 불이 붙었을 것이라고 추측되었으나 당시 한창 기치를 올리던 히틀러의 나치에 반대하는 세력이 폭탄을 설치했었다는 소문이 돌기도 했다.

여하튼 어떠한 주장도 입증된 바 없으며, 원인이야 어찌했던 간에 참사로 인하여 경비행선의 여객수송시대는 끝났다.

The German zeppelin Hindenburg flies over Manhattan on May 6, 1937. A few hours later, the ship burst into flames in an attempt to land at Lakehurst, New Jersey, (AP Photo)

Finishing touches are applied to the A/S Hindenburg in the huge German construction hangar at Friedrichshafen. Workmen, dwarfed in comparison with the ship's huge tail surfaces, are chemically treating the fabric covering the huge hull.(San Diego Air & Space Museum)

The steel skeleton of "LZ 129", the new German airship, under construction in Friedrichshafen. The airship would later be named after the late Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, former President of Germany. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

The Hindenburg dumps water to ensure a smoother landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 9, 1936. The airship made 17 round trips across the Atlantic Ocean in 1936, transporting 2,600 passengers in comfort at speeds up to 135 km/h (85 mph). The Zeppelin Company began constructing the Hindenburg in 1931, several years before Adolf Hitler's appointment as German Chancellor. For the 14 months it operated, the airship flew under the newly-changed German national flag, the swastika flag of the Nazi Party. (AP Photo)

Spectators and ground crew surround the gondola of the Hindenburg as the lighter-than-air ship prepares to depart the U.S. Naval Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 11, 1936, on a return trip to Germany. (AP Photo)

A color photograph of the dining room aboard the Hindenburg. (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/German Federal Archive)

Passengers in the dining room of the Hindenburg, in April of 1936. (OFF/AFP/Getty Images)

The Hindenburg flies over the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts in 1936. Another small plane can also be seen at top right.(Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection)

A U.S. Coast Guard plane escorts the Hindenburg to a landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on its inaugural flight between Freidrichshafen and Lakehurst in 1936. (US Coast Guard)

The giant German zeppelin Hindenburg, in Lakehurst, New Jersey, in May of 1936. The Olympic rings on the side were promoting the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. (OFF/AFP/Getty Images)

The Hindenburg trundles into the U.S. Navy hangar, its nose hooked to the mobile mooring tower, at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 9, 1936. The rigid airship had just set a record for its first north Atlantic crossing, the first leg of ten scheduled round trips between Germany and America. (AP Photo)

The German-built zeppelin Hindenburg is shown from behind, with the Swastika symbol on its tail wing, as the dirigible is partially enclosed by its hangar at the U.S. Navy Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, May 9, 1936. (AP Photo)

The Hindenburg, above ground crew at the U.S. Navy Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey.(Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection)

The Hindenburg floats past the Empire State Building over Manhattan on August 8, 1936, en route to Lakehurst, New Jersey, from Germany. (AP Photo)

A modern, electrically equipped kitchen aboard the Hindenburg provided for the passengers and crew, seen in this undated photograph.(AP Photo)

Interior of the lounge aboard the Hindenburg, where passenger windows could be opened. (Nationaal Archief/Spaarnestad Photo)

The Hindenburg floats over Manhattan Island in New York City on May 6, 1937, just hours from disaster in nearby New Jersey.(AP Photo)

The German dirigible Hindenburg, just before it crashed before landing at the U.S. Naval Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937.(AP Photo)

At approximately 7:25 p.m. local time, the German zeppelin Hindenburg burst into flames as it nosed toward the mooring post at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937. The airship was still some 200 feet above the ground.(AP Photo/Murray Becker)

The Hindenburg quickly went up in flames -- less than a minute passed between the first signs of trouble and complete disaster. This image captures a moment between the second and third explosions before the airship hit the ground. (AP Photo)

As the lifting Hydrogen gas burned and escaped from the rear of the Hindenburg, the tail dropped to the ground, sending a burst of flame punching through the nose. Ground crew below scatter to flee the inferno. (AP Photo)

A portion of newsreel coverage as the front of the flaming Hindenburg crashes to the ground, with passengers and crew running for their lives. Full movie here. (Archive.org/Prelinger Archives/Pathé)

A survivor flees the collapsing structure of the airship Hindenburg. (Note, the hand-retouching in this photo came from the original)(AP Photo)

The wreckage of the Hindenburg in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937. (AP Photo/Murray Becker)

Major Hans Hugo Witt of the German Luftwaffe, who was severely burned in the Hindenburg disaster, is seen as he is transferred from Paul Kimball Hospital in Lakewood, New Jersey, to another area hospital, on May 7, 1937. (AP Photo)

An unidentified woman survivor is led from the scene of the Hindenburg disaster at the U.S. Naval Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937. (AP Photo/Murray Becker)

Adolf Fisher, an injured mechanic from the German airship Hindenburg, is transferred from Paul Kimball Hospital in Lakewood, New Jersey, to an ambulance going to another area hospital, on May 7, 1937. (AP Photo)

Members of the U.S. Navy Board of Inquiry inspect the wreckage of the German zeppelin Hindenburg on the field in New Jersey, on May 8, 1937. (AP Photo)

Customs officers search through baggage items salvaged in the Hindenburg explosion in Lakehurst, New Jersey, May 6, 1937.(AP Photo)

Two men inspect the twisted metal framework of the Hindenburg in New Jersey in May of 1937. (AP Photo)

In New York City, funeral services for the 28 Germans who lost their lives in the Hindenburg disaster are held on the Hamburg-American pier, on May 11, 1937. About 10,000 members of German organizations lined the pier. (AP Photo/Anthony Camerano)

German soldiers give the salute as they stand beside the casket of Capt. Ernest A. Lehmann, former commander of the zeppelin Hindenburg, during funeral services held on the Hamburg-American pier in New York City, on May 11, 1937. The swastika-draped caskets were placed on board the SS Hamburg for their return to Europe. (AP Photo/Anthony Camerano)

Surviving members of the crew aboard the ill-fated German zeppelin Hindenburg are photographed at the Naval Air station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 7, 1937. Rudolph Sauter, chief engineer, is at center wearing white cap; behind him is Heinrich Kubis, a steward; Heinrich Bauer, watch officer, is third from right wearing black cap; and 13-year-old Werner Franz, cabin boy, is center front row. Several members of the airship's crew are wearing U.S. Marine summer clothing furnished them to replace clothing burned from many of their bodies as they escaped from the flaming dirigible. (AP Photo)

An aerial view of the wreckage of the Hindenburg airship near the hangar at the Naval Air station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 7, 1937. (AP Photo/Murray Becker)

Hindenburg Disaster Real Footage (1937) [HD]