Airship "Hindenburg" Disaster, Naval Air Station Lakehurst in Manchester Township, New Jersey, May 6, 1937

Summary

The German airship Hindenburg was just minutes away from completing a transatlantic flight when it burst into flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937. The fierce inferno, fueled by the airship's hydrogen lifting gas, claimed 36 lives. Debate continues about the fire's origin. Investigators considered everything from static electricity, to lightning, to deliberate sabotage.

The German airship Hindenburg was just minutes away from completing a transatlantic flight when it burst into flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937. The fierce inferno, fueled by the airship's hydrogen lifting gas, claimed 36 lives. Debate continues about the fire's origin. Investigators considered everything from static electricity, to lightning, to deliberate sabotage.

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

06 May 1937

Creators

Becker, Murray, 1909-1986 

Creator Notes

Original photography by Murray Becker. Copy photographer unidentified.

 On Exhibit

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

92.1.1774.P.CO.7484

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of the Family of Henry Austin Clark, Jr.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 4.5 in

Width: 3.625 in

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