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Report of the Airship ''Hindenburg'' Accident Investigation - United States Department of Commerce · Around The World in Eighty Days

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  Speaker 1: Preface two Report of Airship Hindenburg Accident Investigation. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to learn how to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Scott Danaker, Elizabeth City,
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  Speaker 1: North Carolina, www dot zeppelphart dot com. US Department of
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  Speaker 1: Commerce Air Commerce Bulletin, Volume nine, number two, Preface to
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  Speaker 1: Report of Airship Hindenburg Accident Investigation, in an order dated
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  Speaker 1: Mason seventh, nineteen thirty seven, made by the Secretary of
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  Speaker 1: Commerce pursuant to the Air Commerce Act of nineteen twenty six,
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  Speaker 1: is amended relating to the investigation of accidents in civil
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  Speaker 1: air navigation in the United States. South Trimble Junior Solicitor,
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  Speaker 1: Major R. W. Schroeder, Assistant Director of the Bureau of
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  Speaker 1: Air Commerce, and Dennis Mulligan, Chief Regulation and Enforcement Divisions
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  Speaker 1: of the Bureau of Air Commerce, all of the Department
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  Speaker 1: of Commerce were designated to investigate the facts, conditions, and
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  Speaker 1: circumstances of the accident involving the Airship Hindenburg, which occurred
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  Speaker 1: on May sixth, nineteen thirty seven, at the Naval Air
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  Speaker 1: Station Lakehurst, New Jersey, and to make a report thereon.
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  Speaker 1: Commander Charles E. Rosendahl, United States Navy, Colonel C. De
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  Speaker 1: Forrest Chandler, United States Army, Colonel Rush B. Lincoln, United
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  Speaker 1: States Army. Colonel Harold E. Hartney, Technical Adviser to the
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  Speaker 1: United States Senate Committee on Commerce. The Honorable gil Rob Wilson,
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  Speaker 1: Director of Aeronautics for the State of New Jersey, and
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  Speaker 1: the Honorable Grover Loaning, Aeronautical Adviser to the United States
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  Speaker 1: Maritime Commission, were designated as technical advisors. General Lieutenant Friedrich
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  Speaker 1: von Bertashier, German Military Attache, was selected by the German
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  Speaker 1: Ambassador at the invitation of the Secretary of Commerce as
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  Speaker 1: an observer at the investigation. On the fourth day of
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  Speaker 1: the hearings, the members of the German Commission appointed to
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  Speaker 1: investigate the accident, including doctor Hugo Eckener, Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Brehaut,
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  Speaker 1: Professor gunter Bach, Professor Max Dieckmann, Director doctor Ludwig dul
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  Speaker 1: and staff Engineer Friedrich Hoffmann, appeared and thereafter acted as
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  Speaker 1: observers and testified as witnesses. The United States Navy Board
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  Speaker 1: of Inquiry was represented throughout the hearing by an observer.
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  Speaker 1: When the accident occurred, an aeronautical inspector of the Department
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  Speaker 1: of Commerce was present. Before midnight of the same day.
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  Speaker 1: Other representatives of the department reached the scene of the
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  Speaker 1: accident after a preliminary inspection had been made public. Hearings
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  Speaker 1: were held from May tenth to May twenty eighth in
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  Speaker 1: the main hangar at the Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey,
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  Speaker 1: in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and in New York City.
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  Speaker 1: In addition to that provided by the department's representatives, assistance
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  Speaker 1: was received from the United States Navy Department, Bureau of Investigation,
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  Speaker 1: Department of Justice, Weather Bureau, Department of Agriculture, National Bureau
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  Speaker 1: of Standards, Department of Commerce, New York City Police Department,
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  Speaker 1: and the Bureau of Explosives. Aviation companies, newspapermen, newsreel representatives,
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  Speaker 1: and photographers, many of whom were eye witnesses to the event,
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  Speaker 1: and others, furnished valuable information and of preface Part one
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  Speaker 1: of Report of Airship Hindenburg Accident Investigation by the United
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  Speaker 1: States Department of Commerce. This is a LibriVox recording. All
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. Part one introduction Note.
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  Speaker 1: All times reported herein, unless otherwise indicated, are Eastern Standard
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  Speaker 1: time EST. The airship Hindenburg was destroyed by fire at
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  Speaker 1: six twenty five pm Eastern Standard time May sixth, nineteen
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  Speaker 1: thirty seven, at the Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey. Schedule.
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  Speaker 1: The airship was completing its first scheduled demonstration flight for
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  Speaker 1: the nineteen thirty seven season, between Frankfurt, Germany and Lakehurst.
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  Speaker 1: It had departed from Frankfort about eight fifteen pm GMT
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  Speaker 1: on Monday May third, and was due at Lakehurst on
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  Speaker 1: the morning of Thursday, May sixth. It was due out
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  Speaker 1: of Lakehurst at ten pm Eastern Standard Time that night.
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  Speaker 1: Because of unfavorable winds encountered on route, its arrival at
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  Speaker 1: Lakehurst was deferred until six pm Thursday evening, and departure
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  Speaker 1: was to be postponed until midnight or later in order
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  Speaker 1: to reservice and prepare for the return. Voyage ownership and
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  Speaker 1: operation the ship was owned and operated by the Deutschet
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  Speaker 1: Zeppelin Ridelais GmbH of Berlin W eight under den Linden, Germany.
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  Speaker 1: The flight, which was to have been one of a
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  Speaker 1: series to be made into United States territory during nineteen
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  Speaker 1: thirty seven, was authorized by a provisional air navigation permit
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  Speaker 1: from the Secretary of Commerce and a revocable permit issued
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  Speaker 1: by the Secretary of the Navy to the American Zeppelin
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  Speaker 1: Transport Incorporated of three fifty four Fourth Avenue, New York City,
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  Speaker 1: as general United States agent of the Deutschet Zeppelin Rairie GmbH,
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  Speaker 1: for the use of the landing field and facilities at
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  Speaker 1: the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst Certificate of airworthiness. In
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  Speaker 1: March of nineteen thirty seven, the German government renewed the
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  Speaker 1: airworthy in the certification of the aircraft, reporting that all
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  Speaker 1: of its safety devices had been inspected and found a
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  Speaker 1: satisfactory crew. According to the CREWE list see Appendix one,
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  Speaker 1: furnished by the American Zeppelin Transport Incorporated, the personnel on board,
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  Speaker 1: including officers numbered sixty one, of whom twenty two died
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  Speaker 1: as a result of the accident. Passengers. The passenger list
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  Speaker 1: see Appendix two, likewise furnished, shows that thirty six persons
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  Speaker 1: beside the crew were on board. Of these, thirteen died
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  Speaker 1: as a result of the accident. Other passengers and members
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  Speaker 1: of the crew sustained serious injuries goods carried. Total weight
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  Speaker 1: of the freight carried was three hundred and twenty five pounds.
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  Speaker 1: The freight was stowed in the main freight compartment at
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  Speaker 1: frame one twenty five. Two dogs were kenneled at frame
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  Speaker 1: ninety two, and three packages were stowed in the control car.
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  Speaker 1: Mail was carried in a compartment on top of the
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  Speaker 1: control car of the freight and mail. Only a few
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  Speaker 1: pieces of mail were recovered. Ground crew and facilities. The
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  Speaker 1: ground personnel consisted of ninety two Navy personnel and one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty nine civilians. Practically all of the ground
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  Speaker 1: crew had previous experience in landing airships. One member of
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  Speaker 1: the ground crew died as a result of burns received
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  Speaker 1: during the accident. Flight across the Atlantic. Across the Atlantic
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  Speaker 1: from Germany to the United States, the flight had been
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  Speaker 1: uneventful save for retarding winds which were not unusually turbulent.
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  Speaker 1: The route traversed by the ship on this side of
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  Speaker 1: the ocean was from Nova Scotia via Boston Providence, Long
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  Speaker 1: Island Sound, New York, and thence to Lakehurst. After passing
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  Speaker 1: over Lakehurst the first time, it proceeded to cruise along
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  Speaker 1: the coast for a few hours before retracing its course
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  Speaker 1: from Tuckerton, New Jersey to the Naval Air Station. And
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  Speaker 1: of Part one Part two of report of Airship Hindenburg
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  Speaker 1: accident investigation by the United States Department of Commerce. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. Part two the airship design and construction. The
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  Speaker 1: airship was placed in service early in nineteen thirty six.
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  Speaker 1: It bore builders number l Z one hundred and twenty
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  Speaker 1: nine and had been constructed by the Luftscheffaudt Zeppeline of Friederichshoffen, Germany,
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  Speaker 1: an organization which had previously built one hundred and eighteen
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  Speaker 1: Zeppeline type airships. Briefly described, this type of design provides
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  Speaker 1: for a framework of dr Luhmen metal girders with tension wires.
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  Speaker 1: There is division by frame wirings of the body into
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  Speaker 1: different compartments, into which the gas bags are placed to
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  Speaker 1: receive the lifting gas, a keel walkway to take certain loads,
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  Speaker 1: a framework with an outer cover of fabric to give form,
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  Speaker 1: and engine cars suspended from the frame outside the ship.
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  Speaker 1: The Hindenburg was a Zeppelin type airship having an axle
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  Speaker 1: corridor constructed longitudinally through the center of the hall nineteen
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  Speaker 1: thirty six record. During its nine months of operation in
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  Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six, this airship made more than fifty five flights,
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  Speaker 1: flown two thousand, seven hundred and sixty four hours, cruised
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  Speaker 1: one hundred and ninety one thousand, five one hundred and
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  Speaker 1: eighty three miles, crossed the ocean thirty four times, carried
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  Speaker 1: two thousand, seven hundred and ninety eight passengers and more
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  Speaker 1: than three hundred and seventy seven thousand pounds of mail
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  Speaker 1: and freight, all without mishap, dimensions, capacities, other characteristics. Its
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  Speaker 1: length was about eight hundred and three point eight feet
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  Speaker 1: height one hundred and forty seven feet, maximum diameter one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five feet. Fineness ratio length over diameter
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  Speaker 1: about six Total gas volume seven million, sixty three thousand
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  Speaker 1: cubic feet normal volume six million, seven hundred and ten
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  Speaker 1: thousand cubic feet. Weight of ship with necessary equipment and
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  Speaker 1: fuel was four hundred and thirty thousand, nine hundred and
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  Speaker 1: fifty pounds. Maximum fuel capacity one hundred and forty three thousand,
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  Speaker 1: six hundred and fifty pounds. Total payload forty one thousand,
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  Speaker 1: nine hundred and ninety pounds, and total lift under standard
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  Speaker 1: conditions was four hundred and seventy two thousand, nine hundred
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  Speaker 1: and forty pounds. Its rated cruising speed was about seventy
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  Speaker 1: five statute miles per hour. Its maximum speed was slightly
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  Speaker 1: over eighty four miles per hour. Passenger space was entirely
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  Speaker 1: within the hull controls. The control system was the conventional
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  Speaker 1: Zeppelin type control, with two rudders acting as a unit
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  Speaker 1: for horizontal control and two elevators acting likewise for vertical control.
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  Speaker 1: Emergency elevator and rudder control wheels were installed in the
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  Speaker 1: stern of the ship. An electrical gyroscopic device attached to
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  Speaker 1: the forward rudder wheel provided automatic steering outer cover. The
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  Speaker 1: outer cover consisted of cotton fabric on certain parts of
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  Speaker 1: the frame, on others linen, and depending on the stresses
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  Speaker 1: to which it was exposed. The exterior surface of such
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  Speaker 1: fabric was treated with several coats of salon and a
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  Speaker 1: mixture containing aluminium powder as protection against ultraviolet rays. The
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  Speaker 1: inner surface of the fabric on the upper part of
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  Speaker 1: the ship was coated with red paint. Gas cells in
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  Speaker 1: Each of the sixteen compartments of the ship was a
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  Speaker 1: gas cell containing the lifting gas hydrogen. The middle cells
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  Speaker 1: were separate, whereas the two Bow and the two Stern
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  Speaker 1: cells were intercommunicating. The gas cell material consisted of a
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  Speaker 1: film placed between two layers of fabric. Nettings were provided
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  Speaker 1: to prevent all sharp edges from damaging the gas cells.
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  Speaker 1: It was stated that the amount of gas leakage through
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  Speaker 1: this fabric approximated a maximum diffusion rate of about one
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  Speaker 1: liter per square meter per twenty four hours. Gas valves
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  Speaker 1: fourteen automatic and an equal number of manually operated or
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  Speaker 1: maneuvering valves were affixed to the cells. A single maneuvering
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  Speaker 1: valve was affixed to cells number one and two and
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  Speaker 1: cells fifteen and sixteen. Gas could be released from the
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  Speaker 1: cells by manual operation of the valve controls located in
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  Speaker 1: the control car and hooked up with the valves by
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  Speaker 1: a series of wires and pulleys. This was done under
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  Speaker 1: the supervision of the captain or the watch officer in charge.
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  Speaker 1: The automatic or emergency valves were provided to reduce the
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  Speaker 1: pressure of the gas in the cells under certain circumstances.
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  Speaker 1: The cells were numbered from stern to bow from one
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  Speaker 1: to sixteen. The maneuvering valves of cells number three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, thirteen,
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  Speaker 1: and fourteen were connected to a master wheel in the
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  Speaker 1: control car, which operated all of them as a unit,
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  Speaker 1: and there also were independent controls for the separate maneuvering
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  Speaker 1: valves so that the gas in them could be released
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  Speaker 1: as desired. Cell fullness or pressure indicator Electrically actuated gas
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  Speaker 1: fullness or pressure units were connected to the gas cells
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  Speaker 1: to indicate visually by sensitive meters in the control car,
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  Speaker 1: the pressure and hence the relative fullness of the gas
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  Speaker 1: in the cells. These units were located in the ship's
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  Speaker 1: axel corridor or walkway. The accuracy or sensitivity of this
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  Speaker 1: system was not definitely established. An appreciable amount of gas
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  Speaker 1: might have been able to escape before such escape would
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  Speaker 1: show on the visual indicator, unless that indicator was kept
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  Speaker 1: under close observation. According to witness Hugo Eckener, a cell
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  Speaker 1: could lose at least two hundred to three hundred cubic
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  Speaker 1: meters of gas before the indicator would show such a loss.
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  Speaker 1: Such an amount is only a very small proportion of
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  Speaker 1: a cell's content gas shafts. Between every two cells, a
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  Speaker 1: gas shaft was provided into which gas could be valved
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  Speaker 1: directly from the cells. The shafts extended vertically from the
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  Speaker 1: lower walkway through the axle walkway to the top of
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  Speaker 1: the ship for ventilation purposes. On the top, they came
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  Speaker 1: in contact with the outside air under the protection of
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  Speaker 1: specially designed gas hoods or ventilators. Propulsion. Four Diimler Benz
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  Speaker 1: diesel engines type F six, each having a maximum rating
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  Speaker 1: of one thousand, one hundred horse power, were used to
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  Speaker 1: propel the airship. They were contained in four outside engine
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  Speaker 1: cars or gondolas, and were suspended laterally on the ship's
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  Speaker 1: hull by struts. Engine room tells provided communications between the
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  Speaker 1: control room and the individual engine cars. The fuel used
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  Speaker 1: by the engines was a diesel oil propellers. The four
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  Speaker 1: bladed propellers attached to each engine were of wood and
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  Speaker 1: nineteen feet nine inches in diameter. The blades were armored
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  Speaker 1: with brass sheathing about one and a half inches in
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  Speaker 1: width on the leading edge from about the forty three
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  Speaker 1: inch radius to the tip of the blade. The sheathing
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  Speaker 1: was bonded to the ship's structure through the engine. Tests
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  Speaker 1: were made with the prototype of the propellers used on
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  Speaker 1: the ship. They were tested to loads fifty percent in
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  Speaker 1: excess of the thrust to which the propellers would be
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  Speaker 1: subjected a takeoff which was three times greater than the
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  Speaker 1: thrust which would be imposed at cruising speed. They also
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  Speaker 1: successfully withstood the block tests. They were limited to one thousand,
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  Speaker 1: four hundred revolutions per minute in forward rotation and one thousand,
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  Speaker 1: one hundred twenty revolutions per minute in reverse rotation. These
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  Speaker 1: revolutions were below the fluttering speeds of the blades. Electrical
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  Speaker 1: power plant and installations. The electrical power plant of the
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  Speaker 1: ship consisted of two fifty horse powered diesel driven generators
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  Speaker 1: with switchboard and distribution system. These generators were independent of
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  Speaker 1: the outside propelling engines. The electric generators and principal members
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  Speaker 1: of the system were located amidship on the port side
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  Speaker 1: of the keel. Current was generated for the purpose of lighting, cooking, radio,
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  Speaker 1: and steering. There were two circuits, one of two hundred
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  Speaker 1: and twenty volts, the other of twenty four volts. The
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  Speaker 1: ship's electric wiring was of copper and was installed in
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  Speaker 1: accordance with the rigid regulations governing the German mining societies.
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  Speaker 1: The lead to the stern light, which was on a
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty volt circuit, using a very heavy
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  Speaker 1: cable protected by a special fuse, extended from the electrical
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  Speaker 1: power plant along the lower walkway and thence to the light.
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  Speaker 1: No electric wiring extended above the equator except in the
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  Speaker 1: extreme nose of the ship ropes and cables. The main
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  Speaker 1: mooring steel cable was fixed to the tip or nose
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  Speaker 1: end of the ship. The port and starboard bow trail
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: ropes were attached to the ship at frame two hundred
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  Speaker 1: and forty four point five. These trail ropes were about
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  Speaker 1: four hundred and thirteen feet in length. It is understood
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  Speaker 1: that in landing the ship it was the practice to
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  Speaker 1: approach the ground mast from leeward and drop the wire
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  Speaker 1: cable and the two trail ropes. The main cable was
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  Speaker 1: then coupled to a mooring mast cable leading through the
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: top of the mast by means of a winch. The
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  Speaker 1: cable was then reeled in, pulling the mooring cone on
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  Speaker 1: the ship snow into the corresponding cup on top of
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  Speaker 1: the mast. The trail ropes were coupled to ground ropes
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  Speaker 1: and led out to the sides to keep the ship
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  Speaker 1: headed into the wind and towards the mast, and to
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  Speaker 1: prevent it from overriding the mast structure. In the stern.
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  Speaker 1: At frame forty seven, an after mooring cable was in
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  Speaker 1: practice led out through a metal fair lead. At frame
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  Speaker 1: sixty two, a port in starboard spider was let out
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  Speaker 1: at landing. Besides those enumerated, the ship was provided with
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  Speaker 1: other mooring or landing tackle for such use as circumstances warranted.
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  Speaker 1: Ballast arrangements. Water was generally used for ballant. The emergency
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: ballast was contained in fabric containers, four of which of
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  Speaker 1: five hundred kilograms of water were suspended in the bow,
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  Speaker 1: and an equal number in the stern. To the right
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  Speaker 1: and left of the lower walkway were suspended a number
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  Speaker 1: of other ballast tanks, some of two thousand, five hundred
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  Speaker 1: liters each and others of two thousand liters each. The
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: ballast tanks could be emptied partially or totally by the
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: elevator man by means of control wires connected to a
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: ballast stand in the control room. Several of the fuel
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  Speaker 1: tanks could also be used for ballast purposes. Radio equipment.
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  Speaker 1: The radio room was located above the after end of
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  Speaker 1: the control car. Its equipment provided for two way radio, telephone,
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  Speaker 1: and telegraph communications. It included a short wave and a
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: long wave transmitter, each with two hundred watt and ten capacity,
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  Speaker 1: two all wave receivers, and two direction finders. The frequency
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  Speaker 1: of the short wave transmitter was four thousand, one hundred
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  Speaker 1: sixty to seventeen thousand, five hundred kiloicycles. The frequency of
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: the long wave transmitter was one hundred twenty to five
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  Speaker 1: hundred kilocycles. The frequency range of the receivers was twelve
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: to twenty thousand kilo cycles. Power for the transmitters was
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: obtained from a two hundred and twenty volt direct current
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: supply generated by the ship's electric power plant. The receivers
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: obtained their high voltage from batteries, and power for their
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: filaments was obtained through a series resistor from the twenty
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: four volt ship's generator. For the short wave transmitter, there
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: was a trailing antenna of twenty six meters length. For
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: the long wave transmitter, a trailing antenna of about ninety
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: meters length was used. These trailing antennas were located directly
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: below the transmitters and ran through an aperture in the
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: keel of the ship. There was a fixed antenna extending
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: from the control car about fifteen meters towards the stern.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: The fixed antenna was used only for receiving purposes. In
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  Speaker 1: addition to this equipment, there was located in the bow
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  Speaker 1: an emergency transmitter and receiver, current for which was obtained
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: from a generator driven by pedal power. This emergency set
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  Speaker 1: employed a trailing antenna about twenty meters in length. Lifting gas,
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  Speaker 1: the ship was inflated with hydrogen. According to the evidence adduced,
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: this gas has the following characteristics. It is colorless, odorless,
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  Speaker 1: and tends to diffuse in all directions. The only way
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  Speaker 1: that hydrogen could be detected by smell would be due
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  Speaker 1: to the presence of impurities as a result of the
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  Speaker 1: process by which it was produced, or contamination from some
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: sol such as rubberized fabric. Hydrogen for lifting purposes has
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  Speaker 1: a density of approximately five pounds per thousand cubic feet,
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  Speaker 1: depending on the temperature and pressure. Its lifting power is
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: the difference between the density of air and its own density.
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  Speaker 1: The density of air is about seventy five pounds per
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  Speaker 1: thousand cubic feet. Assuming pure hydrogen, Its lifting power would
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  Speaker 1: therefore be about seventy pounds per thousand cubic feet. An
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: opinion was advanced that the general order of pressure of
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: the gas within the cells of the ship was somewhere
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  Speaker 1: between half an inch and one inch of water pressure.
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  Speaker 1: It was stated that the density of hydrogen core responds
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  Speaker 1: to air at a temperature of five thousand degrees fahrenheit,
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  Speaker 1: and that the chimney effect of its escape through the
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: gas shafts of the ship was so very great that
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  Speaker 1: there was no possibility of its moving down the shafts
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  Speaker 1: into the lower parts of the ship. The flammable limits
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: of a mixture of hydrogen and air are probably between
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: four point five percent and sixty two percent of hydrogen.
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: Other experiments have shown variances from eight through nine point
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: eight percent to sixty six percent. The temperature at which
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: chemical activity between hydrogen and oxygen takes place is between
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: five hundred and seven degrees to five hundred and fifty
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: seven degrees centigrade. This temperature range is dependent upon the
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: amount of hydrogen present. The range of activity of combustion
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: will be from the lower limit of four point five percent,
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: at which there will probably be an invisible union without
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: evidence of flame. A combustible mixture would be more hazardous
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: in an atmospheric condition of ninety eight percent relative humidity
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: and temperature sixty degrees fahrenheit than in dry air with
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: relatively low humidity, since dry hydro oxygen is more difficult
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: to ignite and its ignition temperature is higher. In an explosion,
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: the flame propagates in all directions in the combustible range
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: between fifteen to forty five percent of hydrogen. These figures
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: were arrived at experimentally with glass metallic apparatus, which did
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: not have effect upon the combustion temperature. Catalytic metals having
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: absorption properties would be likely to affect the combustion at
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: lower temperatures. Finished duralumin would not be expected to have
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: material catalytic effect upon hydrogen bonding. The whole metallic structure
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: of the craft was bonded and of Part two Part
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: three of the Report of the Airship Hindenburg Accident investigation
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: by the United States Department of Commerce. This is a
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox records are in the public domain.
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: Part three, the landing maneuver meteorological conditions. With respect to
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: the meteorological conditions in which the landing was conducted, a
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: summary of the general weather is given, as well as
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: the local conditions prevailing at Lakehurst at the time of
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: the accident. General the seven thirty a m. Eastern Standard
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: time United States Weather Bureau map of the vicinity, including
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: the northeastern tier of States, shows a disturbance over central
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: New York and northeastern Pennsylvania, with a cold front extending
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: from this center southwestward to west Virginia. This front separate
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: neutralized polar air to the east of the cold front,
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: which had become warmer and more moist, and neutralized colder
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: air to the west of the front. The warmer and
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: more moist massive air covered the Middle Atlantic States, southeastern
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: New York, and southern New England. The cold front advanced
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: eastward during the day from central Pennsylvania at a rate
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: of twelve to fifteen miles per hour, passing Lakehurst shortly
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: after three thirty PM. There was not quite sufficient surface
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: heating during the early afternoon to set off a thunderstorm
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: at Lakehurst, and it was not until the front passed
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: and some slight lifting of the air mass occurred that
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: a thunderstorm began. The records of the Naval Air Station
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: show that the thunderstorm began at three forty PM and
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: ended at four forty five pm. Telegraphic reports indicate the
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: thunderstorms in and to the west of New Jersey were
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: not severe, nor were they of a well defined squall character.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: Between twelve pm and one thirty pm Eastern Standard Time,
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: these storms extended in a definite belt over the region
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, northeastward to Bear Mountain, New York, and
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: New Hackensack, New York. Between one thirty and two forty PM,
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: none was reported. Between two forty and three forty pm,
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: Camden and Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, only reported thunderstorms. Between
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: three thirty and four thirty pm, Lakehurst, Mitchellfield, New York,
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: and Floyd Bennett Field, New York reported them. Between four
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: forty and five forty PM, none was reported, and between
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: five forty and six forty PM Floyd Bennett only reported one. Summarized,
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: the thunderstorms in eastern New Jersey were of a local
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: character and not severe. The New York Weather Bureau Office
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: bulletin issued at one twenty pm May sixth.
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: Follows eighteen hundred gct. Moderate wind shift with increasing and
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: lowering clouds. Possible thunder shallows New York and Vicinity expected
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: in middle or late afternoon stop New York. Scattered cumulus
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: and small cumulonimbus approaching from west. Visibility excellent surface wind
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: south twelve miles, barometer twenty nine point sixty eight, falling steadily,
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: temperature sixty six.
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: Local. With the passage of the front at Lakehurst, the
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: wind shifted to the northwest with gusts up to twenty
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: knots and was accompanied by slight increase in barometric pressure,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: decrease in temperature, heavy showers and several thunder showers. Then
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: there followed a rapid decrease in the velocity of the
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: wind and its direction became variable. The wind at Lakehurst
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: at six ten PM went into the southeast and remained
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: there for about forty five minutes, shifting again, and then
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: it became mostly southerly. The front, after passing about three
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: thirty pm est apparently slowed down to a rate of
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: approximately seven miles an hour and was in the vicinity
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: of Atlantic City, New Jersey at eight pm, its direction
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: being north northeast through southwest, clearing rapidly after eight PM.
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: During the afternoon, cumulonimbus and cumulus clouds developed locally, and
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: with the approach of the front there appeared a well
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: defined mild squall line in the west, which moved slowly
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: over Lakehurst and apparently became stationary between it and the
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: shoreline until about five thirty PM, when it continued eastward.
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: Several heavy showers occurred between five and six p m
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: with accompanying thunder Visibility was reduced during these showers. At
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: five twelve p m, the thunder storm then over the
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: field was moving north and it was believed that by
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: the time the ship arrived at the station, the storm
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: would have moved away from the station. The ship at
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: this time was out of sight because of low visibility,
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: and the ceiling in the direction from which it was
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: expected to approach was not more than five to six
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: hundred feet. Conditions at the time of approach were ceiling
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: between two thousand to three thousand feet. Clouds point seven stratus,
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: very light rainfall. Sky showed signs of clearing to the westward.
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: Barometric pressure twenty nine point seven two, temperature sixty degrees fahrenheit,
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: relative humidity ninety eight, surface wind light variable and shifting,
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: and at the precise moment of the beginning of the
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: landing was about southeast one knot. It was expected that
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: the surface wind direction would go into the west or
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: perhaps the northwest. Reports from Trenton and Camden, New Jersey
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: indicated that the wind was westerly and that at Camden
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: was about eighteen knots. Just previous to the landing of
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: the ship, wind at the top of the weather tower
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: on the field was west six knots. The approach level
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: of the ship was about two hundred feet above the ground.
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: The top of the tower is one hundred and eighty
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: six feet above sea level. Ground elevation at place of
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: landing was about ninety feet above sea level. The inversion
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: condition was sixty degrees at the lower level, fifty nine
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: at the second and fifty seven at the third level,
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: being temperature readings at various levels from the top to
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: the bottom of the weather tower. As the ship was
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: approaching the landing area, occasional lightning was visible from the
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: distant south and southwest, but none was observed over the
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: field at this time. When the headway of the ship
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: was stopped, a pronounced. Shift of wind was felt on
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: top of the mooring mast from southerly to southeast or
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: south southeast. This wind was colder than the previous wind
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: had been. Communications radio regular reports from the ship were
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: received as scheduled at the Naval Air Station Lakehurst. At
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: one stage in the latter part of the flight, the
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: static was bad, but it did not prevent communications between
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: the ship and ground stations. Shortly before arrival at Lakehurst,
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: direct communication was maintained by the ship with the Naval
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: Air station. At one fifty five pm Eastern Standard time,
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: the station received a message from the commander of the
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: ship stating that he would depart from Lakehurst as soon
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: as possible after arrival. At four forty two PM, the
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: commander of the station radioed the ship conditions still unsettled,
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: recommended delay landing until further word from station. Advise your decision.
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: At four point fifty two PM, the commander of the
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: ship replied, we.
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: Will wait till you report that landing conditions are better.
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: At five twelve PM, the commander of the station advised
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: the ship conditions now considered suitable for landing. Ground crew
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: is ready. Period thunderstorms over station ceiling two thousand feet,
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: visibility five miles to westward, surface temperature sixty surface wind
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: west southwest eight knots, gusts to twenty knots, surface pressure
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: twenty nine point sixty eight. At five twenty two pm,
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: station commander radioed ship recommend landing now. At six pm,
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: station transmitted to ship overcast, moderate rain, diminishing lightning in west,
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: ceiling two two thousand feet, improving visibility, surface wind west
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: southwest four knots, gusts under ten knots, surface temperature sixty one,
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: pressure twenty nine seventy. At six oh eight pm, station
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: commander sent last message, conditions definitely improved. Recommend earliest possible landing.
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: This was acknowledged by the ship. Prior to the accident,
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: all of the ship's trailing in Tennis had been reeled in,
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: no high frequency transmissions were being conducted when the trail
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: ropes were dropped from the ship. Both transmitters were turned
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: to the off position at that time and remained so thereafter.
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: The radio dynamotors had also been shut off. The last
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: message transmitted over the ship's radio was shortly after the
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: landing signal had been sounded, about fifteen minutes before the fire.
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: It was sent on the long wave transmitter to Lakehurst
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: at six to ten pm Eastern Standard time. During the landing,
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: watch was kept on the long wave receiver. No landing
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: report was transmitted from the ship to Germany while it
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: was over the field at Lakehurst. One of the ship's
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: radio men stated that atmospheric disturbances had been encountered during
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: the afternoon of May sixth, but that such conditions improved
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: toward evening and continued to improve during the last thirty
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: minutes of the flight. No difficulty was experienced during that
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: period in sending or receiving either on the short or
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: long wave transmitters or receivers. Witness Herbert Dova, ship radio
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: operator stated that he was on watch and actually listening
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: to the radio until the fire started, and that he
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: did not notice any interference which could have been caused
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: by improper bonding or shielding, and that he did not
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: receive any interference such as might have been transmitted by
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: local station. There was no oral communication between persons in
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: the ship and on the ground during the maneuver. The
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: sequence of actions in bringing the ship up to the
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: landing point is in part revealed pictorially by the track
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: of the ship over Lakehurst drawn on a map of
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: the Naval air station, with notes on the maneuver by
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: witness H. W. Bauer, among other data. The map provides
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: information respecting successive altitudes, speed, operation of engines, release of ballast,
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: and valving of gas operation of engines. About ten minutes
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: before dropping the bow trail ropes, the engines were running
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: full cruising speed ahead, the ship's speed about thirty three
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: meters per second or approximately seventy three miles per hour.
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: The altitude of the ship, according to its altimeter, was
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: then about one hundred and eighty meters or five hundred
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: and ninety feet. About eight to nine minutes prior to
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: the release of the ropes, all engines were idled ahead
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: altitude one hundred and fifty meters four hundred and ninety
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: two feet, ship speed falling off to fifteen meters per
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: second approximately thirty three miles per hour, then in fairly
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: rapid order. The after engines were idle to stern and
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: then put full of stern to reduce the speed to
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: twelve to thirteen meters per second approximately twenty seven miles
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: per hour, after which all engines were idle to stern.
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: Altitude at this time time was one hundred and twenty
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: meters or three hundred and ninety three feet. About two
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: minutes prior to dropping of the bow trail ropes, all
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: engines were put full astern for a period of about
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: one minute to stop the ship, after which the forward
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: engines were idled ahead and the after engines were idled astern.
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: When the trail ropes had been dropped, the forward engines
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: were given a short burst ahead, then idled ahead release
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: of ballast. Starting at a point about three quarters of
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: a mile from the landing point, three hundred kilograms or
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: six hundred and sixty one pounds of water ballast was
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: dropped from ballast bag at frame seventy seven, then in
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: rapid order from the same frame at about intervals of
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: one thousand feet. Ballast was dropped twice again, the second
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: time three hundred kilograms six hundred and sixty one pounds,
• 52:23
  Speaker 1: the third five hundred kilograms were one thousand, one hundred pounds.
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: This release of eleven hundred kilograms two thousand, four hundred
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: and twenty pounds of water ballast took place within a
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: period of two to three minutes before the trail ropes
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: were dropped valving of gas. According to witness H. W.
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: Bauer's sketch, gas was valved on the wheel for fifteen seconds,
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: approximately ten minutes before dropping the bow trail ropes, a
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: ship proceeding at full cruising speed about eight minutes prior
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: to dropping of ropes. Gas in cells eleven to sixteen
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: first five forward cells was valved for fifteen seconds. Ship
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: then proceeding at fifteen meters per second or approximately thirty
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: five miles per hour, approximately four to six minutes before
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: dropping the ropes. Gas in cells eleven to sixteen was
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: again valved for fifteen seconds. Speed of the ship twelve
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: to thirteen meters per second approximately twenty seven miles per hour,
• 53:59
  Speaker 1: about two minutes prior to dropping of ropes. Gas and
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: sells eleven to sixteen was valved for five seconds crew
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: as ballast. According to the elevator man who had taken
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: over the elevator helm in the landing approach, the ship
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: was still slightly tail heavy after dropping water and valving gas. Consequently,
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: six men of the crew were sent forward to the
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: bow in order to equalize the weights. He was unable
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: to account for the tail heaviness of the ship. After
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: the ballast had been dropped tail heaviness, the ship was
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: weighed off to the west of the field and was
• 54:58
  Speaker 1: found a little light. There followed the trimming operations that
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: have been described in the preceding paragraphs. There is evidence
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: to show that the tail of the ship was heavy
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: during the maneuver. Witness Albert Zampt, second in command of
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: the ship, accounted for this condition by saying that it
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: was due to the consumption of fuel that it gave
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: him no concern because it was very little. There was
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: diversity of opinion advanced regarding this condition of the ship.
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: Witnesses H. W. Bauer and C. E. Rosendahl considered it
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: to be normal. The latter stated that the ship's tail
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: heaviness had been logically accounted for under the circumstances in
• 55:58
  Speaker 1: which it landed in law right wind with little air
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: flow on the tail surfaces and consequently little aerodynamic lift.
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: One hundred and twenty pounds midway from the tail of
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: the ship would be felt by the elevator man and
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: be noticed by those in the control car who were
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: watching the klnometer for that very thing. That the condition
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: did not exist from the time of the dropping of
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: the bow trail ropes. During the four minutes intervening before
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: the fire broke out, to other witnesses, the ship appeared
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: heavy in the stern, Among them witnessed Benjamin May, in
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: charge on top of the mooring mast, and W. A. Buckley,
• 56:45
  Speaker 1: assistant mooring officer. Witness HUGO. Eckener indicated, according to his information,
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: that while the ship may have remained in satisfactory trim
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: from the the trail ropes were dropped until it burned,
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: such interval was a short period of time. He did
• 57:09
  Speaker 1: not think that a hydrogen leak would have been so
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: large that in such a relatively short time it could
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: have been noticed. He mentions the testimony of witness H. W.
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: Bauer relating to the trimming operations, in which a very
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: short time before the accident, six men had been ordered forward.
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: From this, he infers that shortly before the ship reached
• 57:40
  Speaker 1: the landing position, it was necessary to trim the ship
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: by putting weight forward, and that the elevator man could
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: hardly have noticed anything during this interval because the ship
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: had no more forward speed. He further stated that careful
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: calculations showed that the trimming moment affected by these operations
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: amounted to at least seventy thousand to eighty thousand meter
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: kilograms or five hundred and six thousand, three hundred ninety
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: one to five hundred and seventy eight thousand, nine hundred
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: and thirty three foot pounds of trimming effect. When this
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: effect is compared with a trimming moment that could be
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: obtained aerodynamically at full cruising speed by the use of
• 58:36
  Speaker 1: the elevator controls in the order of one hundred and
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: fifty thousand to two hundred thousand meter kilograms or one million,
• 58:47
  Speaker 1: eighty five thousand, one hundred twenty four to one million,
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: four hundred and forty six thousand, eight hundred and twenty
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: foot pounds, then it became clear to him that the
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: ship was very badly out of trim. Witness Eckener also
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: testified that witnesses in the control car had reported that
• 59:13
  Speaker 1: the out of trim condition originated approximately one half hour
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: before the landing maneuver, after going through the rain clouds,
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: that the ship became tail heavy by running through heavy
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: rain because the weight of the rain is greater in
• 59:32
  Speaker 1: its effect on the horizontal fins, which are behind the
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: center of gravity. There is also another apparent effect of
• 59:42
  Speaker 1: rain upon the ship. That is, the tail would seem
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: to be heavy to the elevator man while the ship
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: was running through rain, because it automatically has a tendency
• 59:56
  Speaker 1: to nose up since the center of aerodynamic p pressure
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 1: moves aft. This effect, however, disappears very rapidly after passing
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: through rain, and in the present instance, must have disappeared
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: quickly because the ship as a whole was light. The
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: ship ten minutes after passing through heavy rain clouds should
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: have again been in good trim. In the opinion of
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 1: witness Eckener. However, it appeared so tail heavy that it
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: became necessary to apply a trimming effect of some seventy
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: thousand meter kilograms or five hundred and six thousand, three
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: hundred and ninety one foot pounds. Furthermore, he indicated that
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: if the ship had been as tail heavy before it
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: proceeded through the rain clouds, it would not have been
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: operated without the release of ballast, as no testimony was
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 1: given that the ballast had been dropped before the ship
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: moved into the rain clouds. Witness Echiner believed that some
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: unusual condition in the ship might have developed prior to
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: the ship's landing. With regard to the amount of rain
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: that the ship had been exposed to during the landing maneuver,
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: there appears to be some difference of opinion. Witness Zumped
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 1: stated that there was a little rain as the ship
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: crossed the field at the beginning of the maneuver, not
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 1: heavy enough to weigh the ship down as much as
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 1: five hundred kilograms or one thousand, one hundred pounds. That
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 1: was the only rain experienced during the last two hours
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: of the flight because they had avoided the rain carried
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 1: in the weather front. As the ship took a final
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 1: bearing on the field, it made a wide turn into
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 1: quiet weather. Returning to the field in this condition, According
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 1: to him, the front had passed and the weather was
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 1: favorable for landing. The sky was overcast, but without disturbances
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 1: or squalls. Witness Nelson Morris, a passenger, stated that a
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 1: very light rain fell exactly as this ship came over
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: the field of the last time, but until that time
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: there had been no rain. Witness Anton Vittemann, who had
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: commanded the airship graf Zeppeline, stated that when the Hindenburg
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: approached for its landing maneuver, and as it passed through
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 1: the front, the weather conditions as seen from the ship
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 1: were entirely favorable. The thunderstorm had passed into ordinary rain.
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 1: The ship entered somewhat heavy rain, which became much lighter
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 1: when closing in on the station. At the approach, there
• 1:03:15
  Speaker 1: were no cumulus clouds. There was a clear cut stratus
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: layer from which light rain was falling. Witness H. W. Bauer,
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: second watch officer of the ship, said that about twenty
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: minutes before the landing approach, the ship passed through a
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 1: heavy rain and through stratus clouds containing rain before making
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 1: the approach. It did not pass near any lightning altitudes
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: at landing. When the ship was brought to a stop
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: over the landing point, its altitude was about one hundred
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: and eighty feet above the ground. It rose to about
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: two hundred feet when the bow port landing ropes checked
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 1: its further upward rise. Thereafter, it descended to about one
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five to one hundred and fifty feet
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: when the accident happened. Electric installations, according to witness Philip Lentz,
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 1: chief electrician of the ship, no fuses blue, nor did
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: any circuit breakers operate. Just prior to the fire, the
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 1: several circuits of the ship were intact. The interior ship
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 1: lights and navigation lights were burning as usual. Rudder. Two
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: witnesses testified that the top and bottom rudder did not
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 1: appear to be working in unison when the ship came
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 1: over the field. From other testimony, it appears that the
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 1: rudders were functioning normally. End of Part three, Part four
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 1: of the Report of the Airship Hindenburg Accident Investigation by
• 1:05:23
  Speaker 1: the United States Department of Commerce. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. Part four
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: the fire ground log. It was the practice at the
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: Naval Air Station to maintain a log of events in
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: connection with the landing of the Hindenburg. The log of
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 1: its last landing reveals that the first approach of the
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: ship in landing maneuver was cited at six point fifteen
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 1: pm Eastern Standard time, May sixth, approximately over the officer's
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 1: quarters on the station. At six twenty one pm, the
• 1:06:12
  Speaker 1: bow trail ropes were dropped on a bearing of thirty
• 1:06:15
  Speaker 1: degrees from the mooring mast. First the starboard rope, followed
• 1:06:20
  Speaker 1: immediately by the port rope. Ship was first observed a
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 1: fire at six twenty five pm. Description of landing. The
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 1: landing made on this occasion has been described as a
• 1:06:38
  Speaker 1: high landing or flying mooring, a method of landing which
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 1: is occasionally employed. Some qualified witnesses stated that it was
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 1: normally conducted in every respect. Among these were witnesses Rosendahl
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 1: and A. F. Heinen indicated that the approach seemed hurried,
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 1: that the ship made what seemed to be a fairly
• 1:07:07
  Speaker 1: short turn and approached the mooring circle fairly rapidly. Based
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 1: on the statements of other witnesses, witness Eckener expressed the
• 1:07:19
  Speaker 1: view that the ship must have proceeded in a sharp
• 1:07:23
  Speaker 1: turn to approach for its landing. Witness Zomped said the
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 1: turns were normal incidents before the fire. Before the fire
• 1:07:39
  Speaker 1: broke out, the ship was being held by the bow
• 1:07:42
  Speaker 1: port trail rope, which had been coupled to the port
• 1:07:46
  Speaker 1: yawl line, and a strain had been taken on this
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: rope around the niggerhead of the ground winch. The bow
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: starboard trail rope had not been coupled to the ground line,
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: but was being handled by the starboard bow landing party.
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: At no time during the approach did the ship come
• 1:08:06
  Speaker 1: closer to the mooring mast than seven hundred feet. The
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 1: main bow cable of the ship at this time had
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 1: been let out about fifty feet, but neither it nor
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 1: any of the cables or ropes in the stern had
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 1: reached the ground before the fire started. After the trail
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 1: ropes in the bow had been dropped, the ship no
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 1: longer had any forward speed. It began to move up
• 1:08:36
  Speaker 1: and a stern, and also to swing slowly to starboard.
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 1: Then a light gust was felt from port fluttering of
• 1:08:51
  Speaker 1: outer cover. Witness R. H. Ward, in charge of the
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 1: port bow landing party, a couple of seconds before the fire,
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 1: had his attention attracted by a noticeable fluttering of the
• 1:09:07
  Speaker 1: outer cover on the top port side between frames sixty
• 1:09:12
  Speaker 1: two and seventy seven, which includes cell number five. No
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: smoke or other disturbance accompanied the flutter when he first
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 1: saw it. It was a wave motion. In his opinion,
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 1: the motion of the surface was not due to the
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 1: slipstream or resonance effect of the propeller. It was entirely
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 1: too high from the propeller. It appeared to him to
• 1:09:45
  Speaker 1: be more like an action of gas inside pushing up
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 1: as if gas was escaping. He apparently had seen this
• 1:09:56
  Speaker 1: action occur in other aircraft. The ship had no perceptible
• 1:10:02
  Speaker 1: forward motion the time he observed the flutter. Its engines
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: were idling in forward rotation. The fabric did not open
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 1: up when he first made the observation. The flutter was
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 1: followed by a ball of flame approximately ten feet or
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 1: so in diameter. Then came an explosion on a diagram.
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 1: This witness indicated that the first appearance of fire was
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 1: near the top of the ship and above the point
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 1: where he saw the flutter. With respect to this testimony,
• 1:10:45
  Speaker 1: witness Eckner said that a leak in a gas cell
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 1: permitting the escape of forty to fifty cubic meters of
• 1:10:53
  Speaker 1: gas per second would be sufficient to cause a flutter
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 1: in the outer cover, which could be observed as reported,
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: but probably would not be enough to draw the attention
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: of those in the control car to a loss of buoyancy.
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: AFT witness R. W Antrim, who was on top of
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: the mooring mast, also stated that he saw that the
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 1: fabric behind the after port engine was very loose and fluttering.
• 1:11:26
  Speaker 1: It extended rearward and upward from the after port engine
• 1:11:32
  Speaker 1: to a quarter of the way to the tail strain
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 1: on the port trail rope. The drift of the ship
• 1:11:45
  Speaker 1: to starboard, according to the mooring officer witness Tyler, was
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: finally checked by means of the port trail rope. This
• 1:11:55
  Speaker 1: rope was hauled up taut on the winch. The starboard
• 1:12:01
  Speaker 1: trail rope was being handled by the man power of
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 1: the starboard bow party. Witness Albert Stuffler, one of the
• 1:12:10
  Speaker 1: ship's cooks, who was looking down from a window in
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: the ship, stated that he saw how.
• 1:12:17
  Speaker 2: The landing cow came running up, and how they loosened
• 1:12:21
  Speaker 2: the knot of that hope and fastened it to the
• 1:12:24
  Speaker 2: lower lines on the count. Then I saw househopes took attention,
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 2: and at the moment I felt a very strong detonation
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 2: of the ship, vibration of the ship.
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: I did not notice any explosion.
• 1:12:42
  Speaker 2: I only noticed that vibration I was speaking about before.
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 1: He thought the ship was striking the mooring mast. Witness H. W.
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 1: Bower stated that after the landing rope had been fastened,
• 1:12:59
  Speaker 1: he went from his position to the port window and
• 1:13:02
  Speaker 1: the control car and observed the tensioning of the landing ropes.
• 1:13:08
  Speaker 1: At the time of that observation, there was a strong
• 1:13:12
  Speaker 1: shock in the control car and his first assumption was
• 1:13:16
  Speaker 1: that the landing rope had broken. Witness Max Zebel, ship's
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 1: third officer, stated that he observed the bow trail ropes
• 1:13:26
  Speaker 1: being dropped that the port trail rope became rather tight.
• 1:13:32
  Speaker 1: He saw the ends of the rope, which were tied together,
• 1:13:36
  Speaker 1: whirl around and tighten. Immediately after this landing rope had
• 1:13:42
  Speaker 1: become tight, an explosion was heard and the destruction of
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: the ship occurred. He described the vibration that was felt
• 1:13:51
  Speaker 1: in the control car as an extraordinary one. Witness Dova,
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 1: ship's radio man, testified that while watching one of the
• 1:14:02
  Speaker 1: landing ropes being handled by the ground crew, there suddenly
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: was some tearing in the ship, a metallic tearing, a
• 1:14:12
  Speaker 1: passenger reported, and then as the rope was getting taught,
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: I heard a detonation sensations within the ship. In describing
• 1:14:28
  Speaker 1: their nervous reactions at the beginning of the accident, some
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 1: of the persons within the ship, in addition to such
• 1:14:36
  Speaker 1: descriptions as are provided in the preceding paragraph, spoke in
• 1:14:41
  Speaker 1: effect as follows Witness Sevareen climb. When the ship was
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 1: almost standing still, it gave a sudden jolt. Witness Xavier Meyer.
• 1:14:59
  Speaker 1: First he heard nation, then he noticed the vibration the
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: shock and fell on his back. Witness Heinrich Kubis first
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 1: heard or felt an explosion approximately at the time that
• 1:15:16
  Speaker 1: the ship took a sharp inclination. Witness Lents. The sound
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 1: that he heard he thought might have been a landing
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 1: rope breaking. Witness Klaus hinklebein the jerk and the sound
• 1:15:35
  Speaker 1: of the detonation and the sight of the fire or
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 1: the reflection of the fire were all simultaneous. Witness Kurt
• 1:15:46
  Speaker 1: Bower noticed a crackling shock which originated in the rear.
• 1:15:54
  Speaker 1: Witness Vitamin. When he heard dull detonation thud, his first
• 1:16:03
  Speaker 1: idea was that a rope had parted. Witness Walter Ziegler
• 1:16:13
  Speaker 1: saw how the port landing rope was hauled tight. Shortly thereafter,
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: he heard a dull thud or detonation, and a heavy
• 1:16:24
  Speaker 1: shock went through the ship. Witness Kurt Schunheer it was
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 1: a strong shock he sensed after hearing a rather dull detonation.
• 1:16:39
  Speaker 1: Witness Zompt his first intimation that something was out of order.
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 1: Was a heavy push, about the same shock as if
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: the ship had been pushed to the side and the
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 1: landing rope had broken. Neither prior, too nor or after
• 1:17:00
  Speaker 1: the push did he hear a muffled explosion. He did
• 1:17:06
  Speaker 1: not associate the push with anything that might have occurred
• 1:17:10
  Speaker 1: in the after part of the ship appearance of fire.
• 1:17:20
  Speaker 1: Numerous expert and lay witnesses on the field testified as
• 1:17:24
  Speaker 1: to where they first observed the fire on the ship,
• 1:17:28
  Speaker 1: and there was great diversity in this testimony for reasons
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 1: that are very apparent. Among the most important of these
• 1:17:37
  Speaker 1: reasons were the extreme rapidity with which the fire spread,
• 1:17:42
  Speaker 1: the different positions of the witnesses with respect to the ship,
• 1:17:48
  Speaker 1: the size of the ship more than one sixth of
• 1:17:51
  Speaker 1: a mile in length and an overall height equivalent to
• 1:17:55
  Speaker 1: a twelve story building, and the fact that at the
• 1:17:59
  Speaker 1: time time of the fire it was still daylight. It
• 1:18:05
  Speaker 1: is estimated that the interval between the first glimpse of
• 1:18:10
  Speaker 1: flame and the impact of the main body of the
• 1:18:12
  Speaker 1: ship with the ground was thirty two seconds. The great
• 1:18:18
  Speaker 1: majority of the ground witnesses who testified as to the
• 1:18:22
  Speaker 1: first appearance of fire were looking at the port side
• 1:18:26
  Speaker 1: of the ship. After carefully weighing the oral evidence and
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 1: transcribing to a master diagram the numerous diagrams on which
• 1:18:37
  Speaker 1: the ground witnesses indicated their first observation of fire, we
• 1:18:42
  Speaker 1: conclude that the first open flame produced by the burning
• 1:18:48
  Speaker 1: of the ship's hydrogen appeared on the top of the ship,
• 1:18:53
  Speaker 1: forward of the entering edge of the vertical fin over
• 1:18:57
  Speaker 1: cells four and five. The first open flame that was
• 1:19:03
  Speaker 1: seen at that place was followed, after a very brief interval,
• 1:19:08
  Speaker 1: by a burst of flaming hydrogen between the equator and
• 1:19:13
  Speaker 1: the top of the ship. The fire spread in all directions,
• 1:19:20
  Speaker 1: moving progressively forward at high velocity, with a succession of
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 1: mild explosions. As the stern quarter became enveloped, the ship
• 1:19:33
  Speaker 1: lost buoyancy and cracked at about one quarter of the
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: distance from the rear end. The forward part assumed a
• 1:19:42
  Speaker 1: bow up attitude, the rear appearing to remain level. At
• 1:19:49
  Speaker 1: the same time, the ship was settling to the ground
• 1:19:52
  Speaker 1: at a moderate rate of descent. Whereas there was a
• 1:19:57
  Speaker 1: definite detonation after after flame was first observed on the ship,
• 1:20:03
  Speaker 1: we believe that the phenomenon was initially a rapid burning
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: or combustion, not an explosion. From the observations made, it
• 1:20:17
  Speaker 1: appears that there was a quantity of free hydrogen present
• 1:20:22
  Speaker 1: in the after part of the ship when the fire originated.
• 1:20:29
  Speaker 1: A brief resume of the observations made within the stern
• 1:20:33
  Speaker 1: of the ship shows that witness Helmet Loy, who was
• 1:20:38
  Speaker 1: standing on the ladder leading up to the lower catwalk
• 1:20:42
  Speaker 1: from the lower vertical fin and was looking up facing
• 1:20:45
  Speaker 1: the port side of the fin, heard above him a
• 1:20:49
  Speaker 1: muffled detonation and saw from the starboard side down inside
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 1: the gas cell a bright reflection on the front bulkhead
• 1:21:01
  Speaker 1: of cell number four. He saw no fire at first,
• 1:21:08
  Speaker 1: but a bright reflection through the inside of the cell.
• 1:21:13
  Speaker 1: The cell suddenly disappeared because of the heat. Then cells
• 1:21:17
  Speaker 1: three and five caught fire. This witness said he did
• 1:21:23
  Speaker 1: not see the center of the origin of the fire,
• 1:21:26
  Speaker 1: but it must have been further up since he saw
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 1: the reflection of fire through the cell wall material. It
• 1:21:35
  Speaker 1: was the same type of explosion that one hears when
• 1:21:39
  Speaker 1: using a kitchen gas range when first lighting the flame
• 1:21:43
  Speaker 1: or turning it off. Witness Loi did not smell any
• 1:21:48
  Speaker 1: hydrogen at the time he made these observations. Witness Hans
• 1:21:55
  Speaker 1: found was letting out the after mourning cable that framed
• 1:21:59
  Speaker 1: forty six and had let out a few meters of
• 1:22:02
  Speaker 1: it when he heard a muffled detonation. Fire was simultaneous
• 1:22:09
  Speaker 1: with the explosion. He was surrounded by fire immediately. Witness
• 1:22:16
  Speaker 1: Rudolph Zoeuta, who was stationed in the keel of the
• 1:22:20
  Speaker 1: lower vertical fin first heard a dull detonation, then saw
• 1:22:26
  Speaker 1: fire in cell number four, a big fire which he
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 1: identified as a hydrogen fire. None of these witnesses in
• 1:22:37
  Speaker 1: the stern of the ship felt any unusual vibration or
• 1:22:42
  Speaker 1: heard any breaking of structures prior to the detonation or
• 1:22:48
  Speaker 1: the sight of fire or reflection of fire. None of
• 1:22:53
  Speaker 1: the other members of the crew or passengers on board
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 1: the ship observed fire or reflect action of fire until
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 1: after feeling an unusual vibration or shock or hearing the
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 1: detonation and of Part four the Report of the Airship
• 1:23:20
  Speaker 1: Hindenburg Accident Investigation by the United States Department of Commerce.
• 1:23:26
  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
• 1:23:30
  Speaker 1: the public domain. Part five. The combustible mixture and its ignition,
• 1:23:40
  Speaker 1: having retraced the course of events and circumstances surrounding the accident,
• 1:23:45
  Speaker 1: we come to the question why did the fire occur?
• 1:23:50
  Speaker 1: As Yet, with a few exceptions to be noted, no
• 1:23:54
  Speaker 1: more has been provided than a hypothetical approach to the answer.
• 1:24:00
  Speaker 1: Aid the several theories that have been advanced sabotage, the
• 1:24:08
  Speaker 1: possibility that the cause is to be explained by premeditated
• 1:24:12
  Speaker 1: or wilful act, has received active attention. Sabotage has been
• 1:24:18
  Speaker 1: examined under two classifications, the first external, including the use
• 1:24:25
  Speaker 1: of incendiary bullet, high powered electric ray, and the dropping
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 1: of an igniting composition upon the ship from an aeroplane.
• 1:24:35
  Speaker 1: The second classification internal, including the placing within the ship
• 1:24:42
  Speaker 1: of a bomb or other infernal device. To date, there
• 1:24:48
  Speaker 1: is no evidence to indicate that sabotage produced the grim
• 1:24:52
  Speaker 1: result accidental causes. In a consideration of accidental causes, two
• 1:25:04
  Speaker 1: factors must be found together. There must be present a
• 1:25:11
  Speaker 1: combustible mixture of hydrogen and oxygen of the air, and
• 1:25:16
  Speaker 1: b sufficient heat to ignite such mixture. In the analysis
• 1:25:23
  Speaker 1: of the evidence, the mixture and its ignition are treated separately.
• 1:25:32
  Speaker 1: Presence of combustible mixture of hydrogen and air accumulation through
• 1:25:39
  Speaker 1: diffusion or osmosis. While it is conceded that the fabric
• 1:25:47
  Speaker 1: of which the cells were made is slightly permeable to
• 1:25:50
  Speaker 1: the diffusion of the contained hydrogen, it is not our
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 1: opinion that this characteristic of the cell walls under the
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: circumstances veiling, would account for a combustible accumulation of gas
• 1:26:04
  Speaker 1: and air within the ship, the normal rate of seepage
• 1:26:09
  Speaker 1: being as was indicated under description of the cells, about
• 1:26:13
  Speaker 1: one leter per square meter per twenty four hours. Failure
• 1:26:21
  Speaker 1: of valve mechanism. According to the testimony, only one valve
• 1:26:28
  Speaker 1: failure had occurred on the ship. This happened when the
• 1:26:31
  Speaker 1: ship was new. As a consequence, certain changes had been
• 1:26:37
  Speaker 1: made in the construction of the mechanism. In any event,
• 1:26:41
  Speaker 1: the failure noted occurred to an automatic or pressure relief valve,
• 1:26:47
  Speaker 1: which would not have been functioning at the time of
• 1:26:50
  Speaker 1: this accident. However, because the valves were mechanical devices, it
• 1:26:56
  Speaker 1: was possible that there might have been a defect failure
• 1:27:00
  Speaker 1: in them, but no testimony appears to show that this
• 1:27:04
  Speaker 1: possibility was a likely one decreased ventilation. Another query regarding
• 1:27:15
  Speaker 1: the presence of such mixture presented itself. Could it have
• 1:27:19
  Speaker 1: been due to the reduced scavenging of the gas by
• 1:27:23
  Speaker 1: the ship's ventilation system during the last minutes of the
• 1:27:26
  Speaker 1: craft's existence, when its speed eventually had been reduced to
• 1:27:31
  Speaker 1: a full stop, combined with the last valving operation about
• 1:27:36
  Speaker 1: six minutes before the fire, This theory seems improbable because
• 1:27:42
  Speaker 1: of what was said about the efficiency of the ventilation system,
• 1:27:46
  Speaker 1: and because of the fact that the chimney effect created
• 1:27:50
  Speaker 1: by the six knot wind that was blowing at the
• 1:27:53
  Speaker 1: ship's elevation during the last four minutes prior to the
• 1:27:56
  Speaker 1: fire should have evacuated practically all of the gas from
• 1:28:01
  Speaker 1: the shafts. The forward speed of the ship, reported to
• 1:28:07
  Speaker 1: have been from fifteen to twenty miles per hour when
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 1: the last valving operation was performed, should have been ample.
• 1:28:15
  Speaker 1: It was stated to have cleared the gas rapidly from
• 1:28:19
  Speaker 1: the ship. A further argument made with regard to the
• 1:28:24
  Speaker 1: scavenging of gas was that immediately after the last reported valving,
• 1:28:30
  Speaker 1: the ship's engines were backed down hard, and that this
• 1:28:35
  Speaker 1: deceleration should have tended to move the gas in the
• 1:28:40
  Speaker 1: ship toward the bow and out through the forward gas shafts.
• 1:28:47
  Speaker 1: In considering the production of such mixture by the rupture
• 1:28:52
  Speaker 1: of a cell or cells, there are at least several
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 1: avenues to explore entry of piece of propeller. One of
• 1:29:06
  Speaker 1: these might have been laid to the failure of propeller
• 1:29:10
  Speaker 1: and the throwing of one of its fragments through the
• 1:29:13
  Speaker 1: adjacent part of the hull into a cell. To this possibility,
• 1:29:18
  Speaker 1: there was devoted an extensive examination by experts of our
• 1:29:23
  Speaker 1: staff and those of other agencies. The condition of the
• 1:29:28
  Speaker 1: propeller of engine Car number two attracted our attention. Witness F. W. Caldwell,
• 1:29:36
  Speaker 1: one of the country's foremost propeller experts, was quite certain
• 1:29:40
  Speaker 1: that the propeller of the after Port engine did not
• 1:29:43
  Speaker 1: break in flight, but was shattered at the time the
• 1:29:46
  Speaker 1: car struck the ground. He said that there was no
• 1:29:51
  Speaker 1: indication of the separation of the sheathing from the blades,
• 1:29:55
  Speaker 1: except as the result of shattering on impact. Witness Deutsche
• 1:30:01
  Speaker 1: machinist in the Afterport engine car indicated that the propeller
• 1:30:05
  Speaker 1: of his car was still rotating when it struck the ground,
• 1:30:09
  Speaker 1: that he did not feel any unusual vibration of the
• 1:30:13
  Speaker 1: engine before the crash. Fracture of hull wire. One other
• 1:30:22
  Speaker 1: significant possibility must be discussed while the question of cell
• 1:30:27
  Speaker 1: rupture is being examined. It was suggested that while in flight,
• 1:30:33
  Speaker 1: a tension wire might have ripped a hole in a
• 1:30:36
  Speaker 1: cell and thus permitted a quantity of gas to escape.
• 1:30:42
  Speaker 1: Coupled to this possibility is the testimony of witness R. H. Ward,
• 1:30:48
  Speaker 1: digested briefly in the Statement of Facts that he saw
• 1:30:52
  Speaker 1: a fluttering in the outer cover above the equator between
• 1:30:56
  Speaker 1: rings sixty two and seventy seven, and believed that this
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: fluttering was caused by gas escaping into the space between
• 1:31:05
  Speaker 1: the adjoining cell and the outer cover. A sheer wire
• 1:31:10
  Speaker 1: in one of the panels at the place from which
• 1:31:13
  Speaker 1: the gas was escaping could have snapped while the ship
• 1:31:17
  Speaker 1: was turning during the landing maneuver. Witness Eckener stated that
• 1:31:22
  Speaker 1: such turns generate high stress in the after part of
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: the ship, especially in the center section close to the
• 1:31:30
  Speaker 1: stabilizing fins, which are braced by sheer wires. The gas
• 1:31:36
  Speaker 1: thus accumulated between the cells and the outer cover must
• 1:31:41
  Speaker 1: have been a rich mixture. Such a mixture enclosed in
• 1:31:46
  Speaker 1: a space between the outer cover and the gas cells
• 1:31:49
  Speaker 1: would if ignited burn with relatively slow speed until gas
• 1:31:55
  Speaker 1: in greater volume was released by the burning through of
• 1:31:58
  Speaker 1: the cell walls. Witness Rosendahl recalled that in the early
• 1:32:04
  Speaker 1: years of operation with naval aircraft, sheer wires had broken
• 1:32:08
  Speaker 1: with varying effect, causing no serious damage. However, major structural
• 1:32:16
  Speaker 1: failure consideration has been given to the possibility that a
• 1:32:23
  Speaker 1: major structural failure in the stern of the ship caused
• 1:32:28
  Speaker 1: the hydrogen to be liberated by rupturing a cell and
• 1:32:32
  Speaker 1: forcefully breaking an electric lead or metal part, thus producing
• 1:32:37
  Speaker 1: a spark. The fire broke out when the port trail
• 1:32:42
  Speaker 1: rope which held the ship to the ground became taut.
• 1:32:47
  Speaker 1: It was reported by some persons that at or about
• 1:32:51
  Speaker 1: the time they observed the fire, they heard a cracking
• 1:32:55
  Speaker 1: sound from the stern of the ship. An examination of
• 1:32:59
  Speaker 1: the wreckage disclosed that the rivets by which the after
• 1:33:03
  Speaker 1: end of the axle corridor was connected through a fitting
• 1:33:07
  Speaker 1: to the hull had pulled out, that all of the
• 1:33:11
  Speaker 1: radial wires in the small frame nearest the stern had broken, intension,
• 1:33:17
  Speaker 1: that only a few of the small tabs of metal
• 1:33:21
  Speaker 1: from the periphery of the frame which had been pulled
• 1:33:25
  Speaker 1: off the bite formed where the radial wires hooked onto
• 1:33:28
  Speaker 1: the frame were found on the ground below where the
• 1:33:32
  Speaker 1: frame struck. The shearing of the rivets and the condition
• 1:33:37
  Speaker 1: of the wire in the frame might be explained by
• 1:33:41
  Speaker 1: the force with which the rear end hit the ground,
• 1:33:46
  Speaker 1: or by the torsional or other stresses which the tail
• 1:33:51
  Speaker 1: suffered in its last moments in the air. It has
• 1:33:55
  Speaker 1: also been pointed out that the ship was stressed for
• 1:33:59
  Speaker 1: greater loaths than the tensional strength of the bow trail rope,
• 1:34:03
  Speaker 1: and that the rope had not parted. Furthermore, it was
• 1:34:10
  Speaker 1: observed that the eye through which the trail rope was
• 1:34:13
  Speaker 1: attached to the ship, and the longitudinal member to which
• 1:34:17
  Speaker 1: the eye was affixed were intact. After the accident. The
• 1:34:23
  Speaker 1: four members of the crew and the stern of the
• 1:34:26
  Speaker 1: ship testified that they did not hear or see any
• 1:34:31
  Speaker 1: such structural failure. Prior to the fire ignition of the mixture,
• 1:34:42
  Speaker 1: many of the theoretic aspects of the ignition of the
• 1:34:45
  Speaker 1: combustible mixture were dealt with at great length by a
• 1:34:50
  Speaker 1: number of experts. Only A summary of this phase of
• 1:34:54
  Speaker 1: the investigation is related in this report. Mechanical if there
• 1:35:03
  Speaker 1: had been enough heat generated by the friction of wires
• 1:35:07
  Speaker 1: or other members of the ship coming forcibly into contact
• 1:35:11
  Speaker 1: with each other due to structural failure or breaking, a
• 1:35:15
  Speaker 1: sufficiently hot spark might have been produced to set off
• 1:35:19
  Speaker 1: such mixture. There is insufficient evidence to sustain a conclusion
• 1:35:26
  Speaker 1: based upon this theory. Chemical. As has been stated, there
• 1:35:35
  Speaker 1: are metals which have a catalytic effect upon a mixture
• 1:35:39
  Speaker 1: of hydrogen and air, and would materially lower its ordinary
• 1:35:45
  Speaker 1: ignition temperature, but it does not appear that any such
• 1:35:50
  Speaker 1: metal was in that part of the ship where the
• 1:35:53
  Speaker 1: fire was first observed. Under the title of chemical possibilities,
• 1:36:01
  Speaker 1: there has also been suggested that a flame might have
• 1:36:05
  Speaker 1: been produced by spontaneous combustion. The evidence is inadequate to
• 1:36:11
  Speaker 1: support this theory thermodynamic. In the examination of thermodynamic possibilities,
• 1:36:23
  Speaker 1: much time at the outset of the investigation was given
• 1:36:26
  Speaker 1: to the possibility of such mixture being ignited by the
• 1:36:30
  Speaker 1: sparks from the engine exhausts. It was suggested that sparks
• 1:36:37
  Speaker 1: or larger particles of carbon thrown out from the diesel
• 1:36:40
  Speaker 1: engines might have been carried into the openings in the
• 1:36:44
  Speaker 1: lower part of the hall or have been blown over
• 1:36:47
  Speaker 1: the exterior of the stern and there have ignited such mixture.
• 1:36:54
  Speaker 1: While the circulation of the exhaust gases set up by
• 1:36:59
  Speaker 1: the direction of rotation of the propellers just before the accident,
• 1:37:04
  Speaker 1: the after engines idling in reverse and the forward engines
• 1:37:08
  Speaker 1: idling ahead was different from that produced while under way.
• 1:37:13
  Speaker 1: It was maintained by the German experts that this circumstance
• 1:37:19
  Speaker 1: would not result in sparks or carbon particles reaching the
• 1:37:23
  Speaker 1: interior of the hall, and furthermore that the sparks would
• 1:37:29
  Speaker 1: not have been able to ignite such mixture on the
• 1:37:32
  Speaker 1: top of the ship, at least one hundred and sixty
• 1:37:35
  Speaker 1: five feet away from the after exhaust outlets. Witness Ludwig
• 1:37:43
  Speaker 1: Dur testified that very extensive experiments respecting this possibility had
• 1:37:51
  Speaker 1: been conducted by the builders and the results had been reassuring.
• 1:37:56
  Speaker 1: When the engines are delivering eleven hundred to two twelve
• 1:38:00
  Speaker 1: hundred horse power, the temperature leaving the piston before it
• 1:38:05
  Speaker 1: enters the exhaust stack is five hundred to five hundred
• 1:38:09
  Speaker 1: and thirty degrees centigrade. The temperature of the exhaust is lower.
• 1:38:16
  Speaker 1: The engines ordinarily develop eight hundred to eight hundred and
• 1:38:20
  Speaker 1: fifty horse power. At this output, the temperature of the
• 1:38:26
  Speaker 1: exhaust gases is four hundred and fifty degrees to four
• 1:38:29
  Speaker 1: hundred and eighty degrees. Back of the cylinder, with a
• 1:38:34
  Speaker 1: mixture of air sucked in, the temperature is reduced to
• 1:38:39
  Speaker 1: two hundred and thirty degrees to two hundred and fifty
• 1:38:42
  Speaker 1: degrees centigrade. Visible sparks have a temperature over five hundred
• 1:38:48
  Speaker 1: degrees centigrade, but lose their heat rapidly as they are
• 1:38:52
  Speaker 1: impelled through the air. Had this been the cause of
• 1:38:57
  Speaker 1: the ignition, it is believed that it would have come
• 1:39:01
  Speaker 1: into play before the elapse of the four minute interval
• 1:39:05
  Speaker 1: between the dropping of the trail ropes and the accident.
• 1:39:10
  Speaker 1: That the heat of the exhaust gases caused the havoc
• 1:39:14
  Speaker 1: is also improbable. If ignition had happened at the exhaust,
• 1:39:20
  Speaker 1: it would have been necessary that the temperature of the
• 1:39:23
  Speaker 1: band of air between the outlets in the place of
• 1:39:27
  Speaker 1: the first flame would have had to be about five
• 1:39:31
  Speaker 1: hundred and seven degrees centigrade. According to witness Duha, the
• 1:39:36
  Speaker 1: temperature at the exhaust outlets was much lower than five
• 1:39:41
  Speaker 1: hundred and seven degrees centigrade. With the Hindenburg and the
• 1:39:46
  Speaker 1: graph Zeppelin. No difficulties had been experienced from this quarter.
• 1:39:54
  Speaker 1: Electrical Under the classification of electrical sources of ignition, several
• 1:40:03
  Speaker 1: were considered. A combustible mixture of air and hydrogen could
• 1:40:10
  Speaker 1: have been ignited by the overheating of wires carrying current
• 1:40:14
  Speaker 1: within the ship, e g. By short circuit. Barring the
• 1:40:20
  Speaker 1: possibility previously alluded to of a substantial failure in the
• 1:40:25
  Speaker 1: stern structure of the ship, which might have produced a
• 1:40:29
  Speaker 1: sudden breaking of such wires in the aft end of
• 1:40:33
  Speaker 1: the ship, it is thought to have been only remotely
• 1:40:38
  Speaker 1: possible that the mixture was fired by a defect or
• 1:40:42
  Speaker 1: failure of the ship's electrical wiring. According to witness Lens,
• 1:40:48
  Speaker 1: who was stationed in the electrical power plant at the
• 1:40:52
  Speaker 1: time of the accident and had most of the ship's
• 1:40:55
  Speaker 1: electric indicators, fuses and circuit breakers under observation, the various
• 1:41:01
  Speaker 1: circuits were functioning normally just prior to the conflagration. No fuse,
• 1:41:07
  Speaker 1: blue or circuit breakers operated at that time. It was
• 1:41:12
  Speaker 1: also observed that the cable carrying the current to the
• 1:41:16
  Speaker 1: stern light was very sturdy and was installed so as
• 1:41:20
  Speaker 1: to provide plenty of slack to compensate for expansion and
• 1:41:25
  Speaker 1: contraction of the frame of the ship spark in gas
• 1:41:31
  Speaker 1: fullness or pressure indicator. A theory introduced by witness Heinen
• 1:41:39
  Speaker 1: was that the cause of the fire was due to
• 1:41:42
  Speaker 1: the ignition of such mixture in one of the gas
• 1:41:45
  Speaker 1: fullness or pressure electric meter actuating units fixed to the
• 1:41:50
  Speaker 1: axle corridor in the vicinity of cells number four and
• 1:41:54
  Speaker 1: number five. He believed that a small pocket of gas
• 1:42:00
  Speaker 1: accumulated in the folds or ridges of the cells surrounding
• 1:42:04
  Speaker 1: the corridor and found its way into the inner recesses
• 1:42:08
  Speaker 1: of the meter, and was there ignited by an electric spark.
• 1:42:14
  Speaker 1: That the fire thus created traveled up along the radial
• 1:42:19
  Speaker 1: wires to the space between the cells and the outer cover,
• 1:42:23
  Speaker 1: igniting the free hydrogen collected along the longitudinals at the
• 1:42:28
  Speaker 1: top of the ship on the inner surfaces of the
• 1:42:31
  Speaker 1: outer cover. That the relatively slow burning of such free
• 1:42:36
  Speaker 1: hydrogen would account for the peculiar manifestations of illumination described
• 1:42:42
  Speaker 1: by certain witnesses. That the fire in the second sequence
• 1:42:48
  Speaker 1: then destroyed gasel number four, as seen by witness Loi.
• 1:42:55
  Speaker 1: With regard to the presence of gas in one of
• 1:42:58
  Speaker 1: the meters. It was estimated that in one hour, the
• 1:43:03
  Speaker 1: seepage in the axle corridor would have amounted to one
• 1:43:08
  Speaker 1: fortieth of one percent of the volume of the corridor.
• 1:43:12
  Speaker 1: That even in the motionless condition of the ship, the
• 1:43:16
  Speaker 1: corridor would have been well ventilated due to the chimney
• 1:43:20
  Speaker 1: effect created by a wind of six knots blowing over
• 1:43:24
  Speaker 1: the gas shafts. That the ventilation in the corridor would
• 1:43:29
  Speaker 1: have prevented pockets of hydrogen from forming, because the air
• 1:43:33
  Speaker 1: current through the corridor was not laminated, but was made
• 1:43:38
  Speaker 1: up of whirls and eddies. However, if it could be
• 1:43:43
  Speaker 1: shown that a rent occurred in a cell below the
• 1:43:48
  Speaker 1: axle corridor, then it is possible that some free hydrogen
• 1:43:52
  Speaker 1: might have found its way into one of the meters.
• 1:43:57
  Speaker 1: In regard to the ignition of such mixture within a
• 1:44:00
  Speaker 1: gas pressure or fullness meter, the following is quoted from
• 1:44:06
  Speaker 1: a report of the Bureau of Standards relating to Exhibit
• 1:44:11
  Speaker 1: seventy four. One of the meters taken from the ship.
• 1:44:17
  Speaker 1: It is evidently intended for measuring and giving a remote
• 1:44:23
  Speaker 1: indication of small gas pressures by electrical means. The gas
• 1:44:30
  Speaker 1: pressure acts on a diaphragm in opposition to a helical spring.
• 1:44:37
  Speaker 1: A plunger attached to the diaphragm carries a coil of
• 1:44:43
  Speaker 1: wire which has a resistance of one hundred omes. Two
• 1:44:49
  Speaker 1: rollers connected in parallel make contact with the sides of
• 1:44:55
  Speaker 1: the coil. Two flexible connections run to the ends of
• 1:45:02
  Speaker 1: the coil. The change in the relative resistance of the
• 1:45:07
  Speaker 1: two parts of the circuit between the contact rollers and
• 1:45:12
  Speaker 1: the ends can cause suitable electrical indicating instruments in the
• 1:45:18
  Speaker 1: control cabin to indicate the position of the coil and diaphragm,
• 1:45:25
  Speaker 1: and hence the pressure. All electrical parts are enclosed in
• 1:45:32
  Speaker 1: a cylindrical metal box. The only openings into this box
• 1:45:38
  Speaker 1: are one the Hohle ten millimeters in diameter at the top,
• 1:45:46
  Speaker 1: through which the operating rod passes with a clearance of
• 1:45:51
  Speaker 1: not over zero point zero five millimeters, and two the
• 1:45:58
  Speaker 1: opening at the bottom, which is completely filled by the
• 1:46:03
  Speaker 1: three conductor cable covered with metallic braid, which connects to
• 1:46:09
  Speaker 1: the rest of the circuit. The conical housing surrounding the
• 1:46:15
  Speaker 1: metal box is well ventilated. The device seems to be
• 1:46:21
  Speaker 1: excellently designed and constructed from the standpoint of safety, and
• 1:46:26
  Speaker 1: there appears no way by which it could, with any
• 1:46:30
  Speaker 1: reasonable probability, have caused a fire. An overheating of the
• 1:46:37
  Speaker 1: device by short circuit seems impossible. A short circuit external
• 1:46:44
  Speaker 1: to the device would impose on it only the full
• 1:46:48
  Speaker 1: voltage twenty four volts of the circuit and produce a
• 1:46:53
  Speaker 1: rate of heat dissipation of less than six watts. A
• 1:46:58
  Speaker 1: short circuit inside the device would not draw more than
• 1:47:03
  Speaker 1: the one mili ampier fixed by the external instruments. A
• 1:47:09
  Speaker 1: simultaneous short circuit, both inside and out would blow a
• 1:47:14
  Speaker 1: fuse if one was present before a dangerous temperature was reached.
• 1:47:21
  Speaker 1: Good practice requires such fuses on all such circuits, and
• 1:47:27
  Speaker 1: one was probably used. The normal operation of the device
• 1:47:33
  Speaker 1: should produce no sparks. Deterioration of the contact rollers or
• 1:47:41
  Speaker 1: of the coil, or of breaking of a wire inside
• 1:47:45
  Speaker 1: the metal box might produce a spark inside. It seems
• 1:47:52
  Speaker 1: impossible that hydrogen should be present inside, as it could
• 1:47:57
  Speaker 1: get there only by diffuse down the narrow clearance between
• 1:48:02
  Speaker 1: the operating rod and its guide tube fifty millimeters long.
• 1:48:08
  Speaker 1: A spark could be produced outside the box only by
• 1:48:12
  Speaker 1: the breaking of the three conductor cable. This cable is
• 1:48:19
  Speaker 1: strengthened by the metallic braid and runs in a protected
• 1:48:24
  Speaker 1: location along the structural member. It could not be determined
• 1:48:30
  Speaker 1: whether or not the cable was definitely anchored to the member,
• 1:48:35
  Speaker 1: nor whether the metallic braid was originally clamped to the
• 1:48:39
  Speaker 1: metal box because of damage in the fire. In the
• 1:48:48
  Speaker 1: light of all the available evidence on this point, we
• 1:48:52
  Speaker 1: believe that the possibility of igniting such mixture by the
• 1:48:56
  Speaker 1: means just described was very slight resonance effect high frequency inductance.
• 1:49:10
  Speaker 1: An attempt was made to discover if the ignition of
• 1:49:14
  Speaker 1: such mixture could have been laid to spark emission due
• 1:49:19
  Speaker 1: to resonance effect upon metal parts of the ship's interior
• 1:49:24
  Speaker 1: caused by received radio waves of high frequency. There was
• 1:49:32
  Speaker 1: on the field at Lakehurst a localizer beam radio transmitter
• 1:49:36
  Speaker 1: of low power maintained by an airline company, the encoarse
• 1:49:42
  Speaker 1: portion of which was so situated as to pass through
• 1:49:45
  Speaker 1: the space occupied by the ship at the time it
• 1:49:48
  Speaker 1: took fire. This transmitter was at that time about eighteen
• 1:49:55
  Speaker 1: hundred feet from the ship. Its power output was fifteen wants,
• 1:50:01
  Speaker 1: its frequency two hundred and seventy eight kilicycles. The maximum
• 1:50:07
  Speaker 1: field strength authorized for this type of station is one thousand,
• 1:50:11
  Speaker 1: five hundred microvolts per meter at one mile, which represents
• 1:50:17
  Speaker 1: fifteen ten thousandths of one volt per meter measured at
• 1:50:23
  Speaker 1: one mile on the encourse portion of the range, which
• 1:50:27
  Speaker 1: incidentally is the area of weakest radiated power. The strength
• 1:50:35
  Speaker 1: of this field is so low that it has been
• 1:50:38
  Speaker 1: compared to the power of a fly. So far as
• 1:50:43
  Speaker 1: could be determined, this localizer was the only transmitter that
• 1:50:49
  Speaker 1: was operating at Lakehurst at the time in question. It
• 1:50:54
  Speaker 1: is not believed that other high frequency stations at some
• 1:50:59
  Speaker 1: distance from the field field could have had inductive effect
• 1:51:02
  Speaker 1: upon the airship. Witness Deakman of the German Commission stated
• 1:51:08
  Speaker 1: that he and his colleagues had been particularly interested in
• 1:51:12
  Speaker 1: the possibility of ignition through high frequency radio induction, especially
• 1:51:19
  Speaker 1: after hearing the testimony of witness Floyd, who was engaged
• 1:51:23
  Speaker 1: in paying out a length of the Stern cable at
• 1:51:26
  Speaker 1: Ring forty seven when the accident took place, that this
• 1:51:31
  Speaker 1: part of the cable might have received impulses and thus
• 1:51:35
  Speaker 1: electrical energy would have been conveyed into the inside of
• 1:51:39
  Speaker 1: the ship. However, it appears that if such result was
• 1:51:45
  Speaker 1: to occur due to inductive effect, a transmitter relatively close
• 1:51:51
  Speaker 1: to the ship and of considerable power would have had
• 1:51:55
  Speaker 1: to be operating at the time of the event. These
• 1:51:59
  Speaker 1: can additions were not present. Resonance effect due to high
• 1:52:05
  Speaker 1: frequency generation within the ship was impossible because all the
• 1:52:10
  Speaker 1: ship's transmitters had been shut down before the appearance of fire. Furthermore,
• 1:52:18
  Speaker 1: once inside the ship in the form of oscillations in
• 1:52:22
  Speaker 1: the structure, no damage could have been done because the
• 1:52:26
  Speaker 1: structure itself was so large and so complex that there
• 1:52:31
  Speaker 1: was no possibility of a small amount of energy setting
• 1:52:36
  Speaker 1: the whole ship in oscillation, and that oscillation in separate parts,
• 1:52:42
  Speaker 1: which perhaps contained high resistance, would be short circuited by
• 1:52:46
  Speaker 1: other parts of the ship. In view of the facts
• 1:52:52
  Speaker 1: and the expert testimony given on this possibility, it may
• 1:52:56
  Speaker 1: be said that in such inductance there was only the
• 1:53:00
  Speaker 1: remotest chance that it was responsible for the elusive spark electrostatics.
• 1:53:12
  Speaker 1: Under this designation of electrical possibilities, there is now to
• 1:53:17
  Speaker 1: be considered a group distinguishable from current electricity and known
• 1:53:23
  Speaker 1: as electrostatics. In this group, there is first mentioned a
• 1:53:29
  Speaker 1: possibility due to the nature of the materials employed in
• 1:53:36
  Speaker 1: the older type of cell fabric containing a rubberized element,
• 1:53:41
  Speaker 1: it was apparently possible to create a static spark by
• 1:53:45
  Speaker 1: tearing the fabric. The cell fabric used in the Hindenburg,
• 1:53:51
  Speaker 1: as far as we could learn, did not include material
• 1:53:54
  Speaker 1: possessing this characteristic. Since virtually all of this set were
• 1:54:00
  Speaker 1: consumed by the fire, no test could be made of
• 1:54:04
  Speaker 1: the cell fabric. The two bungies in the stern of
• 1:54:09
  Speaker 1: the ship, connected to the horizontal members of the tail
• 1:54:13
  Speaker 1: contained some rubber, but as far as we know, the
• 1:54:17
  Speaker 1: bungies had not been damaged until after the fire had
• 1:54:21
  Speaker 1: broken out. Before proceeding further with the subject of electrostatics,
• 1:54:30
  Speaker 1: it is to be remarked that an airship as a
• 1:54:33
  Speaker 1: body is regarded as carrying an electric charge, the nature
• 1:54:38
  Speaker 1: an extent of which depend upon the circumstances in motion.
• 1:54:45
  Speaker 1: It may accumulate a charge either through friction with the
• 1:54:49
  Speaker 1: air or perhaps by means of charged water drops, such
• 1:54:54
  Speaker 1: as may be found in clouds or missed. It may
• 1:54:58
  Speaker 1: accumulate a charge of either positive or negative sign. Thunder
• 1:55:04
  Speaker 1: clouds may carry a positive or a negative sign. According
• 1:55:11
  Speaker 1: to the evidence. In this instance, the ship is assumed
• 1:55:15
  Speaker 1: to have carried a positive charge on its outer surface,
• 1:55:20
  Speaker 1: which is a semiconductor. This phenomenon is due to the
• 1:55:25
  Speaker 1: fact that an airship in flight is within the atmosphere,
• 1:55:30
  Speaker 1: which is electrified. A few of the more interesting features
• 1:55:36
  Speaker 1: of this phenomenon are that the Earth ordinarily is charged negatively.
• 1:55:43
  Speaker 1: That in the atmosphere there is an electrical field measured
• 1:55:48
  Speaker 1: in volts per meter potential gradient, which in fine weather
• 1:55:54
  Speaker 1: amounts to one hundred volts per meter, becoming higher as
• 1:55:59
  Speaker 1: the weather grows more disturbed. That the tendency is for
• 1:56:05
  Speaker 1: an equalization current to pass from the atmosphere to the ground.
• 1:56:12
  Speaker 1: That the electrical conductivity of the atmosphere is greater when
• 1:56:17
  Speaker 1: the atmosphere is humid. Other facts and assumptions are that
• 1:56:24
  Speaker 1: the total outer surface of the ship has a uniform potential,
• 1:56:30
  Speaker 1: that the electrostatic effects on the outer side of the
• 1:56:34
  Speaker 1: ship are separate and apart from those on the inside.
• 1:56:41
  Speaker 1: That a number of conditions tend to equalize the potential
• 1:56:45
  Speaker 1: of the ship with the surrounding atmosphere. Among these is
• 1:56:51
  Speaker 1: the dissipation created by the exhaust gases and by the
• 1:56:56
  Speaker 1: movement of propellers. The edges of the latter being metallically
• 1:57:01
  Speaker 1: connected with the ship's structure, that the landing ropes would
• 1:57:07
  Speaker 1: serve as conductors of the ship's charge and equalize the
• 1:57:12
  Speaker 1: potential of the ship with that of the ground. When
• 1:57:17
  Speaker 1: the ship is held by the landing ropes, the electrostatic
• 1:57:22
  Speaker 1: picture is such that the surface of the ship, after
• 1:57:25
  Speaker 1: a brief interval, so to speak, becomes a piece of
• 1:57:29
  Speaker 1: the ground elevated into the atmosphere. The potential differences measured
• 1:57:37
  Speaker 1: vertically to the earth are called the potential gradient. This
• 1:57:43
  Speaker 1: gradient is higher over those areas of the ship where
• 1:57:47
  Speaker 1: the edges or points project into the atmosphere, especially over
• 1:57:53
  Speaker 1: the bow and stern of the ship. It may be
• 1:57:57
  Speaker 1: increased in the presence of charged clouds. The principal protection
• 1:58:05
  Speaker 1: against an electrostatic discharge, which might serve to ignite an
• 1:58:09
  Speaker 1: inflammable mixture in or about the ship, is the bonding
• 1:58:14
  Speaker 1: of the ship. Briefly, such bonding is the connecting up
• 1:58:21
  Speaker 1: of the many parts of the ship so that electrically
• 1:58:25
  Speaker 1: it becomes one complete metallic hull. A possible test of
• 1:58:31
  Speaker 1: the state of this bonding could have been made by
• 1:58:35
  Speaker 1: detecting through the radio receivers the characteristic noise associated with
• 1:58:41
  Speaker 1: interference created by imperfect bonding. In the present instance, as
• 1:58:47
  Speaker 1: has been noted, the receiving system of the ship did
• 1:58:51
  Speaker 1: not give indication that any injury had occurred to the
• 1:58:56
  Speaker 1: ship's bonding prior to the accident. We have also considered
• 1:59:02
  Speaker 1: the possibility that, due to a discharge between parts of
• 1:59:07
  Speaker 1: the ship having different potentials, a spark might have been created.
• 1:59:13
  Speaker 1: Whether such a discharge occurred we cannot say. According to
• 1:59:19
  Speaker 1: the testimony, the ship was bonded in keeping with the
• 1:59:23
  Speaker 1: best known practice. There was one fixture of the ship
• 1:59:29
  Speaker 1: in this respect that received more than passing notice, the
• 1:59:34
  Speaker 1: unbonded electric wires at the stern electric lamp of the airship.
• 1:59:41
  Speaker 1: Witness Deekman indicated that there might have been a static
• 1:59:45
  Speaker 1: charge produced by this tail light wiring at the light bulb,
• 1:59:49
  Speaker 1: since the wiring within it was the only part of
• 1:59:53
  Speaker 1: the ship which did not have the same potential as
• 1:59:57
  Speaker 1: the remaining surface of the ship, a very small difference. However,
• 2:00:04
  Speaker 1: whether such a small electrostatic capacity as the lamp terminal
• 2:00:10
  Speaker 1: would have been able to produce a spark is highly questionable.
• 2:00:15
  Speaker 1: Another reason to regard it as improbable is that no
• 2:00:19
  Speaker 1: one reported having seen the origin of the fire at
• 2:00:23
  Speaker 1: the extreme rear end of the ship ball lightning. A
• 2:00:32
  Speaker 1: reading of the record reveals that some space is given
• 2:00:36
  Speaker 1: to another manifestation of electrostatic discharge, namely to the possibility
• 2:00:43
  Speaker 1: that ball lightning might have accounted for the ignition of
• 2:00:46
  Speaker 1: the mixture. Ball lightning is supposed to be one of
• 2:00:52
  Speaker 1: the peculiar species of lightning discharges that have been observed
• 2:00:56
  Speaker 1: from time to time. One of its features is that,
• 2:01:01
  Speaker 1: like a drop of oil on water, it spreads and
• 2:01:05
  Speaker 1: splits into segments, some of which segments continue for a
• 2:01:10
  Speaker 1: distance along objects on which they alight. Although some authorities
• 2:01:16
  Speaker 1: have disclaimed the existence of ball lightning, we have considered
• 2:01:20
  Speaker 1: the idea for what it might be worth. It does
• 2:01:26
  Speaker 1: not very well explain the slow burning that some of
• 2:01:30
  Speaker 1: the witnesses described as having taken place at the beginning
• 2:01:33
  Speaker 1: of the action. Moreover, the theory as applied in the
• 2:01:39
  Speaker 1: present instance would appear to have little substance, since no
• 2:01:43
  Speaker 1: one testified to having observed any form of lightning. For
• 2:01:49
  Speaker 1: the same reason, any other claim made on the ground
• 2:01:53
  Speaker 1: of lightning as a cause would also seem to fail,
• 2:01:57
  Speaker 1: because none of the witnesses who test stated that they
• 2:02:01
  Speaker 1: observed any lightning flashes in the vicinity of the ship
• 2:02:05
  Speaker 1: or heard an accompanying clap of thunder at the time
• 2:02:09
  Speaker 1: of the accident, brush discharge or Saint Elmo's fire. In
• 2:02:20
  Speaker 1: order to develop the next possibility to be considered viz
• 2:02:25
  Speaker 1: ignition due to brush discharge or Saint Elmo's fire, a
• 2:02:30
  Speaker 1: few additional remarks are necessary upon the subject of electrostatics
• 2:02:36
  Speaker 1: and the conditions that actually prevailed at the time and
• 2:02:40
  Speaker 1: place of the accident. It will be recalled that the
• 2:02:45
  Speaker 1: bow Port trail ropes first made contact with the extremely
• 2:02:51
  Speaker 1: wet ground four minutes before the fire. When they left
• 2:02:57
  Speaker 1: the ship, they appeared to be quite dry, as dust
• 2:03:01
  Speaker 1: was observed to fly from them as they descended. These
• 2:03:06
  Speaker 1: ropes were made of hemp. The atmosphere at the time
• 2:03:12
  Speaker 1: and place of landing was humid, and the ship had
• 2:03:16
  Speaker 1: absorbed moisture. It was therefore reasonable to suppose that in
• 2:03:23
  Speaker 1: the interval the ropes continued to absorb moisture and their
• 2:03:28
  Speaker 1: conductive qualities increased. Therefore, their contact with the ground under
• 2:03:36
  Speaker 1: the circumstances would discharge the static accumulated on the ship.
• 2:03:43
  Speaker 1: Laboratory tests were made by the National Bureau of Standards
• 2:03:48
  Speaker 1: of the electrical conductivity at various humidities of a section
• 2:03:54
  Speaker 1: of the bow port trail rope to determine whether the
• 2:03:58
  Speaker 1: static discharge it accumulated by the airship was or was
• 2:04:03
  Speaker 1: not discharged when such rope made contact with the ground.
• 2:04:10
  Speaker 1: Under the varying conditions employed in the tests, it was
• 2:04:14
  Speaker 1: found that the airship would be ninety percent discharged in
• 2:04:19
  Speaker 1: a period of from zero point six seconds to one
• 2:04:23
  Speaker 1: hundred and seventy seconds after such rope came in contact
• 2:04:28
  Speaker 1: with the ground. With respect to the potential gradient existing
• 2:04:34
  Speaker 1: in the atmosphere in which the ship was standing, Witness F. W.
• 2:04:40
  Speaker 1: Reichelderfer Navy areologist, indicated that conditions were favorable to a
• 2:04:46
  Speaker 1: steep potential gradient due to the existence of a thunderstorm condition.
• 2:04:54
  Speaker 1: Witness Ekner also believed that a high potential gradient existed
• 2:04:59
  Speaker 1: at the time place of the accident. He apparently based
• 2:05:03
  Speaker 1: his opinion upon the following that a thunder storm front
• 2:05:08
  Speaker 1: had just passed over the station, that the heavy rain
• 2:05:12
  Speaker 1: had become a light drizzle, thus reducing the potential gradient materially,
• 2:05:17
  Speaker 1: and that, from his information, the appearance of the sky
• 2:05:22
  Speaker 1: showed a light stratus ceiling. He proceeded to say that
• 2:05:28
  Speaker 1: if one closely examined the current registrations of winds, temperatures,
• 2:05:33
  Speaker 1: and pressures, then one might recognize that the first thunder
• 2:05:38
  Speaker 1: front must have had a smaller, lighter one following it
• 2:05:43
  Speaker 1: that the wind turned back to the southeast. Winds of
• 2:05:48
  Speaker 1: the higher altitude remained westerly. The barometer curve showed a
• 2:05:54
  Speaker 1: slight falling off of pressure, and relatively the temperatures started
• 2:06:00
  Speaker 1: to rise again, that is, after the temperature had been
• 2:06:04
  Speaker 1: brought down appreciably by the breaking in of the cold air.
• 2:06:09
  Speaker 1: The temperature remained constant for one half hour before the
• 2:06:14
  Speaker 1: landing maneuver to one half hour after the landing maneuver.
• 2:06:21
  Speaker 1: Then the temperature again started to decline rapidly and the
• 2:06:26
  Speaker 1: wind slowly turned back to the northwest. This, according to
• 2:06:33
  Speaker 1: the witness, the sensitive instruments show, and that if this
• 2:06:38
  Speaker 1: was not noticed at the field, it was quite natural
• 2:06:41
  Speaker 1: because attention was focused on the landing maneuver and on
• 2:06:45
  Speaker 1: the handling of the ship. He stated confidently that there
• 2:06:50
  Speaker 1: was a small tail end to the first thunder storm
• 2:06:53
  Speaker 1: that passed by, which most likely created a steeper potential
• 2:06:58
  Speaker 1: gradient than would otherwise be expected. Whether this stronger gradient
• 2:07:05
  Speaker 1: could have generated sufficient potential between the airship and the
• 2:07:09
  Speaker 1: air masses above the ship, so that an equalization of
• 2:07:14
  Speaker 1: the gradient took place neither by Saint Elmo's fire or
• 2:07:18
  Speaker 1: by a spark. He was unable to decide that the
• 2:07:24
  Speaker 1: ignition was not effected by such a static equalization. Spark
• 2:07:29
  Speaker 1: immediately after the landing lines had been dropped was because
• 2:07:34
  Speaker 1: they then were dry, hence poor conductors. They slowly became
• 2:07:41
  Speaker 1: damp in the light drizzle that was falling, and in
• 2:07:45
  Speaker 1: such condition their conductivity became greater. Therefore, he believed that
• 2:07:52
  Speaker 1: the potential between the ship and the ground was slowly equalized,
• 2:07:58
  Speaker 1: and afterwards the potential gradient between the ship and the
• 2:08:02
  Speaker 1: overlying air space was sufficient to generate these static sparks.
• 2:08:09
  Speaker 1: Witness Whitehead, in commenting upon these views respecting the potential gradient,
• 2:08:15
  Speaker 1: said that if a secondary storm was present in sufficient
• 2:08:19
  Speaker 1: intensity to cause a spark of lightning of any character,
• 2:08:24
  Speaker 1: that it would have been visible or audible at any rate.
• 2:08:30
  Speaker 1: It would be reasonable to suppose that, probably because of
• 2:08:34
  Speaker 1: the preceding thunderstorm, the potential gradient at the time and
• 2:08:38
  Speaker 1: place of the accident was somewhat greater than normal. Witness
• 2:08:44
  Speaker 1: Fa L. Darch, areologist at the Naval Air Station, appeared
• 2:08:50
  Speaker 1: to have a somewhat different opinion. He stated that previous
• 2:08:56
  Speaker 1: to the landing, there had been heavy showers which could
• 2:09:00
  Speaker 1: have produced a strong potential gradient, but whether that still
• 2:09:05
  Speaker 1: existed at the time of the accident, when only a
• 2:09:08
  Speaker 1: light rain was falling with just the clouds above, he
• 2:09:12
  Speaker 1: could not definitely say. He did not believe that the
• 2:09:18
  Speaker 1: potential gradient then existing was dangerous to the ship, but
• 2:09:23
  Speaker 1: he had no way of verifying his view. In answer
• 2:09:28
  Speaker 1: to the question, after the thunder storm had disappeared and
• 2:09:33
  Speaker 1: the wind and rain had decreased, were there any signs
• 2:09:37
  Speaker 1: or indications of a new small depression or squall, witness
• 2:09:44
  Speaker 1: Darch said that the only indications they had had was
• 2:09:49
  Speaker 1: the temporary shift from southeast to southwest with the slight
• 2:09:55
  Speaker 1: about one one hundredth of an inch rise in pressure. However,
• 2:10:02
  Speaker 1: no distinctive clouds of precipitation occurred with this change. Brush
• 2:10:09
  Speaker 1: discharge ordinarily is seen only after dark. It is manifested
• 2:10:16
  Speaker 1: particularly from sharp points or projections of any material object
• 2:10:22
  Speaker 1: that is charged to a sufficiently high electrostatic potential. So
• 2:10:27
  Speaker 1: that the charge dissipates. The effect is produced by particles
• 2:10:34
  Speaker 1: of the material substance, or by ionization of the gases
• 2:10:39
  Speaker 1: of the atmosphere from impacts or stress. The ignition of
• 2:10:45
  Speaker 1: a combustible mixture of gases in such a discharge is
• 2:10:50
  Speaker 1: due to transformation of kinetic energy into heat from impacts
• 2:10:56
  Speaker 1: of ions or particles. The brush discharge appears either reddish
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 1: or bluish, depending upon the electrical sign of the charge.
• 2:11:09
  Speaker 1: During the course of the public hearings, the question of
• 2:11:13
  Speaker 1: whether a brush discharge would produce sufficient heat to ignite
• 2:11:18
  Speaker 1: an inflammable hydrogen air mixture was dwelt upon to a
• 2:11:23
  Speaker 1: considerable extent. Since that time, further experiments have been made
• 2:11:29
  Speaker 1: in the High Voltage Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards,
• 2:11:35
  Speaker 1: and it has been found possible to ignite hydrogen by
• 2:11:39
  Speaker 1: a brush discharge by using somewhat more intense discharges than
• 2:11:45
  Speaker 1: those previously tried, with a somewhat slower velocity of the
• 2:11:50
  Speaker 1: gas passing the needle point. In this consideration of the
• 2:11:56
  Speaker 1: possibility of brush discharge, it is to be noted that
• 2:12:02
  Speaker 1: no witness testified that a visible indication of it was present.
• 2:12:08
  Speaker 1: This however, may be accounted for by the fact that
• 2:12:11
  Speaker 1: darkness had not yet fallen at the time of the accident.
• 2:12:17
  Speaker 1: Witness's Whitehead was of the opinion that the continuous presence
• 2:12:22
  Speaker 1: of brush discharge sufficient to cause the ignition would require
• 2:12:28
  Speaker 1: a greater current intensity than could have been possible through
• 2:12:33
  Speaker 1: a dry rope. Another argument against the brush discharge theory
• 2:12:40
  Speaker 1: advanced by witness Whitehead was that there was much evidence
• 2:12:45
  Speaker 1: that the first sign of fire was through the translucent
• 2:12:49
  Speaker 1: skin at the point well away from the tip of
• 2:12:53
  Speaker 1: the fin. Witness Diekmann, in elaborating on this phenomenon, stated
• 2:13:01
  Speaker 1: that a one hundredth or one thousandth part of a
• 2:13:05
  Speaker 1: WoT perhaps less, was all that would be necessary to
• 2:13:11
  Speaker 1: ignite a mixture of air and hydrogen, that it was
• 2:13:16
  Speaker 1: difficult for him to believe that brush discharge was responsible
• 2:13:22
  Speaker 1: for the ignition, that none of the witnesses testified to
• 2:13:28
  Speaker 1: its presence. He remarked upon the testimony as to the
• 2:13:33
  Speaker 1: presence of glowing reflections of fire which had moved from
• 2:13:38
  Speaker 1: the stern forward, but stated that such references to reflections
• 2:13:44
  Speaker 1: were peculiarly indefinite and uncertain. Of related interest to brush
• 2:13:51
  Speaker 1: discharge was the opinion of witness Earl that in an
• 2:13:55
  Speaker 1: atmosphere of high humidity, static electricity could be attracted to
• 2:14:01
  Speaker 1: the top points of the ship when the ship's mooring
• 2:14:05
  Speaker 1: ropes came into contact with the ground sufficient to cause
• 2:14:09
  Speaker 1: a spark to jump across the mixture of hydrogen and air,
• 2:14:14
  Speaker 1: saying that such would be possible if the ship was
• 2:14:18
  Speaker 1: in relatively slow motion while gas was being valved, Placing
• 2:14:23
  Speaker 1: a layer of gas between the ship and the damp atmosphere.
• 2:14:29
  Speaker 1: The concentrated atmosphere between the cloud and the ship would
• 2:14:34
  Speaker 1: reduce resistance to sparking, and if the potential of the
• 2:14:39
  Speaker 1: ship was the same as that of the ground, there
• 2:14:42
  Speaker 1: would be a possibility of sparking across that it is
• 2:14:47
  Speaker 1: easier to spark through hydrogen than through air. The meteorological
• 2:14:54
  Speaker 1: records and related data of the investigation were made available
• 2:14:59
  Speaker 1: to doctor W. J. Humphries of the United States Weather Bureau.
• 2:15:05
  Speaker 1: He has concluded, after making a study of such material.
• 2:15:09
  Speaker 2: That a brush discharge, or several of them, very well
• 2:15:16
  Speaker 2: might have occurred on the ship after not before the
• 2:15:21
  Speaker 2: landing ropes came into contact with the ground, that this
• 2:15:27
  Speaker 2: brush discharge would have continued for some time, that it
• 2:15:33
  Speaker 2: would have been invisible, being in daylight, that such a
• 2:15:39
  Speaker 2: discharge lan likely would have ignited any adequately rich stream
• 2:15:45
  Speaker 2: of leaking hydrogen that reached it, and that from the
• 2:15:49
  Speaker 2: point of ignition, the flame would have shot back to
• 2:15:54
  Speaker 2: the leak there quickly would have burnt a larger opening
• 2:15:59
  Speaker 2: and set going a conflagration of great violence and rapidity. Conclusion,
• 2:16:10
  Speaker 2: the cause of the accident was the ignition of a
• 2:16:14
  Speaker 2: mixture of free hydrogen and air, based upon the evidence
• 2:16:20
  Speaker 2: a leak at or in the vicinity of cell four
• 2:16:24
  Speaker 2: and five caused a combustible mixture of hydrogen and air
• 2:16:30
  Speaker 2: to form in the upper stern part of the ship
• 2:16:33
  Speaker 2: in considerable quantity. The first appearance of an open flame
• 2:16:39
  Speaker 2: was on the top of the ship and a relatively
• 2:16:42
  Speaker 2: short distance forward of the upper vertical fin The theory
• 2:16:49
  Speaker 2: that a brush discharge ignited such mixture appears most probable.
• 2:16:57
  Speaker 2: Respectfully Submitted Southard Trimble, Junior Solicitor. R. W. Schroder, Assistant Director,
• 2:17:06
  Speaker 2: Bureau of Air Commerce, and Dennis Mulligan, Chief Regulation and
• 2:17:12
  Speaker 2: Enforcement Division, Bureau of Air Commerce.
• 2:17:17
  Speaker 1: Approved Daniel C. Roper, Secretary of Commerce. End of Part five.
• 2:17:32
  Speaker 1: Appendices of Report of Airship Hindenburg Accident investigation by the
• 2:17:38
  Speaker 1: United States Department of Commerce. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 2:17:45
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. Appendix one
• 2:17:53
  Speaker 1: note Astris indicates those who died in accident. Officers and
• 2:18:03
  Speaker 1: crew on board the airship Hindenburg on its departure from
• 2:18:08
  Speaker 1: Frankfurt am Main, Germany on May three, nineteen thirty seven
• 2:18:15
  Speaker 1: were as follows. Captain Ernst Lehmann died. Captain Max Preuss, commanding, survived.
• 2:18:31
  Speaker 1: Watch officers Albert Zompt survived, Heinrich Bauer survived, Valta Ziegler survived.
• 2:18:48
  Speaker 1: Navigators Max Zabel survived, Franz Hertzog survived, Christian Nielsen survived,
• 2:19:05
  Speaker 1: Kurt Bauer survived. Radio officers Villi Speck, chief radio operator, died,
• 2:19:20
  Speaker 1: Herbert Dova survived, Franz Eichelmann died. Egon Schweichard survived. Engineering
• 2:19:37
  Speaker 1: officers Rudolph Zelter, chief engineer, survived, Oigina Schoybla survived. Wilhelm
• 2:19:53
  Speaker 1: Dimmler died. Elevator men Ludwig Felba died, Ernst Heuschel died,
• 2:20:10
  Speaker 1: Eduard Bertius survived. Helmsman Alfred Bernhardt died. Helmet Loy survived,
• 2:20:30
  Speaker 1: Kurt Schoenhair survived. Electricians Philip Lance, Chief Electrician survived, Joseph
• 2:20:46
  Speaker 1: Liebrecht survived, Ernst Schlapp died. Mechanics Volta Barnholtza died. Ouigen
• 2:21:06
  Speaker 1: Bentelah survived, Rudy Bilas died. Auguste Deutschele survived, Yonni Derflin survived,
• 2:21:29
  Speaker 1: Adolf Fischer survived, Albert Holdereed died, Ricard Kolmar survived, Robert
• 2:21:47
  Speaker 1: Moser died, Aulois Reisacher died. Theodore Rita survived, Raphael Schrelah survived,
• 2:22:08
  Speaker 1: Willie Chief died, Joseph Schreibe Mulah died, Wilhelm Schteb survived,
• 2:22:24
  Speaker 1: Alfred Stokeley.
• 2:22:27
  Speaker 2: Died.
• 2:22:30
  Speaker 1: German Zettel survived, Rigors Ludwig Gnau Chief Rigor died, Hans
• 2:22:47
  Speaker 1: Freund survived. Er Spiel died. Stewards Heinrich Kubis survived, Wilhelm
• 2:23:05
  Speaker 1: Bala survived, Fritz Deeg survived, Max Hennenberg survived. Savareen Kleine survived,
• 2:23:25
  Speaker 1: Oigen Mounenmacher survived, Max Schultze died. Frau Imhoff Stewardess died.
• 2:23:43
  Speaker 1: Doctor reuteger Ship's doctor survived. Cooks xavir Meyer, Chief Cook survived.
• 2:24:02
  Speaker 1: Richard Mullah died, Alfred Schteflore survived, Alfred Graetzinger survived. Fritz
• 2:24:20
  Speaker 1: Flaccus died. Verne France messboy survived. Observer Captain Anton Vittemann survived. Appendix.
• 2:24:44
  Speaker 1: Two passengers on board the airship Hindenburg on its departure
• 2:24:51
  Speaker 1: from Frankfurt am Main, Germany on May three, nineteen thirty
• 2:24:56
  Speaker 1: seven were as follows. Adelt Gertrude Berlin, Germany survived. Adelt Leonhardt, Berlin,
• 2:25:12
  Speaker 1: Germany survived. Anders aunst Udolf raised in Germany died. Balin
• 2:25:27
  Speaker 1: Peter Washington, d C survived, Brinck Berge died. Clemens carl
• 2:25:41
  Speaker 1: Otto Bonn, Germany survived. Dena Hermann Mexico City, Mexico died.
• 2:25:56
  Speaker 1: Dena Irina, Mexico City, Mexico died. Dana Matilda, Mexico City,
• 2:26:09
  Speaker 1: Mexico survived. Dano Valta, Mexico City, Mexico survived. Dano Verno,
• 2:26:25
  Speaker 1: Mexico City, Mexico survived. Dolan Curtis, France.
• 2:26:36
  Speaker 2: Died.
• 2:26:39
  Speaker 1: Douglas Edward, New York died. Edmann Fritz died announced, Elsa Hamburg,
• 2:26:55
  Speaker 1: Germany survived. Ernst Otto c Hamburg, Germany died, feibusch Moretz Lincoln,
• 2:27:11
  Speaker 1: Nebraska died. Grant George London, England survived, heidenstem Rudolph Vaughn survived, Herschfeldt,
• 2:27:34
  Speaker 1: George Breemen, Germany survived, Heinkelbein Klaus survived, Klemenn Marie survived,
• 2:27:54
  Speaker 1: knucher erch Zeilenroda, Germany died. Lieuchtenbeg William New York survived,
• 2:28:11
  Speaker 1: Mangne Philip survived, Mather, Margaret survived, Morris, Nelson survived, O'Laughlin,
• 2:28:28
  Speaker 1: Herbert survived. Ospn Clifford Chicago, U s A survived, Panis
• 2:28:43
  Speaker 1: Emma New York died. Panis John New York died, Reichold
• 2:28:57
  Speaker 1: Otto Vienna, Austria died. Spee Joseph survived, Stockle Emil survived.
• 2:29:15
  Speaker 1: Finnholt Hans Copenhagen, Denmark survived. Vitt Hans survived. End of appendices.
• 2:29:34
  Speaker 1: End of report of the Airship Hindenburg accident investigation by
• 2:29:40
  Speaker 1: the United States Department of Commerce. Recording by Scott Danaker,
• 2:29:47
  Speaker 1: Elizabeth City, North Carolina, w W W dot zeppelphart dot
• 2:29:55
  Speaker 1: Com