An Airship Falls From the Sky (I)

13 An Airship Falls From the Sky (I) It's lighter than air, and it flies without wings. It can stay airborne for days at a time. It's shaped like a cigar. It has a metal frame and gas-filled bags for fuel. For a short time in the mid-20th century, it promised to be the way of air travel in the future. What is it? It's an airship, also known as a dirigible, a zeppelin or a blimp. Perhaps you've seen a modern version of these amazing flying machines at sporting events in Europe or North America. They fly over stadiums beaming television images of the playing fields below. Nowadays, airships are used mostly for advertising and television coverage. But, did you know that only a short time ago they competed with fixed-wing airplanes for passenger air travel?

Between 1900 and 1937, thousands of passengers flew millions of miles in airships. Travel in an airship was similar to travel in the large ocean-going ships of the day. People were treated to luxury and comfort. However, everything changed one night in 1937. The crash and burning of the most famous of all airships, the Hindenburg, brought commercial airship travel to a sudden end. As news of the crash spread around the world, the public no longer believed in the safety of airships. The Hindenburg was 245 metres long and 41 metres high, making it as large as three modern 747 jets. It contained sixteen bags filled with 200, 000 m3 of hydrogen, the lifting gas. The hydrogen gas used to make the Hindenburg lighter than air is believed to be the cause of the fire and crash landing on its final flight. The more popular gas, helium, was expensive and difficult to get. Instead, the German builders of the Hinden- burg decided to use the next best thing-hydrogen, an extremely flammable gas. This would prove to be a costly mistake. In fact, it would be blamed for the destruction of the Hindenburg, and the death of thirteen passengers and 22 crew members that fateful night. The public would never again feel safe flying in hydrogen airships.