On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg, the world's largest airship, ignited in a giant fireball as it prepared to land at Lakehurst, New Jersey—a disaster immortalized by searing newsreel footage and Herbert Morrison's unforgettable "Oh, the humanity!" commentary. The chain of events that ignited Hindenburg's hydrogen remains one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history.
Theories range from deliberate sabotage to sparks generated by static electricity or stormy weather conditions. Now, more than 80 years later, new footage has surfaced: an amateur 8mm film that shows the airship's final seconds from a fresh angle and in unrivaled clarity. Taking clues from the footage and other sources, a leading CalTech chemical engineer walks NOVA viewers through a novel set of experiments designed to test the likeliest scenarios that led to the Hindenburg's ignition—some never tried before and others staged with a meticulous attention to authenticity. The result is a gripping, authoritative new investigation of one of history's most iconic disasters.
My Thoughts
The crash of the Hindenburg is a disaster that's been talked about for almost a century. Getting to learn the story behind this historic event would be exciting under any circumstances, but this documentary gives us a whole new perspective to enjoy. New film footage has been discovered and expects have been busy examining it to try to learn the secrets that went down the Hindenburg.
This was a brilliant piece of history with some exciting new evidence to explore. The Hindenburg actually flew over my hometown and it was one of my grandfather's favorite stories to share. This is a great documentary that gives us a personal look. If you want to grab a copy of this amazing DVD for your library, you can find them in stores nationwide, at PBS.org or on Amazon.
0 comments:
Post a Comment