Editing LZ 129 Hindenburg (section)

==Operational history==

===Launching and trial flights===
[[File:Zeppelin Postkarte 1936 a.jpg|thumb|right|''Hindenburg'' on its first flight on March 4, 1936. The name of the airship was not yet painted on the hull.]]
Four years after construction began in 1932, ''Hindenburg'' made its [[Maiden flight|maiden test flight]] from the Zeppelin [[dockyard]]s at [[Friedrichshafen]] on March 4, 1936, with 87 passengers and crew aboard. These included the Zeppelin Company chairman, [[Hugo Eckener|Dr. Hugo Eckener]], as commander, former [[World War I]] Zeppelin commander Lt. Col. Joachim Breithaupt representing the German Air Ministry, the Zeppelin Company's eight airship captains, 47 other crew members, and 30 dockyard employees who flew as passengers.<ref>Lehmann 1937, p. 323.</ref> [[Harold G. Dick]] was the only non-Luftschiffbau representative aboard. Although the name ''Hindenburg'' had been quietly selected by Eckener over a year earlier,<ref>"The Airship." ''British Quarterly Journal'', Spring 1935.</ref> only the airship's formal registration number (D-LZ129) and the five [[Olympic rings#Olympic rings|Olympic rings]] (promoting the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] to be held in Berlin that August) were displayed on the hull during its trial flights. As the airship passed over [[Munich]] on its second trial flight the next afternoon, the city's Lord Mayor, [[Karl Fiehler]], asked Eckener by radio the LZ129's name, to which he replied "''Hindenburg''". On March 23, ''Hindenburg'' made its first passenger and mail flight, carrying 80 reporters from Friedrichshafen to [[Löwenthal]]. The ship flew over [[Lake Constance]] with ''Graf Zeppelin''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Zeppelin airship LZ 129 Hindenburg|last=Waibel|first=Barbara|publisher=Sutton Verlag GmbH|year=2013|isbn=9783954003013}}</ref>

[[File:Hindenburg_D-LZ129-logotype.svg|thumb|left|''Hindenburg''{{'}}s [[logotype]] (modern recreation)]]

The name ''Hindenburg'' lettered in {{convert|1.8|m|adj=mid}} high red [[Fraktur (script)|Fraktur script]] (designed by Berlin advertiser Georg Wagner) was added to its hull three weeks later before the ''Deutschlandfahrt'' on March 26. No formal naming ceremony for the airship was ever held.<ref>[http://www.airships.net/blog/hindenburg-flight-march-4-1936 "Today in History: Hindenburg’s First Flight, March 4, 1936."] Airships.net. Retrieved October 27, 2010.</ref> 

[[File:Zeppelin Reederei.svg|thumb|Flag of the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei GmbH]]

The airship was operated commercially by the [[Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei]] (DZR) [[Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung|GmbH]], which had been established by [[Hermann Göring]] in March 1935 to increase Nazi influence over airship operations.<ref>[http://www.airships.net/deutsche-zeppelin-reederei "Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei (DZR)".] Airships.net. Retrieved October 27, 2010.</ref> The DZR was jointly owned by the [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin]] (the airship's builder), the [[Air Ministry (Germany)|Reichsluftfahrtministerium]] (German Air Ministry), and [[Deutsche Luft Hansa|Deutsche Lufthansa A.G.]] (Germany's national airline at that time), and also operated the [[LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin|LZ 127 ''Graf Zeppelin'']] during its last two years of commercial service to South America from 1935 to 1937.  ''Hindenburg'' and its sister ship, the [[LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II|LZ 130 ''Graf Zeppelin II'']] (launched in September 1938), were the only two airships ever purpose-built for regular commercial transatlantic passenger operations, although the latter never entered passenger service before being scrapped in 1940.

After a total of six flights made over a three-week period from the Zeppelin dockyards where the airship had been built, ''Hindenburg'' was {{nowrap|drafted{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}}}over Hugo Eckener's {{nowrap|objections{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}}}for a formal public debut in a {{cvt|6600|km|-1}} Nazi Party propaganda flight around Germany (''Die Deutschlandfahrt'') made jointly with the ''Graf Zeppelin'' from March 26 to 29.<ref>Lehmann 1937, pp. 323–332.</ref> This was to be followed by its first commercial passenger flight, a four-day transatlantic voyage to [[Rio de Janeiro]] that departed from the [[Friedrichshafen Airport]] in nearby Löwenthal on March 31.<ref>Lehmann 1937, p. 341.</ref> After again departing from Löwenthal on 6 May on its first of ten round trips to North America made in 1936,<ref>"Hindenburg Begins First U.S. Flight." ''New York Times,'' May 7, 1936.</ref> all ''Hindenburg''{{'}}s subsequent transatlantic flights to both North and South America originated at the airport at [[Frankfurt am Main]].<ref>"Hindenburg is off on 2d U.S. Flight." ''New York Times'', May 17, 1936.</ref><ref>[http://www.airships.net/hindenburg/flight-schedule "Hindenburg Flight Schedules."] Airships.net. Retrieved October 27, 2010.</ref>

===''Die Deutschlandfahrt''===
[[File:Deutschlandfahrt leaflet 1936.jpg|thumb|upright|Propaganda leaflet dropped from ''Hindenburg'' during the ''Deutschlandfahrt'', quoting Adolf Hitler's March 7 Rhineland speech in the ''Reichstag'']]

Although designed and built for commercial transatlantic passenger, air freight, and mail service, at the behest of the [[Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (''Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda'' or ''Propagandaministerium'')]], ''Hindenburg'' was first pressed into use by the Air Ministry (its DLZ co-operator) as a vehicle for the delivery of Nazi propaganda.<ref>"Propaganda 'attack' made by Zeppelins." ''The New York Times'', March 29, 1936.</ref> On March 7, 1936, ground forces of the [[German Reich]] had entered and occupied the [[Rhineland]], a region bordering [[France]], which had been designated in the 1919 [[Treaty of Versailles]] as a [[Demilitarized zone|de-militarized zone]] established to provide a buffer between Germany and that neighboring country.

[[File:Wahlzettel-3.-Reich.jpg|thumb|left|March 29, 1936 plebiscite ballot]]

In order to justify its [[Remilitarization of the Rhineland|remilitarization]]—which was also a violation of the 1925 [[Locarno Pact]]<ref>"Belgium Insistent on Locarno Terms", ''The New York Times'', March 12, 1936.</ref>—a ''post hoc'' [[1936 German election and referendum|referendum]] was quickly called by Hitler for March 29 to "ask the German people" to both ratify the Rhineland's occupation by the German Army, and to approve a single party list composed exclusively of Nazi candidates to sit in the new [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]]. The ''Hindenburg'' and the ''Graf Zeppelin'' were designated by the government as a key part of the process.<ref>"Two Reich Zeppelins on Election Tour", ''The New York Times'',  March 27, 1936.</ref> As a public relations ploy, Propaganda Minister [[Joseph Goebbels]] demanded that the Zeppelin Company make the two airships available for a tour of Germany (Deutschlandfahrt), flying "in tandem" around Germany over the four-day period prior to the voting with a joint departure from Löwenthal on the morning of March 26.<ref>[http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/exhibits/haldick/images/hd-propa.JPG Photograph of ''Hindenburg'' and ''Graf Zeppelin'' preparing to depart Löwenthal on ''Die Deutschlandfahrt''.] ''specialcollections.wichita.edu''. Retrieved January 11, 2010.</ref>

The Zeppelin Company chairman, Dr. Hugo Eckener, disapproved of this propaganda use of his craft.  According to American reporter [[William L. Shirer]], "Hugo Eckener, who is getting [the Hindenburg] ready for its maiden flight to Brazil, strenuously objected to putting it in the air this weekend on the ground it was not fully tested, but Dr. Goebbels insisted.  Eckener, no friend of the regime, refused to take it up himself, but allowed Captain [Ernst] Lehmann to.  [Goebbels] is reported howling mad and is determined to get Eckener."<ref>William L. Shirer, ''Berlin Diary'', ©1941 reprinted 2011 by Rosetta Books, entry for March 29, 1936</ref>

While gusty wind conditions on the morning March 26 threatened a safe launch of the new airship, ''Hindenburg''{{'}}s commander, Captain [[Ernst Lehmann]], was determined to impress the politicians, Nazi party officials, and press present at the airfield with an "on time" departure and thus proceeded with its launch despite the adverse conditions. As the massive airship began to rise under full engine power she was caught by a 35-degree crosswind gust, causing her lower vertical [[Vertical stabilizer|tail fin]] to strike and be dragged across the ground, resulting in significant damage to the bottom portion of the [[airfoil]] and its attached [[rudder]].<ref>Lehmann 1937, p. 326.</ref><ref>[http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/exhibits/haldick/images/hd-fins1.JPG Photograph by Harold Dick of damaged lower vertical tail fin.] specialcollections.wichita.edu. Retrieved January 11, 2010.</ref> Hugo Eckener was furious and rebuked Lehmann.<ref>Eckener 1958, pp. 150–151.</ref>

''Graf Zeppelin'', which had been hovering above the airfield waiting for ''Hindenburg'' to join it, had to start off on the propaganda mission alone while LZ 129 returned to her hangar. There temporary repairs were quickly made to its [[empennage]] before joining up with the smaller airship several hours later.<ref>[http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/exhibits/haldick/images/hd-fins2.JPG "Photograph by Harold Dick of temporary repair to lower vertical tail fin."] ''specialcollections.wichita.edu''. Retrieved January 11, 2010.</ref> As millions of Germans watched from below, the two giants of the sky sailed over Germany for the next four days and three nights, dropping propaganda leaflets, blaring martial music and slogans from large loudspeakers, and broadcasting political speeches from a makeshift radio studio aboard ''Hindenburg''.<ref>Lehmann 1937, pp. 326–332.</ref>

On March 29, as German citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Rhineland re-occupation, the ''Hindenburg'' was aloft over Berlin.  Later, Hugo Eckener privately mocked Goebbels by telling friends, "There were forty persons on the ''Hindenburg''.  Forty-two 'yes' votes were counted." William Shirer recorded: "Goebbels has forbidden the press to mention Eckener's name."<ref>''Berlin Diary'', entry for April 1936 (undated)</ref>

===First commercial passenger flight===
[[File:Zeppelin Passenger Pins.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Zeppelin passenger lapel pins]]
[[File:Hindenburg in Rio 1936.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Hindenburg'' after its first flight to Rio in April 1936. There is a temporary repair of the lower fin after the accident at ''Die Deutschlandfahrt''.]]

With the completion of voting on the referendum (which the German Government claimed had been approved by a "98.79% 'Yes' vote"),<ref>"Hitler gets biggest vote: Many blanks counted in, 542,953 are invalidated.  Some 'Noes' Not Counted; Confusion Causes Counting of Blanks and Many May Have Shown Opposition". ''The New York Times'', March 30, 1936.</ref><ref>"Foreign News: May God Help Us!" ''Time'', April 6, 1936</ref> ''Hindenburg'' returned to Löwenthal on March 29 to prepare for its first commercial passenger flight, a transatlantic passage to [[Rio de Janeiro]] scheduled to depart from there on March 31.<ref>Mooney 1972, pp. 82–85.</ref> Hugo Eckener was not to be the commander of the flight, however, but was instead relegated to being a "supervisor" with no operational control over ''Hindenburg'' while Ernst Lehmann had command of the airship.<ref>"Transport: Von Hindenburg to Rio." ''Time'',  April 13, 1936.</ref> To add insult to injury, Eckener learned from an [[Associated Press]] reporter upon ''Hindenburg''{{'}}s arrival in Rio that Goebbels had also followed through on his month-old threat to decree that Eckener's name would "no longer be mentioned in German newspapers and periodicals" and "no pictures nor articles about him shall be printed."<ref>Mooney 1972, p. 86.</ref> This action was taken because of Eckener's opposition to using ''Hindenburg'' and ''Graf Zeppelin'' for political purposes during the ''Deutschlandfahrt'', and his "refusal to give a special appeal during the Reichstag election campaign endorsing Chancellor [[Adolf Hitler]] and his policies."<ref>"Eckener Refused Election Plea for Hitler: Name Barred From the Press as a Result." ''The New York Times'', April 3, 1936.</ref> The existence of the ban was never publicly acknowledged by Goebbels, and it was quietly lifted a month later.<ref>"'Eckener's Disgrace Ends: Zeppelin Expert is Victor in Clash with Goebbels." ''The New York Times'', April 30, 1936.</ref>

While at Rio, the crew noticed one of the engines had noticeable carbon buildup from having been run at low speed during the propaganda flight days earlier.<ref>Dick and Robinson 1985, p. 119.</ref> On the return flight from South America, the automatic valve for gas cell 3 stuck open.<ref>Dick and Robinson 1985, p. 118.</ref> Gas was transferred from other cells through an inflation line. It was never understood why the valve stuck open, and subsequently the crew used only the hand-operated maneuvering valves for cells 2 and 3. Thirty-eight hours after departure, one of the airship's four [[Daimler-Benz]] 16-cylinder [[diesel engine]]s (engine car no. 4, the forward port engine) suffered a [[wrist pin]] breakage, damaging the [[piston]] and [[Cylinder (engine)|cylinder]]. Repairs were started immediately and the engine functioned on fifteen cylinders for the remainder of the flight. Four hours after engine 4 failed, engine no. 2 ([[Fore and aft|aft]] port) was shut down, as one of two bearing cap bolts for the engine [[crankshaft]] failed and the cap fell into the crank case. The cap was removed and the engine was run again, but when the ship was off [[Cape Juby]] the second cap broke and the engine was shut down again. The engine was not run again to prevent further damage. With three engines operating at a speed of {{cvt|100.7|km/h}} and headwinds reported over the [[English Channel]], the crew raised the airship in search of counter-[[trade wind]]s usually found above {{convert|1500|m}}, well beyond the airship's [[pressure altitude]]. Unexpectedly, the crew found such a wind at the lower altitude of {{convert|1100|m}} which permitted them to guide the airship safely back to Germany after gaining emergency permission from France to fly a more direct route over the [[Rhone Valley]]. The nine-day flight covered {{convert|20529|km}} in 203 hours and 32 minutes of flight time.<ref>"Two Motors Crippled as Zeppelin Lands." ''The New York Times,'' April 11, 1936.</ref> All four engines were later overhauled and no further problems were encountered on later flights.<ref>Lehmann 1937, pp. 341–342.</ref> For the rest of April, ''Hindenburg'' remained at its hangar where the engines were overhauled and the lower fin and rudder received a final repair; the ground clearance of the lower rudder was increased from 8 to 14 degrees.

===1936 transatlantic season===
[[File:LZ 129 Hindenburg with RD-4 over Lakehurst May 1936.jpg|thumb|LZ 129 arrival at NAS Lakehurst, May 9, 1936. {{USS| Los Angeles |ZR-3}} is moored upper right.]]
[[File:Hindenburg Kitchen 1936.jpg|thumb|Hindenburg galley in 1936]]

''Hindenburg'' made 17 round trips across the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] in 1936—its first and only full year of service—with ten trips to the United States and seven to [[Brazil]]. The flights were considered demonstrative rather than routine in schedule. The first passenger trip across the [[North Atlantic]] left [[Frankfurt]] on 6 May with 56 crew and 50 passengers, arriving in [[Lakehurst, New Jersey]] on 9 May. As the elevation at [[Frankfurt Airport|Rhein-Main]]'s airfield lies at {{cvt|111|m}} above [[sea level]], the airship could lift {{convert|6|t|lb}} more at takeoff there than she could from Friedrichshafen, which was situated at {{cvt|417|m}}.<ref>Lehmann 1937, p. 343.</ref> Each of the ten westward trips that season took 53 to 78 hours and eastward took 43 to 61 hours. The last eastward trip of the year left Lakehurst on October 10; the first North Atlantic trip of 1937 ended in the [[Hindenburg disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster]].

In May and June 1936, ''Hindenburg'' made surprise visits to England. In May it was on a flight from America to Germany when it flew low over the [[West Yorkshire]] town of [[Keighley]]. A parcel was then thrown overboard and landed in the High Street. Two boys, Alfred Butler and Jack Gerrard, retrieved it and found the contents to be a bouquet of [[carnation]]s, a small silver cross and a letter on official note paper dated May 22, 1936. The letter read: "To the finder of this letter, please deposit these flowers and cross on the grave of my dear brother, Lt. Franz Schulte, 1 Garde Regt, zu Fuss, [[Prisoner of war|POW]] in [[Skipton]] cemetery in Keighley near [[Leeds]]. Many thanks for your kindness. [[Paul Schulte|John P. Schulte]], the first flying priest".<ref>{{Citation |title=The Day Before Yesterday: Being a Journal of the Year 1936 |author=George Bagshawe Harrison |publisher=Cobden-Sanderson |date=1938 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqTSAAAAMAAJ|page=121 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results?basicsearch=%22flowers%20from%20airship%22&exactsearch=true|title=Flowers from Airship: "First Flying Priest's" Request |journal=The Citizen |place=Gloucester|date=May 23, 1936 |page= 4 |volume=61 |issue=20}}</ref> Historian Oliver Denton speculates that the June visit may have had a more sinister purpose: to observe the industrial heartlands of [[Northern England]].<ref>{{Citation |author=Oliver Denton |title=The Rose and the Swastika: The Story of the Hindenburg's Visits to Yorkshire in May and June 1936 |date=2003 |publisher=Hudson History |place=Settle, West Yorkshire |isbn=1903783224}}</ref>

In July 1936, ''Hindenburg'' completed a record Atlantic round trip between Frankfurt and Lakehurst in 98 hours and 28 minutes of flight time (52:49 westbound, 45:39 eastbound).<ref>[http://www.airships.net/hindenburg/flight-schedule/ "Hindenburg Flight Schedule"] Airships.net</ref> Many prominent people were passengers on the ''Hindenburg'', including [[Boxing|boxer]] [[Max Schmeling]] making his triumphant return to Germany in June 1936 after his world heavyweight title knockout of [[Joe Louis]] at [[Yankee Stadium]].<ref>[http://www.airships.net/hindenburg/flight-schedule/max-schmeling/ "Max Schmeling on the Hindenburg"] Airships.net</ref><ref>[http://centpacrr.com/Schmeling_Hindenburg.pdf "SCHMELING HOME, HAILED BY REICH Planes Soar Over Hindenburg to Greet Boxer Who Was Ignored on Departure"] ''The New York Times'', June 27, 1936</ref><ref>Berg, Emmett. [http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2004/julyaugust/feature/fight-the-century "Fight of the Century."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310235945/http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2004/julyaugust/feature/fight-the-century |date=March 10, 2014 }} ''Humanities'', Vol. 25, No. 4, July/August 2004. Retrieved: January 7, 2008.</ref> In the 1936 season, the airship flew {{convert|191583|mi}} and carried 2,798 passengers and 160 tons of freight and mail, encouraging the ''[[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin]]'' Company to plan the expansion of its airship fleet and transatlantic service.{{Citation needed|date = May 2016}}

The airship was said to be so stable a pen or pencil could be balanced on end atop a table without falling. Launches were so smooth that passengers often missed them, believing the airship was still docked to the [[mooring mast]]. A one-way fare between Germany and the United States was US$400 ({{Inflation|US|400|1936|fmt=eq}}); ''Hindenburg'' passengers were affluent, usually entertainers, noted sportsmen, political figures, and leaders of industry.<ref>Grossman, Dan. [http://www.airships.net/hindenburg/flight-schedule/maiden-voyage "Hindenburg's Maiden Voyage Passenger List"] Airships.net. Retrieved: May 9, 2010.</ref><ref>Toland 1972, p. 9.</ref> ''Hindenburg'' was used again for propaganda when it flew over the [[Olympic Stadium (Berlin)|Olympic Stadium]] in Berlin on August 1 during the opening ceremonies of the [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Summer Olympic Games]]. Shortly before the arrival of [[Adolf Hitler]] to declare the Games open, the airship crossed low over the packed stadium while trailing the [[Olympic flag]] on a long weighted line suspended from its [[gondola]].<ref>Birchall 1936</ref> On September 14, the ship flew over the annual [[Nuremberg Rally]].

On October 8, 1936, ''Hindenburg'' made a 10.5 hour flight (the "Millionaires Flight") over [[New England]] carrying 72 wealthy and influential passengers including financier and future U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom [[Winthrop W. Aldrich]], his 28-year-old nephew [[Nelson Rockefeller]], who became the Governor of New York and, later, [[Vice President of the United States]], various German and American government officials and military officers, as well as key figures in the aviation industry, including [[Juan Trippe]], founder and Chief Executive of [[Pan American World Airways|Pan American Airways]], and [[World War I]] flying ace Captain [[Eddie Rickenbacker]], president of [[Eastern Airlines]]. The ship arrived at [[Boston]] by noon and returned to Lakehurst at 5:22{{nbs}}pm before making its final transatlantic flight of the season back to Frankfurt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.airships.net/hindenburg/flight-schedule/millionaire-flight/|title=Hindenburg "Millionaires Flight"|last=Grossman|first=Dan|website=Airships.net|access-date=June 12, 2017}}</ref>

During 1936, ''Hindenburg'' had a [[Blüthner]] aluminium [[grand piano]] placed on board in the music salon, though the instrument was removed after the first year to save weight.<ref>[http://www.bluthnerpiano.com/history.html "A History of the Blüthner Piano Company"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206212332/http://www.bluthnerpiano.com/history.html |date=February 6, 2007 }} bluthnerpiano.com. Retrieved: January 7, 2008.</ref> Over the winter of 1936–37, several alterations were made to the airship's structures. The greater lift capacity allowed nine passenger cabins to be added, eight with two beds and one with four, increasing passenger capacity to 70.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=http://www.airships.net/hindenburg/interiors/|title=The Hindenburg's Interior: Passenger Decks}}</ref> These windowed cabins were along the starboard side aft of the previously installed accommodations, and it was anticipated for the LZ 130 to also have these cabins.<ref name="Duggan">{{cite book|last1=Bauer|first1=Manfred|last2=Duggan|first2=John|title=LZ 130 "Graf Zeppelin" and the End of Commercial Airship Travel|date=1996|location=Friedrichshafen|isbn=9783895494017}}</ref> Additionally, the Olympic rings painted on the hull were removed for the 1937 season.

''Hindenburg'' also had an experimental aircraft hook-on [[trapeze]] similar to the one on the U.S. Navy Goodyear–Zeppelin built airships [[USS Akron (ZRS-4)|''Akron'']] and [[USS Macon (ZRS-5)|''Macon'']]. This was intended to allow customs officials to be flown out to ''Hindenburg'' to process passengers before landing and to retrieve mail from the ship for early delivery. Experimental hook-ons and takeoffs, piloted by [[Ernst Udet]], were attempted on March 11 and April 27, 1937, but were not very successful, owing to turbulence around the hook-up trapeze. The loss of the ship ended all prospects of further testing.<ref>Dick and Robinson 1985, pp. 142–145.</ref>