Traveling on the Hindenburg

The Hindenburg had a control car that held the control room or bridge (as in a ship), the navigation room, and an observation area. The control room crew operated rudder and elevator controls. They could also release hydrogen gas (to make the airship lose height) or water ballast (to gain height).

The Germans used hydrogen, which was highly flammable, as a lifting gas. A safer alternative was helium gas, but the

only major producer of helium was the United States. The sale of helium to Germany was prohibited at the time because of political disagreements between the U. S. government and Germany’s Nazi regime. German airship engineers knew that hydrogen gas could be dangerous; there had been many accidents with balloons and airships caused by hydrogen catching fire. Only a spark was needed. To minimize the risk of fire, engineers had built in safety measures that included treating the skin of the airship to prevent any sparks caused by electricity or metal contact. Passengers were permitted to smoke, but only in a pressurized smoking room.

The passenger accommodation was inside the metal body of the airship. The Hindenburg had beds for fifty passen­gers, although more than 100 people could be carried, including the crew. Passenger cabins were small, measuring 6.5 feet by 5.5 feet (1.98 by 1.68 meters). Each was equipped with a sleeping berth, a folding washbasin, and a fold­ing writing table. Passengers spent most of their time in the public areas of the airship, looking out of the windows at the view of mountains, cities, and ocean passing beneath them. At one point, the giant airship even had a grand piano, but this was removed to save weight on the 1937 flights.