Imagine something the size of an ocean liner,
that floats in the sky. With amenities like piano lounges, dining
rooms and private staterooms, they were a luxurious way to travel the world. 80 years ago, we had airships. Cruising 200 meters above the ground, they
flew so smoothly, you could stand a pencil on its end without it falling over. And plans were being drawn up for even bigger, more luxurious airships. Until this happened. The whole world watched in horror as one burned
to the ground in front rolling cameras. And giant airships, well, they seemingly disappeared
overnight. First taking flight in 1936, the Hindenburg
was, and still is, the largest object to ever fly. And it’s scale is simply awe inspiring. Here’s an average person compared to a typical
bus. Compared to a Boeing 747. And now here’s the Hindenburg. It dwarfs anything flying today. And many people are surprised to learn just
how extensive the Hindenburg’s accommodations were. Maybe it’s because you can’t really tell
from the outside where the passenger spaces are. But the inside of the Hindenburg was more
like an ocean liner than an airplane. Passengers could enjoy dinner in a full service
dining room, then take in the views from one of two promenades, or socialize in the piano
lounge, or relax in the writing room. Downstairs, passengers could enjoy a cigar
in the smoking room or have a drink at the bar. Heading back upstairs, passengers would retire
for the night in own their private sleeping cabin. All of this, while floating in the sky. The fastest ocean liners of the day could
only cruise at around 35 miles per hour, but an airship like the Hindenburg, well, it could
easily do twice that. A transatlantic crossing that would have taken
five days by ocean liner, could be done in just two days on the Hindenburg. And an airship, well it wouldn't just take
you to an ocean port, but to inland cities as well. The Hindenburg regularly flew over Europe
on it’s way to inland destinations. But on May 6, 1937, after completing a trans-Atlantic crossing, the Hindenburg began to dock in New Jersey. And suddenly... Something ignited the Hindenburg's lifting gas. The Hindenburg was destroyed in a matter of seconds. This wasn't the first airship disaster, it
wasn't even the most deadly. But this one was different. It was captured on film. People weren't used to seeing things like
this and it made the tragedy all the more horrifying. Many people consider the golden age of the
airship travel to have ended here with the Hindenburg catastrophe. Public confidence was shattered, and the romance
and the extravagance of airships suddenly disappeared. But did the Hindenburg disaster really bring
an end to the giant airship? Well, for something nearly the size of the
Titanic, the Hindenburg could only carry 72 passengers at most. And it needed an additional 52 crew members
to operate. Compare that to an ocean liner of the day,
which could comfortably carry almost 2000 passengers, and had a crew and staff of over
a thousand. Giant airships like the Hindenburg carried
so few passengers despite their massive size, because lifting gasses, such as Helium just
don’t provide all that much lift. Even when the Hindenburg switched from helium
to hydrogen, it could still only manage to lift about one hundred thousand pounds. Sounds like a lot, but that’s only about
the weight of eight elephants. So, everything on the Hindenburg had to be
designed to be as lightweight as possible, to make sure the whole thing could stay afloat. Those passenger cabins? Tiny and cramped, complete with bunk beds. Not so luxurious. Even the walls and doors had to be made out
of lightweight foam covered in fabric, so you could hear your neighbor talking, coughing,
or worse. And none of the cabins had their own bathrooms. That ‘s too heavy. So you’d have to go down a flight of stairs
to use shared bathrooms. And for 72 passengers, there was a one single
shower. Water, which weighs a lot, had to be rationed. So even that one shower wasn’t much more
than a trickle. The airship’s grand piano had to be made
out of special lightweight aluminum, but even that was eventually removed to save weight. And yeah, maybe these are compromises you
have to accept for floating in the sky, but the whole thing was absurdly expensive too. In today’s dollars a single one way trip
aboard the Hindenburg cost almost $7000. And sure, an ocean liner was half the speed,
but a first class cabin on an ocean liner came with a sprawling suite with a private
bathroom. Tickets on ocean liners were more affordable
even as the accommodations were much more luxurious, with giant ballrooms, theaters,
and even indoor swimming pools. And by 1937, if you really wanted to cross
the ocean as fast as possible, aircraft were just starting to make transatlantic crossings. By the time the hindenburg went up in flames
in 1937, the airship was already obsolete. It couldn't compete with comfort and luxury
of an ocean liner. It’s speed couldn't match an aircraft. and all of it was absurdly expensive. Today, the giant airship remains an irresistible
concept. But physics, just like it did 80 years ago, always manages to bring the giant airship idea back to earth.
This was really interesting and well animated. I'm surprised this channel only has ~140 subs
https://youtu.be/vzYLTnI7TUI
Does anyone know what the map at 1:50 is supposed to be showing in dark green? Is it parks?
Yes, it certainly wasn't the only crash.
Almost every single rigid airship ever built (there were just a bit over a hundred in total) either burned or was blown away by strong winds and crashed somewhere.