HISTORY OF HEAVY DIRIGIBLES & AIRSHIPS HINDENBURG DISASTER U.S. NAVY ZEPPELINS 84504

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Produced by the United States Department of War, this rather lengthy, black-and-white is titled “Lighter-Than-Air History Rigid Airship.” (Although the Roman numeral copyright date is 1947, it seems possible the film was made in 1937). The film opens as one of the US Navy’s airships passes effortlessly above the camera and the narrator references the history of the rigid airship, “a story full of excitement and adventure,” and envisions a future in which the airships serve military and commercial purposes.

Of course, the narrator admits, no mention of a dirigible can take place without a reference to the Hindenburg disaster on May 6, 1937. The now-familiar footage of the dirigible exploding into flames and crashing to the ground is shown at mark 01:14, as the narrator discusses possible causes. (The incident shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and ultimately led to the end of the airship era.)

The view is taken back in time to 1897 with a discussion of the history of the airship starting at mark 02:47, as early drawings from aviation pioneer David Schwarz are shown on the screen. (Schwarz is credited with creating the first airship with an external hull made of metal. He died before it was flown.) The “real father” of the airship, the narrator continues, was Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a German general and aircraft manufacturer, who is shown at mark 03:00. He used his knowledge of balloons garnered as a Union Army observer during the Civil War to craft the first dirigible. The first practical rigid, the Zeppelin LZ 1, flew on July 2, 1900, and various animations show how the aircraft was constructed and able to take flight.

Come mark 05:56, the film introduces its viewer to Hugo Eckener, one of Zeppelin’s colleagues and following his 1917 death, Zeppelin’s successor in Germany’s airship development. We then take a look inside an early commercial airship, including its promenade deck, restaurant, and cabins. Overtime, the German military began to use such airships as weapons, the narrator comments at mark 08:18 — something that caught Allied Forces in World War I unprepared. “For the first time in history it was possible to carry a large cargo of bombs hundreds of enemies by air to enemy territory,” we are told, as images of German Zeppelins are shown flying overhead. One of the most successful uses of a Zeppelin was during the Battle of Jutland in 1916 in the North Sea, as the Imperial German Navy battled the British Royal Navy. A Zeppelin spotted Navy vessels and were able to radio their location. After WWI, the Allies studied a few handful of captured German airships. The British were able to develop their own rigid airship, with the R34 becoming the first aircraft to make a successful nonstop east to west transatlantic flight.

The US Navy attempted their own construction of a rigid airship with the USS Shenandoah (ZR-1). It was destroyed in a storm in 1925, killing 14 people onboard. At mark 17:55, the viewer learns of the USS California (ZR-3), a rigid airship built by Germany as war reparation. It was used for experimental work, making more than 300 flights, before the airship program was dismantled in 1932. The Goodyear Tire Company would later team with German manufacturers to create airships including the USS Akron (ZRS-4), the Navy's fourth rigid airship used for several tests including as a flying aircraft carrier.

At mark 29:15, we see Germany’s new airship, the Graf Zeppelin (LZ 127), launched in 1928. The film shows crowds of people surrounding the massive as it takes to the sky. The ship operated commercially from 1928 to 1937, and was the first commercial passenger transatlantic flight service in the world. The Hindenburg (LZ 129) is discussed again at mark 31:49, as the narrator discusses its various transatlantic ships and accommodations such as staterooms, showers, lounge, and smoking room. “The big airship provided the acknowledged maximum comfort in oceanic travel.”

Although the film notes at mark 35:40 that many aeronautic experts envision airships as being viable means of transportation in both military and commercial settings, their development was all but abandoned following World War II.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com

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