[Thermodyne]

Originally posted by geoschmo:
Yes, the Hindenburg was the hydrogen blimp that blew up. The Lindenburg was the giant blimp filled with moldy cheeze. (See how I tied all the threads together with that comment? ain't I clever? )

Well as long as we are correcting everyone in this thread, I take a little poke at Geo

The ship in question was a rigid airship, not a blimp. Blimps are still very much in favor, while the rigid exist only in memory and advanced design papers. Of note on the Hindenburg is the fact that the gas was not grounded to the airframe, and the ability of low pressure hydrogen to store static energy was unknown at that time. So when the air frame was grounded, the gas would have been required to overcome the built in impedance of the gas bag before it could discharge. In doing so, it would have created a spark. Anyone who works with rotary wing aviation can tell you how much energy an ungrounded airframe can hold. So while the sabotage theory makes for a good story, it was in all likelihood an engineering short fall.