CATASTROPHE "Hindenburg" What happened in an American town, "Lakehurst" May 6, 1937, for a long time ceased to exist the whole transport sector - service vehicles are lighter than air. After 30 successful years of age of passenger airships ended in a few "fire" minutes of the disaster. Successful German pilots for more than three decades, was moved to its airships tens of thousands of passengers. More than 2000 commercial flights "were wrapped in" many millions of miles away, and none of them did not end with death. "Hindenburg" began its last flight May 3, 1937 The ship was launched on the tarmac at Frankfurt in 19 hours, 16 minutes, passed Cologne and quickly slipped a little Holland. Before we get into the zone of the English Channel, a giant flying over the white cliffs of Beachy Head in southern England, and went on a course across the Atlantic about two o'clock in the morning on May 4. The airship flew to the usual northern transatlantic route past the southern point of Greenland, reaching the coast of North America near Newfoundland. During the flight over the ocean was a strong headwind, and the ship did not have time to arrive at Lakehurst on schedule. As a result of the arrival time was rescheduled for 6:00 am to 18:00 May 6, 1937 At noon, the aircraft flew to Boston and at 15:00, "Hindenburg" has already soared above the skyscrapers of Manhattan in New York. Further, the airship headed south and arrived at 16:15 at the Naval airbase in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Weather conditions did not permit to land immediately, so the captain of the Hindenburg, Max Pruss said the duty officer (in our time it would be called an air traffic controller) Naval Base Lakehurst, Charles Rosendahl, that land should make a little bit later when the wind dies down a bit. The airship hovered over the coastline of New Jersey until the right time for planting. The culmination of the disaster: food has already collapsed and a huge flame burns at the bow of the airship At 18:00 the weather improved. After 12 minutes Rosendahl sent Pruss weather report indicating the temperature at the earth's surface, pressure, depth, visibility and wind speed. The report indicated that weather conditions are suitable to plant a "Hindenburg". The sections were then Rosendahl sent two telegrams. At 18:22 the ship received a message "Please make a landing immediately, and at 19:08 came the text" We strongly recommend to put a ship, the sooner the better. " Approaching the landing site airship approached the Lakehurst base airfield from the south-west side shortly after seven in the evening, at an altitude of 180 meters. Once the airship appeared over the airfield, Captain Pruss assessed the situation and, given the strong easterly wind, decided to make a sharp left turn. The essence of maneuver was to gradually dropping, fly around the airfield in an oval trajectory from the north and west, so that, ultimately, at the time of planting guide the ship into the wind. Because in those days there was no computer control systems, the in-flight between the team members were allocated responsibility for maintaining the required flight parameters of the vessel. Captain Pruss followed the course of the airship, as well as to control power main engines. Senior Assistant Albert Semmt responsible for the pitch and height, watch officer, Walter Ziegler worked at the controls the pressure of hydrogen, and the ballast control was under the second mate of Henry Bauer. Thus, while Pruss implemented approach "Hindenburg" to the site, Semmt ordered Ziegler for 15 seconds to open the vents of the hydrogen system on the entire length of the vessel in order to reduce lift and put the airship. Pruss, continued a slow left turn, gradually reducing the craving engines, and then completely translating them into a reverse mode. Semmt noticed that the vessel sits on the stern and to align the pitch for 30 seconds, opened the hydrogen valves of five sections (from 11 th to 16 th) at the bow of the airship. By reducing the lift at the bow of the ship was supposed to equalize. However, this was not enough, the airship is still "sitting" on the stern. Then Semmt ordered the discharge ballast water in the stern compartments, weighing 1100 kg, and another 5 seconds to open the hydrogen valve in the front. Nevertheless, these measures are also not allowed to return to the airship in a horizontal position, and the team had to use extreme measures. Six crew members were ordered to move to the front of the ship in order to align the ship with their weight. "Hindenburg" on the airfield in Frankfurt should be noted that the distribution of functional responsibilities that fateful evening did not comply with the rules of the German aviation industry. Captain Pruss controlled the course of the ship and engine power, in violation of existing regulations. According to regulations, while landing the airship "Hindenburg" and "Graf Zeppelin" steering and traction engines were to be controlled by a senior officer of the watch, and elevators, ballast control and the pressure of hydrogen - in charge of another crew member. In this case, the captain had only to control the process and to intervene only in case of difficulties and disputes between subordinates. Incidentally, the German charter aircraft management often became a subject of discussion in the governing circles of the U.S. Navy because it was very different from a similar document the U.S. Navy. One way or another, but during his last maneuver "Hindenburg" was under the direct control of the captain, who followed the situation of horizontal steering and traction engines, while Albert Semmt, along with his assistants, monitored the elevators, state of the ballast and the carrier gas . There are several versions of why the wheelhouse controls were in violation of existing regulations, redeployed as members of the crew. On one of them, Pruss took personally manage the airship, because he has long worked as officer of the watch. On the other hand, the whole thing was that on board attended by the director of "The German transport company Zeppelin» (DZR, German Zeppelin Transport Company) Ernst Lehmann. You can see the captain, who succumbed to the natural desire to show himself in the eyes of his own head. However, for the honor of Prussia, he never publicly commented on this fact and made no attempt to evade responsibility by explaining the errors in the management of the ship by the presence of superiors. "Hindenburg" flies over buildings at Princeton University, May 6, 1937 Image from student Torntom Gerrishem from his dorm room on the campus of Pine Hall Semmt While trying to align the pitch, "Hindenburg", the wind changed its direction from east to south-east. Thus, the initial plan Pruss required adjustments should now deploy the vessel's hull to the southeast. Accordingly, this problem needed to change the course of the vessel, however, this maneuver has been insufficient time and space. "Hindenburg" was already in close proximity to the landing point, but to make a maneuver to reorient the body to move was very difficult, because the mooring mast was already quite close. In addition, Prussia feared that the weather may get worse before the ship moored to a mast, so the captain put the ship in a hurry. The captain decided to make a technically complex S-shaped maneuver in order to still change the orientation of corps in the horizontal plane. To this end, he turned the airship to the left, and then took a sharp right turn, directing the body against the wind. According to some experts, at this moment due to the rapid changes of direction the ship has changed dramatically the tension force ropes, providing strength sheathing. As a result of these ropes was hit on the hydrogen tanks, which led to their numerous injuries, resulting in and form an explosive mixture of hydrogen with air. Trajectory approach to the airship landing directly in front of a catastrophe, photos from the report of the U.S. Commerce Department after having been made S-shaped maneuver to change the direction of motion, the airship continued to approach the mooring mast. Captain Pruss adjust the course of using the bow and stern motors. At 19:21, when the ship was at an altitude of 60 meters, with its bow mooring ropes were released. Fire a few minutes after mooring had been given charge of mooring port side, R. Ward, said wave-like vibration of the left side of the airship skin, between segments 62 and 77. During the investigation of the catastrophe in his testimony before the commission of the Commercial Department Ward noted that the oscillations were caused by shell hydrogen jet that jolt through the cracks in gas cylinders. Similar testimony gave the ground crew member William R. Entry, who was at the top of the mooring mast and saw the quivering skin behind the left aft engine. At 19:25 were spotted flames outside the first shell airship. Numerous eyewitness accounts of some of the details do not match, but there are two basic versions. Most of the attendees saw the first outbreaks of fire or on top of the shell, slightly ahead of the vertical fin (near the exit air duct between the cells 4 and 5), or between the left aft engine and the left flipper (of gas cylinders, where Ward and saw Entry shake cladding) . Captain Albert Semmt duty officer base Lakehurst Charles Rosendahl describes the shape of a flame, like a flower gribopodobnoy form. According to him, the flames burst out through the hole in the casing in front of the upper vertical fin. U.S. Navy Lt. Benjamin May, assistant chief of the ground crew, who, as well as the Entry, was at the top of the mooring mast, told the commission that the area of ??skin behind the left aft engine (Ward and Entry just seen here shaking shell) "kind of like shlopnulas. Then he saw streaks of fire, then came the muffled sound of an explosion, then flames quickly engulfed the entire stern of the airship. Navy officer, William Bishop, who was on the ground near the crash site, saw the flash of flame inside the airship, just above the left engine and a little closer to the stern of the ship. Several witnesses disaster, were inside the airship, and have personally seen the inception of the flame. Helmsman Helmut Lau, whose jobs were in the auxiliary control panel near the lower fin, says the following. "I heard the muffled sound of an explosion, looked up and saw a bright flash just before the attachment of the hydrogen section number 4. The outbreak was inside the gas section, I saw the light of the flame through the wall of the cylinder. First, the fire was red, then yellow, then there came the smoke. We can not say that a container exploded. More to the point that the balloon just evaporated under high temperature. The flames continued to spread inside the airship skin, and then escape. Fresh air dramatically accelerated the process of ignition. The flame was very bright, and then the fire got to the top of the airship, and then spread to the right side of the ship. Raging fire element threw out pieces of aluminum mounting and burning scraps of shell. Fell on top of the molten hard-wall and fragments of tissue. All this happened in a matter of split seconds. " Enveloped in flames, "Hindenburg" near the mooring mast The fire spread very rapidly and soon covered the entire aft airship. A few seconds, the ship still retains its horizontal position, but soon started lowering feed and nose, respectively, raised to the sky. From the stern of the huge burst of fire torch. Due to changes in orientation of the spacecraft began the chaos in the aisles at the front and rear passenger decks, where the time of the accident, most people had gathered to watch the landing the airship. People flew in the wall on top of them falling furniture and other accidents. One of the witnesses the incident, a passenger, Margaret Mather remembers that it was thrown at the wall dining room, and it fell on a few more people. Victims and survivors of fire spread very quickly, literally devouring the airship. For people who were on board, the main factor of survival was their position on the ship at a time when the whole body on fire. Passengers and crew were leaping through the observation windows of the burning airship on the ground, despite the high altitude. Most of the passengers and the crew at the time of fire were in public places, on the deck of the "A", near the viewing windows survived. Those who were more deeply located areas airship - in passenger cabins in the central part of the deck or in the offices along the keel, mostly killed in the fire. One passenger, John Pennes (office manager of Hamburg-America Lines, head dealer of German company Deutsche Zeppelin one ") was in the dining room when it started a global conflagration. Who was near full-time photographer "Hindenburg" Karl Otto Clemens shouted Pennesu, that he leaped with him out the window. John refused, since his wife Emma at this time went to his cabin to take a coat, and Pennes in desperation ran to look for a spouse. As a result, both died in the fire, and Clemens managed to survive. The location of the commanders and crew members at the time of the fire, the survivors are marked in green, dead - a red Herman Dohner with his wife and three children (16-year-old Irene, a 10-year old Walter and 8-year-old Werner) also were in the dining room because we wanted to see as the airship will make a touchdown. Immediately before the fire the head of the family left the dining room. When the flame appeared, younger children with their mother jumped out the window and escaped, but Irene went to find his father, as a result both were killed. Given how quickly the flames enveloped "Hindenburg", the survival of the crew depended largely on the will of the case. As can be seen from the diagram, were able to escape those who at the time of ignition was near the windows, including 9 of 11 people in the engine compartment, and 10 of 12 people in the wheelhouse control. Those who were in the depths of the ship, such as electricians in with premises along the keel, and Max Schulz, a room for smoking on the deck of «B», or those who were close to the starboard side, they all fell into the burning wreckage of the airship. Cause of death on the right side is the fact that the burning skeleton craft at the time of contact with the earth's surface rolled over on its right side. People who were in the bow of the airship, also had little chance to survive because they were in a strong pillar of flame, when the burning vessel pulled up the nose. As can be seen in the diagram, all nine people at the time of fire in the immediate vicinity of the front edge of the shell could not be saved. The nose of the airship, flames ship fell to the ground in about 30 seconds after the first flames. By this time, those members of the crew and passengers jumped out the window, managed to run off from the crash site at a safe distance. Did not have to persuade to do the same members of the ground crew, who before the disaster were located on the ground directly below the airship. The natural instinct of self made people who were on the ground in a panic to flee away from the crash site, and the sooner the better. However, not everyone was running away from the fire. The composition of the ground crew on the day of the disaster was part of a senior naval Petty Officer Frederick G. Tobin, nicknamed "The Bull", the pilot of a veteran. When the majority of people ran away from the crash site, he shouted: "Sailors! All to help the victims! ". "Bull" Tobin survived the crash airship WF U.S. "Shenando and enjoyed well-deserved respect among the sailors. Therefore, many have heard his call and began to assist the injured in the fire "Hindenburg". Footage of the disaster clearly indicate that the sailors turned and ran toward the burning wreck to help those who were still alive. These frames - a real monument to heroism sailors Lakehurst, manifested in that terrible day. When the sad result of "Hindenburg" flew from Frankfurt, on board were 97 people. From the fiery furnace in Lakehurst managed to save 62 people, although many of them suffered serious burns and other injuries. Thirteen of the 36 passengers and twenty-two members of the crew of 61 perished in the dreadful fire. Among people who were at the time of the disaster on the ground, was registered by a deceased member of the team landed Allen Hagaman. End of an era long airship is not burned out "Hindenburg", the general public an amazing "farewell" dirizhablestroitelyam sufficiently frequent accident-prone accident aircraft lighter than air. Highlights of charm and high-speed quality "Hindenburg" remained a passionate emotion and passion in most people, despite the long list of disasters airships, which occurred quite frequently. But the peculiarity of the disaster in Leyherste lies in its publicity. Long before the fiery nightmare occurred on May 6 larger disaster of this type of aerial equipment. For example, an accident of British dirigible R-101 and the USS "Ekron" claimed 48 lives and 73, respectively. However, these disasters have occurred over the sea in the darkness, away from witnesses, cameras and camera. A disaster "Hindenburg" was filmed on film, and millions of viewers worldwide have seen a dramatic picture of how great a flame in seconds devours the airship, along with his passengers. Where is your humanity, the humanity! Smoldering wreckage of a miracle technology is difficult to think of another reasonable reason why it is that rainy day in Lakehurst became the date of the last disaster in the history of airships. Perhaps the fire "Hindenburg" was the last straw in a long line of accidents hydrogen giants. LZ-4, LZ-5, "Deutschland, Deutschland II», «Schwaben», R-38b R-101, "Shenando", "Ekron", "Mekon", the list still goes on. Probably after the accident at Lakehurst public has decided that this time is enough! The outgoing symbol of the era airship Despite its romantic aura and grandeur, from the technological point of view, "Hindenburg" was outdated at the time. Moreover, its construction lagged behind the technological progress even before the first flight of the airship. So, 22 November 1935, three months before the "Hindenburg" was first off the ground, held its first commercial flight flying boats M-130 Company "Pan American Airways. The aircraft, nicknamed "The Chinese flying boat" made a flight over the Pacific Ocean en route San Francisco - Manila. With its four engines it's much faster than any airship overcome great distances. Thus, in the first flight he covered nearly 4000 miles non-stop from San Francisco to Honolulu, which far exceeds the distance that the aircraft must be overcome without landing, to cross the North Atlantic. Originally, the creators of the plane M-130 suggested that it would be used just for the North Atlantic flights. But purely for political reasons, "Pan American Airways did not start in 1935, air travel between the UK and the USA. Albion authorities refused to grant U.S. companies the right to land the plane in the British Isles, as long as the United Kingdom will not be able to build a similar domestic airline. However, the aircraft of the Old World at that time were far behind their overseas counterparts in the construction of long range aircraft. (In parenthesis, we note in fairness that when in 1939 the Pan American began to make regular flights to Boeing B-314 "across the Atlantic, the total flight time, taking into account several intermediate airfields, was, according to the schedule, 45-55 hours . It turns out that the aircraft crossed the route is not faster than it did "Hindenburg", but with much worse comfort for passengers. On the other hand, to carry forty passengers on the plane required ten men of the crew, while on the airship size of the team was four times more.) See also: Legendary record is lighter than air
No comments:
Post a Comment