The Flight of the Hindenburg

By

Charles Francis

On a hazy May day in 1936, Bay of Fundy fishermen were treated to the sight of one
of the greatest airships ever built by the hand of man. By any standard, including
even those of today, she was gigantic. Her length was 804 feet, which placed her
just seventy-eight feet shy of the length of the Titanic. At her widest point, she
was 135 feet tall.

The airship was the Hindenburg. Perhaps the best way to give an idea as to just
how big the Hindenburg was is to say that- if she were still in existence- she
would be four times the size of one of today's Goodyear blimps that easily cast a
shadow over an entire football stadium on a weekend afternoon in the fall.

On this particular day in May perhaps the most notable aspect of the Hindenburg,
at least for those on the ground, or in this case on the sea, was not her size but
rather her markings. A large black swastika was emblazoned on each of her two tail
fins. The swastika was set on a white circle, which in turn was set on a red
rectangle. It was the Nazi symbol. In addition, the name Hindenburg was painted on
the ship's side in scarlet in gothic script.

There is no mystery as to what the Hindenburg was doing over the Bay of Fundy. She
was on her maiden voyage to the United States. This May 1936 trip was not the one
that would end in disaster though. The Hindenburg would not go up in a raging
inferno of hydrogen at Lakehurst Naval Airfield in New Jersey until May 6, 1937.
Ironically, however, her destruction would occur almost a year to the day she
first graced Bay of Fundy waters.

According to the meticulous flight records kept by Dr. Hugo Eckener, the designer
of the Hindenburg, who was also her pilot, we know that the closest the great
airship came to mainland Nova Scotia was off Yarmouth. Also, thanks to Eckener, we
know that when fishing boats were sighted by the Hindenburg's watch, that the
airship dropped in altitude at the same time playing German martial music over its
loudspeakers. The reason for this was not just so passengers could have a glimpse
of human activity but so the vessel could engage in one of its primary missions,
that of spreading Nazi propaganda. One of the reasons the airship was making
transatlantic crossings was to demonstrate the superiority of German technology.
The orders came straight from Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister.

The initial flight of the Hindenburg took place barely two months earlier on March
4, 1936. Almost immediately after that the vessel was equipped with loudspeakers
so that it could broadcast its presence by playing patriotic German airs. Then it
began a series of propaganda flights over major cities of Europe. It first flight
across the Atlantic was to South America. Then came the flight to the United
States.

Canadian fishermen on the Bay of Fundy or perhaps further off in the area around
Sable Island, then had the distinction of being the first inhabitants of
continental North America to see the Hindenburg on its first voyage to the states.
The fact that the ill-fated airship, which was the largest aircraft ever built,
crossed the Bay of Fundy is not Fundy's only claim to fame regarding the visit,
however.

The first Roman Catholic Mass ever conducted in flight was held on board the
Hindenburg as she flew above Fundy waters. Again, it is thanks to Dr. Hugo Eckener
that we know where the Hindenburg was at the time the Mass took place.

The LZ-129 Zeppelin Hindenburg was the pride of the Nazi Air Ministry headed up by
Hermann Goering. In fact Goering formed a special company to build the great
airship, Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei. Dr. Hugo Eckener headed the company. The
Hindenburg was the only airship the company built.

The Hindenburg was specifically designed for the North Atlantic great circle
route. This route included Newfoundland, Sable Island and the Bay of Fundy. From
Fundy the Hindenburg hugged the east coast of the United States to New Jersey and
Lakehurst Naval Airfield.

The Hindenburg left Friedrichshafen Airfield in Frankfort, Germany on May 6, 1936.

The trip to New Jersey took about sixty hours. The return trip took around fifty
hours with accommodating winds. The historic in-flight Mass took place at some
point after the airship had passed Sable Island and was inside Brown's Bank. The
Mass was completed by the time the airship reached 44 degrees and 56 minutes of
latitude and 68 degrees of longitude. This would place the Hindenburg off Cape
Sable when the Mass took place. There is a bit of controversy regarding the date
of the Mass, however. Dr. Eckener gives it as May 7. Other sources give it as May
8. Regardless, the Mass took place.

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the Mass conducted on the Hindenburg is
the fact that it did take place. The German government was already at odds with
the Catholic church in 1936. However, the service was of value as propaganda for
it made papers in North America and in Europe as another of the airship's unique
accomplishments.

There are scant references to the visits of the Hindenburg to Bay of Fundy waters.
One of the very few was reported in an eastern Maine newspaper. A fisherman, well
off of Mt. Desert Island, reported seeing the great ship while jigging for
mackerel.

The destruction of the Hindenburg one year after her maiden voyage to the United
States is one of the great disasters of the twentieth century. Altogether the
airship made five trips across the North Atlantic. All but the last followed the
same route across the Bay of Fundy. On that last and final voyage, strong winds
blew the Hindenburg well south of her usual route, so that the ship came nowhere
near Fundy. Ironically, no Mass was said on that history making flight.

Author's note: The Hindenburg was not named until after its initial test flight.
Tradition has it that Hugo Eckener wanted to name the gigantic vessel "Hitler." It
is both haunting and sobering to imagine that name gracing the ship's side in
huge scarlet gothic letters