0n May 6, 1937 airship LZ-129, the Hindenburg, was destroyed in a fire at NAS Lakehurst. Of the 97 people on board, 35 people died, and the destruction of the Hindenburg was widely publicized, and caused the public to lose confidence in the airship as a reliable form of transportation.  The San Diego Air and Space Museum's Curatorial collection houses several artifacts that relate to the Hindenburg Airship Disaster that occurred in May of 1937. These artifacts were came from a variety of sources, but all were donated after our major fire in 1978.

Video of the Hindenburg accident and fire.

Our collection contains numerous pieces of doped fabric from the Hindenburg.  The large piece on the bottom was recovered by Rear Admiral Walter Franklyn James, USN (MC), from the scene of the crash after he provided on-site medical assistance.

This pully for a control cable from the Hindenburg was found by a donor who visited the crash site in the 1930s.

The Museum houses a piece of the metal framework for the Hidenburg. In the photo below, the same type of strut can be seen while the Hindenburg was being constructed.

We have many photos of the Hindenburg and other airships in our archival image collection, and in particular in the Henry Cord Meyer collection.