The Hindenburg is a 1975 American Technicolor disaster film based on the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. The film stars George C. Scott. It was produced and directed by Robert Wise, and was written by Nelson Gidding, Richard Levinson and William Link, based on the 1972 book of the same name by Michael M. Mooney.
Original theatrical poster by George Akimoto
The model of the Hindenburg used in the film, displayed in the National Air and Space Museum
The Hindenburg disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, U.S. The LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. It was designed and built by the Zeppelin Company and was operated by the German Zeppelin Airline Company. It was named after Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who was president of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934. Filled with hydrogen, it caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst. The accident caused 35 fatalities from the 97 people on board, and an additional fatality on the ground.
Photograph of the Hindenburg descending in flames
The Hindenburg over Manhattan, New York on May 6, 1937, shortly before the disaster
Hindenburg begins to fall seconds after catching fire.
A fire-damaged 9" duralumin cross brace from the frame of the Hindenburg salvaged in May 1937 from the crash site at NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey