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Hindenburg Gas Cell

Hindenburg Gas Cell

On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg burst into flames in what should have been a routine landing. The airship was kept aloft by 16 gas cell chambers, which were infamously filled with flammable hydrogen. A spark was all it took for for the explosion to begin, which ripped through the Hindenburg in a matter of seconds.


This specimen is a fragment of the Hindenburg’s internal gas cells. Comprised of cotton fabric brushed with a latex-gelatin mixture, the airship’s 16 enormous cells held a combined 200,000 cubic meters (7,062,000 cu ft) of hydrogen gas.


The specimen was acquired from one of the largest private collections of Hindenburg artifacts in the world. It was originally retrieved at the scene in 1937 by journalist Harry Kroh. Kroh was a local reporter dispatched to cover what was expected to be a routine landing, but turned into one the most well-covered disasters in history.

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