National Air and Space Museum Archives

Zeppelin LZ 129 "Hindenburg" Memorabilia

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.XXXX.1009
Creators:
Zeppelin (Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH) (Germany)
Dates:
bulk 1936
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.05 Cubic feet
(1 folder)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of: one color postcard view of dining room, postmarked London, 6 September 1936, from Ed Aldin to Major Lester D. Gardner; one receipt in the amount of 6.55 Reichmarks for a radio message sent from the wireless station by Lester D. Gardner, dated 2 October 1936; one bill in the amount of 162 Reichmarks for services aboard the ship (in German); and 11 service chits for alcoholic beverages signed by Lester D. Gardner.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The "Hindenburg" (Deutsches Luftschiff Zeppelin #129; Registration: D-LZ 129) belonged to the longest class of flying machines and the largest airships by envelope volume. The Hindenburg class of rigid airships was built by the Zeppelin Company (Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH), and this particular zeppelin flew from March 1936 until May 6, 1937, when fire destroyed the airship at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey, after the airship's first transatlantic flight. Major Lester D. Gardner was the organizer and secretary of the American Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences. He flew aboard the "Hindenburg" from Lakehurst, NY, to Moscow on October 3-6, 1936, to inspect the Central Aviation Institute, and afterwards flew to Berlin to attend a Lillienthal Society meeting, and then to France. His findings and photographs were presented jointly that December by the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Society of Automotive Engineers

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Lester Gardner, Gift

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access.
Preferred Citation
Zeppelin LZ 129 "Hindenburg" Memorabilia, Accession XXXX-1009, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Airships Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Postcards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Receipts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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