| Original caption: “German airship Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey.” While this image is dated January 25, 1937, rigid airship LZ129 Hindenburg was laid up for the winter in Germany at that time, so it’s likely it was taken earlier. In this view 2 of the 4 Daimler-Benz DB 602 diesel 16-cylinder engines. The people under the airship’s envelope demonstrate the immense size of the Hindenburg. Hindenburg’s last flight at Lakehurst, New Jersey, was the famed “Millionaire’s Flight” of October 9, 1937. Cruising for 10 and half hours over fall foliage of New England, it was a promotional flight for German-American airship service. The passengers were said to have a net worth of 1,000,000,000 dollars, a sizable sum in 1936. Medal of Honor recipient Eddie Rickenbacher (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973), then President of Eastern Air Lines, Nelson A. “Rocky” Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), President of Creole Petroleum Corporation, William J. “Jack” Frye (March 18, 1904 – February 3, 1959) of Trans World Airlines, and Juan T. Trippe (June 27, 1899 – April 3, 1981) of Pan American Airlines, among others, were some of famous passengers. The flight was jointly organized by the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei (DZR) and Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso), which supplied diesel fuel and hydrogen to the Hindenburg, and the passengers were hosted during the flight by Hugo Eckener (August 10, 1868 – August 14, 1954) manager of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin; Hindenburg Captain Ernst A. Lehmann (May 12, 1886 – May 7, 1937), and Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei’s American representative, Friedrich Wilhelm “Willy” von Meister (July 19, 1903 – July 7, 1978). National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) radio reporter John B. Kennedy (January 16, 1894 – July 22, 1961) did live airborne broadcasts from the ship over the NBC Blue and Red networks in the afternoon. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0799.jpg |
| Image Size | 570.40 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2900 x 2321 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Naval Aircraft Factory |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 25, 1937 |
| Location | |
| City | Lakehurst |
| State or Province | New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-72-AF-212965 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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