Final answer:
The Hindenburg was a 245-meter long German airship that exploded in 1937 due to a chemical reaction between hydrogen gas and oxygen, killing 36 people. The use of hydrogen was due to its excellent lifting ability, but its flammability led to the disaster, causing a shift to helium use in later airships.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Hindenburg airship was a German passenger airship that became infamous for its dramatic and tragic explosion in 1937 upon attempting to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The airship measured an impressive length of approximately 245 meters (803 feet), making it one of the largest airships ever constructed. The explosion was the result of a chemical reaction whereby the hydrogen gas that filled the Hindenburg combined with atmospheric oxygen to produce water, releasing a tremendous amount of energy in the form of a fireball which consumed the airship and resulted in the loss of 36 lives.
At the time, hydrogen was chosen as the lifting gas for the Hindenburg due to its excellent lifting properties; however, it posed a high risk of ignition, as evidenced by the disaster. Helium was not used, despite being nonflammable, because it was significantly more costly and was subject to an export ban by the United States to Germany in the pre-WWII era. This disaster led to a shift in airship manufacturing, with helium becoming the standard lifting gas for all subsequent airships, a direct legacy of the Hindenburg disaster.