[Explosion of the Hindenburg, Lakehurst, New Jersey, May 6, 1937]

Charles Hoff

1937 · Gelatin silver print · Photographs

On May 6, 1937, twenty-two news photographers gathered in Lakehurst, New Jersey to record the landing of the Hindenburg after its eleventh transatlatic crossing. The giant silver vessel floated in from the Atlantic at dusk, when suddenly flames shot out from the hull, setting off a spectacular explosion that left thirty-six dead. Charles Hoff, on assignment for the Daily News, made only one exposure during the forty-seven seconds in which the Hindenburg disappear in flames. His film holder was immediately flown to Newark, where a waiting messenger picked it up and rushed it to the newspaper's darkroom. The next day, Hoff's photograph, and others like it, startled millions around the world.

Artist

Charles Hoff

Date

1937

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987