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Aviation Pioneers

Aviation pioneers: the Hindenburg on its first flight by Québec on July 1st 1936

The Hindenburg airship over Quebec in 1936. The Quebec bridge is visible in the background.
The Hindenburg airship over Quebec in 1936. The Quebec bridge is visible in the background.

The particularly rare picture above shows the LZ129 Hindenburg airship just after it completed its flight over Québec, Canada on its fourth crossing of the Atlantic from Germany to Lakehurst, United States, on July 1st 1936. This fly-by had not been announced since the trip was normally done directly between Germany and United States.

The Hindenburg was the biggest airship in the world and it was destroyed in 1937 on the arrival to Lakehurst. The explosion of the hydrogen on board the airship caused the death of 34 passengers and crew members.

Far away, we can see the Quebec bridge, the longest cantilever bridge in the world, while it was the sole link between the two shores of the St-Lawrence seaway.

An excellent source of information (in French) can be found on the internet link included below. It recalls the citizen’s comments while the airship was approaching, the trajectory followed by the airship over Quebec City and how the citizens learned of the Hindenburg’s approach:

Le dirigeable Von Hindenburg au-dessus de Québec [1er juillet 1936]