Zeppelin LZ129 Hindenburg, wooden model kit, length approx. 600mm

The Zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg, with a length of 245 m, was one of the largest aircraft ever built. Its maiden flight took place in March 1936.
Its enormous size, even compared to previous designs, resulted from the original idea of using non-flammable helium as the lifting gas instead of highly flammable hydrogen. Since helium has about twice the density of hydrogen, a significantly larger volume of lifting gas is required for the same payload.
Against the backdrop of rising Nazism, the USA, then the world's sole supplier of helium, refused to supply the noble gas. Thus, the Hindenburg was again classically filled with hydrogen.
It was used in transatlantic service, particularly on the routes Frankfurt a.M. - Rio de Janeiro and Frankfurt a.M. - Lakehurst (near New York). In total, the Hindenburg covered a distance of 337,000 km.
The Zeppelin gained sad notoriety due to the disaster on May 6, 1937. Coming from Frankfurt a.M., the Hindenburg initially had to delay landing in Lakehurst by circling due to a thunderstorm. Upon reaching the landing position, a fire broke out in the tail section, which spread across the entire ship in a matter of seconds and completely destroyed it. 36 people lost their lives in the disaster. This accident also marked the provisional end of passenger airship travel.