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| Graf Zeppelin Hindenburg LZ-129 |
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| Nearly as long as the Titanic and almost | |||||||
| as Luxurious- an Ocean liner in the Sky! | |||||||
| Length of 804 feet long Four 1,200 Horsepower, Mercedes Benz Engines Cruise Speed 80 plus miles per hour Crew 40 to 61 Passengers 50-72 |
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| The sheer size of this ship is deceptive in images. For an example, notice the little tiny specks on the ground in front of the Hindenburg-- these are people. | |||||||
| The Millionaires' Flight | |||||||
| V.I.P. Passengers include Jack Frye President of Transcontinental and Western Air |
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| Tycoons Board Coast Cruise On- Hindenburg | |||||||
| U.S. Notables Making Flight Believed Test Of Feasibility Of Sea Passenger Lines |
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| Lakehurst, New Jersey October 9, 1936 | |||||||
| The German dirigible Hindenburg sailed away from the U.S. Naval Air Station @ 7:00 a.m. today, carrying 73 (some accounts say 84) of the Nation's business and financial leaders on a 10-hour cruise over 6 Eastern States. Never in aviation history have so many great names joined for one trip aloft. By conservative estimate, Nelson Rockefeller, Winthrop W. Aldrich, chairman the board for Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, John D. Hertz, and others, probably represent a billion dollar in assets. | |||||||
| While no reason has been officially understood, the trip would provide a means of proving the feasibility of lighter than air craft. Capital now may be interested in building dirigibles here for air lines, or to buying German-made ships of the new Zeppelin type. After the trip, the Hindenburg will load passengers and mail for the final flight of the season to Germany. | |||||||
| Partial List of V.I.P. Passengers- | |||||||
| Passengers included Alvan T. Fuller, president of Packard Motor Company, Boston; Jack Frye, president, Transcontinental and Western Air, Kansas City; Karl Lindemann, chairman of the board, Hamburg-Amerika Line- North Bremen, Germany, also Officer Standard Oil Corporation; Dr. Hans Luther, German Ambassador to the United States, Admiral William H. Standley, Admiral A.B. Cooke, chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics. | |||||||
| Commander Charles E. Rosendahl, Lakehurst Naval Station; Paul W. Litchfield, president, Goodyear Tire and Rubber, Akron, Ohio; Capt. E.V. Rickenbacker, general manager, Eastern Air Lines; Eugene L. Vidal, director of Air Commerce. (more to come) | |||||||
| A Stunning First Class Affair From Start To Finish |
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| News accounts state the V.I.P.'s were shuttled to the area by luxurious private Pullman railroad cars and then driven out to the launch site in a motorcade of chauffeured limousines. NBC news broadcast from the ship once in the air. Dining? A spread fit for royalty that might well have been laid before Kings. The finest fare ever served on this most luxurious of airships! Service was comparable only to the R.M.S. Queen Mary. | |||||||
| Other Details- | |||||||
| The trip was arranged by Standard Oil Company of New Jersey's, Everit J. Sadler. A few notables that were invited but declined for various reasons, were, Walter C. Teagle, Henry Ford, Walter P. Chrysler. The passengers on this flight were so well connected and held such a grip on the commerce of the United States, that if the Hindenburg had faced a disaster like it did later in its life, the country may very well have faced financial ruin. No such flight with this many influential wealthy leaders has ever been dared to be repeated since. | |||||||
| Additional passengers not previously mentioned were, Juan Trippe, Pan American Airways; De Soto Motors, president, Byron C. Foy; Thomas N. McCarter, president, Public Service of New Jersey. Many others obviously have been lost to time. The airship was a sensation as it sailed over its six-state-journey and was well reported Nationwide! | |||||||
| Transcontinental and Western Air's brief forage into the unchartered territory of possible airship service! | |||||||
| the Lindbergh Line and TWA | |||||||
| Why Was Lindbergh's Name Erased From TWA Flying Stock? | |||||||
| Jack Frye may have been impressed with the high-tech German technology of the day, but I guarantee he was not impressed with the Nazi Regime. Before World War II and before the Nazi's tightened their maniacal grip on Germany and Europe, Germany was still a staunch ally of the United States. Unfortunately, many companies around the world were affected by the fallout of extricating themselves from the horror the Nazis were launching. Transcontinental and Western Air was no exception as exhibited by the following article: | |||||||
| Lindbergh's Name Not To Be Used Further By TWA; Nazi Friendship Blamed |
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| Kansas City, December 5, 1938 | |||||||
| New calendars, schedules and advertising matter distributed Monday by the Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., do not carry the slogan, "The Lindbergh Line." The omission led to reports that the company had dropped the slogan because of the complaints against Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh for his friendship some high ranking Nazi German officials and his decision to live in Germany. Jack Frye, TWA president, said however, that this was not the case. | |||||||
| Lindbergh Named Dropped From Ads | |||||||
| Kansas City December 7, 1938 | |||||||
| Jack Frye, president of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., said the deletion of the slogan, "The Lindbergh Line" from the company's current advertising literature was "a routine change." "We have dropped the slogan from our advertising at times in the past," he added, "in August we held a contest among employees to select a new slogan stressing winter flying." | |||||||
| Frye said no decision had been made concerning removal of Col. Charles A. Lindbergh's name from the airliners and that it was possible the company would revert to the original slogan from time to time. Colonel Lindbergh mapped the TWA route and until 1934, was the company's technical advisor. | |||||||
| For many years TWA planes were adorned with "The Lindbergh Line." Anne and Charles were close friends of Frye's from a long way back. As well, Charles was a valued advisor for TWA. However, unfortunately, in the late 1930's, Lindbergh's speeches for America First and his alliance with the new German Regime was a damaging detriment to those associated with him. This is the reason, and no other, that Transcontinental and Western Air scrubbed his name off of all their planes in 1939, disassociating themselves with Lindbergh forever. Most Americans remember Lindbergh as an American Hero, rightly so, but with a little research there is revealed a controversial side of him, patriotic citizens of the then pre-war United States did not endorse. | |||||||
| TWA's new slogan thereafter was "The Sunny Santa Fe Way." | |||||||
| For effect I have added to this webpage the sound of an airship. Unfortunately, it is not the Hindenburg, but that of the Met-Life Airship flying over my home in Arizona, fall of 2008. I did edit the sound quality a bit to make the rather puny sounding airship I recorded into what I feel would be the massive sound of the Hindenburg! | |||||||
| a Jack Frye | |||||||
| Transcontinental and Western Air | |||||||
| Historical Web Site | |||||||
| The Sedona Legend Helen Frye Website
is Totally Non-Profit and Receives No Income |
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| Copyright © 2003
Sedona Legend Helen Frye Website Created By R. D. Reynolds All Rights Reserved |
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| View From The Jack Frye Ranch in Sedona Arizona | |||||||
| Thank You For Your Interest In | |||||||
| Sedona Legend Helen Frye | |||||||