It was the summer of 1937 and the Hindenburg disaster was still fresh in everyone's mind. Against this backdrop, during the Paris disarmament talks,
der Führer und Reichskanzler, Adolf Hitler was caught
en flagrante delecto with a tray of pastries in his suite at the Georges V. Hitler and the Nazis were tossed from power in what
Le Monde called
L'Incidente les pouffes de la creme or the Cream Puff Incident. This gave Hugo Eckener, head of Deutsche Zeppelin Luftschiffbau, the opportunity to once again press the U.S. to supply him with helium. In early 1938, deliveries of helium began. While Deutsche Zeppelin Luftschiffbau had to scrap their grand plans for the Graf Zeppelin II due to cost over-runs, they were able to salvage enough to complete a new airship, the D-LZFN touted as flying safely with incombustible helium.
While some were apprehensive flying in an airship, those that did marveled at the speed and comfort the D-LZFN offered compared to ocean liners of the day. By 1939, all of the D-LZFN's Atlantic crossings were sold out. Crowds on the ground greeted the airship with great excitement wherever it flew, whether over New York, London, Paris, Berlin or Buenos Aires.
Unfortunately, wars in South America and Europe limited ocean crossings by 1941. The D-LZFN was sold off with all the other assets of the Deutsche Zeppelin Luftschiffbau when they went into bankruptcy in 1942. The once proud airship became home to the "Twirl & Hurl" ride at Kiddie Land amusement park in Weehawken, New Jersey until destroyed in a cotton candy explosion in 1972.
Brian da Basher
