However, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin lost much of its favour amongst political circles following the high-profile Hindenburg disaster in 1937; the event compelled the firm to terminate Zeppelin manufacturing in 1938, while all operations of existing airships was ceased by 1940. In August 1939, the "Graf Zeppelin II" conducted a reconnaissance flight along Great Britain's coastline in an attempt to determine whether the 100 metre towers erected from Portsmouth to Scapa Flow were used for aircraft radio location. The frames of "Graf Zeppelin" and "Graf Zeppelin II", along with scrap material from the Hindenburg, were subsequently scrapped that same year for their materials, which were used to fulfil wartime demands for fixed-wing military aircraft for the "Luftwaffe".