The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-05-10

III TOT the lanQlng, WlIu tle Sfout1O crew in formation, Rosendahl ex' plained:
 "On some occasions the Hinden- burg has made heavy landing But on this occasion, because tht ship had been soaked by rain eno was drying out, the ship was 9 It. tie lighter, more buoyant."
 He told how the Hindenbure threw out her starboard and port ropes at 7:21 p. m., E. D. T.
 The purpose of the manila ropes is to steady the nose. The actual pulling of the ship to the moorine mast is by steel cable dropped through the nose.
 "When I observed there was g slight difference in the direction ol the surface wind, went from tht mooring mast to confer with ground crew officers" Rosendahl said.
 About four minutes after the trai ropes had been dropped and cant to the ground ropes and while tht steel nose cable was dropping to thu ground, although it never reached the ground, there occurred events which interrupted the normal land' ing procedure.
 Fifty Feet Above Mast
 "The ship at nc time was closer to the mooring mast than about 5C feet outside the circular railroad track"
 q cannot give a complete descrip- ton of the events which occurred.
 However, there was small burst of flame on the afterpart of the ship on the top.
 My feeling was at once that that spelled the doom of the ship.
 q saw practically the whole stern take fire first. Then the fire spread progressively forward.
 q was rather greatly surprised that there was not more explosion in such an event.
 However, there were mild explo- sions. But in my opinion, the inci- den was primary tn burning of the hydrogen.
 Last Bodies Taken
 The last of the bodies were taken from the hangar and started to New York in van shortly before South Trimble, J., solicitor of the com merce department and chairman of the board which will attempt to determine cause of the disaster, con- vened the inquiry at 10:09 a. m., E. D. T.
 Under law the boards members all had to be members of the com merce department. Those in addi- tion to Trimble were Maj. R. w. Schroeder, assistant director of the air commerce bureau; and Dennis Mulligan, chief of the bureaus regu- lation and enforcement division.
 But as expert advisers they had Rosendahl and other naval, army and civilian airship experts. The fact that Rosendahl and his aides at the naval air station were witt neSseS to the disaster and that many of the German survivors will be able to testify made the board hopeful that it will be able to establish causes more definitely than in any OVA4C4 uA oAAAC UldSCQys
 Only Touch of Color
 Back of the table at which the board sat, an American flag was hung on the wall, the only touch of color in the gray, makeshift hearing room. The room is in corner of hanger which the Hindenburg had used on previous trips and in which the German built dirigible Los An- geles rests in permanent retirement.
 Spreading out from the witness table were pine benches and chairs for witnesses, advisers and report- CTS. SentrieS barred all other out siders.
 Sailors carried in a big chart of the Lakehurst naval air station landing field on which witnesses could show the position of the Hin- denburg when fire raced through its hydrogen-f1lled inner cells as 1t ap- preached its mooring mast Thurs day night. The chart was placed on the wall.
 While motion picture lights cut a white streak through the darkish room, Trimble rapped the table and said:
 Officially Opened
 'The hearing into the Hindenhurg disaster is now officially opened. !"
 Rosendahl, himself survivor of the Shenandoah crash more than a decade ago, was called. He iden- tified himself as the commander of the naval station, recited his pre- vious commands, including his ex- perience as skipper of the U. s. S. Akron, which later was destroyed, and his flights on every important dirigible in recent years.
 "Tell us the circumstances of the