Ships In The Sky Author:John Toland When you think about it, the history of flight began not with Orville and Wilbur at Kittyhawk, but in 1783 with the development of the balloon. "Lighter than air" progressed to sleek hydrogen-filled silk cylinders that reached hundred of feet in length and were driven by gasoline powered engines. They cruised serenely above the Earth's surface, ... more »carried tons of cargo, crossed oceans and continents, and were felt by many to be the next logical step in transportation. The Germans were particularly adept in dirigible design. But these airborne leviathans had one fatal problem: the gas the gave them levitation was flammable, and the spectacular explosion of the Hindenburg at Lakehurst Naval Station in 1939 illustrated better than any textbook just how vulnerable they were.« less