Patrix,
Thank you for the summary on the Hindenburg Disaster. Interesting that you should compare airships to rockets.
I had a conversation a while back with the late Chris Kendall of Hoaxbusters fame about his trip to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Chris was looking at a Saturn rocket laying on its side at an outdoor display. A docent walked up to Chris and asked if he had any questions about the rocket. Chris asked if this particular rocket had been to space.
The docent said no, that this rocket is just a steel model. Actual rockets have to be super light and are made of very thin aluminum. The body would collapse if real rockets were laid on their sides. In order to support the thin aluminum outer shell of real rockets, a large balloon is inflated inside them.
I have researched this on many occasions and have never been able to corroborate the use of balloons inside of rockets. Chris also tried finding anything relating this online. No luck. The idea seems plausible; these giant rockets are actually balloons (filled with helium?) so they can be light enough for the take off show. This might also explain why large rockets take off so slowly, instead of quickly like smaller military rockets.
I have a hunch that the successful airship hoax gave birth to the idea of the space hoax. They figured out that if they put those airship models vertically with a impressive flame in the bottom they would look like impressive rockets rising majestically towards the stars.
Patrix, good hunch.
Take care,
KHam