With amenities like piano lounges, dining rooms and private staterooms, they were a

而且有鋼琴酒吧、餐廳和獨立房間

luxurious way to travel the world.

多麼奢侈的一趟空中之旅

80 years ago, we had airships.

這是八十年前的飛船

Cruising 200 meters above the ground, they flew so smoothly, you could stand a pencil

飛行高度約200公尺 極為平穩

on its end without it falling over.

你甚至能在上面立起一枝鉛筆不會倒

And plans were being drawn up for even bigger, more luxurious airships. Until this happened.

當時有許多大型豪華飛船的建造計畫

The whole world watched in horror as one burned to the ground in front rolling cameras.

然而發生了這起事故...

And giant airships, well, they seemingly disappeared overnight.

全世界都被這段畫面震驚 一艘飛船付之一炬並墜落地面

First taking flight in 1936, the Hindenburg was, and still is, the largest object to ever fly.

此後 巨型飛船便在一夜之間消失成為歷史

And it's scale is simply awe inspiring.

興登堡號於1936年首次啟航 是史上最大的飛行器

Here's an average person compared to a typical bus.

龐大到令人敬畏

Compared to a Boeing 747.

這是一個人跟一輛巴士的比例

And now here's the Hindenburg.

再看看跟波音747的比例

It dwarfs anything flying today.

而這是興登堡號的大小

And many people are surprised to learn just how extensive the Hindenburg's accommodations were.

它讓現今的所有飛行器 都顯得極為渺小

Maybe it's because you can't really tell from the outside where the passenger spaces are.

許多人聽到興登堡號的體積後 都大為吃驚

But the inside of the Hindenburg was more like an ocean liner than an airplane.

也許只是因為從外表上看不出 真正的機艙在哪裡

Passengers could enjoy dinner in a full service dining room, then take in the views from one

興登堡號的內部其實更像郵輪 而不像飛機

of two promenades, or socialize in the piano lounge, or relax in the writing room.

乘客可以在餐廳中享受餐點及完善的服務 然後在兩側走廊欣賞風景

Downstairs, passengers could enjoy a cigar in the smoking room or have a drink at the

也可以到鋼琴酒吧聊天 或到寫作空間放空

bar.

來到樓下則有吸菸區 還可以到酒吧小酌一杯

Heading back upstairs, passengers would retire for the night in own their private sleeping cabin.

回到樓上 乘客於夜間可以到專屬臥艙休息

All of this, while floating in the sky.

以上種種奢華享受 都在空中就能做到

The fastest ocean liners of the day could only cruise at around 35 miles per hour, but

當時最快的郵輪航速約每小時35英里

an airship like the Hindenburg, well, it could easily do twice that.

然而像興登堡號這樣的飛船 航速則是兩倍

A transatlantic crossing that would have taken five days by ocean liner, could be done in

搭乘郵輪跨越大西洋大約需要五天

just two days on the Hindenburg.

而興登堡號只要兩天就到

And an airship, well it wouldn't just take you to an ocean port, but to inland cities as well.

此外飛船的目的地不限於海港 內陸城市也能輕鬆抵達

The Hindenburg regularly flew over Europe on it's way to inland destinations.

興登堡號的固定航線飛越整個歐洲 且沿途在各地停靠

But on May 6, 1937, after completing a trans-Atlantic crossing, the Hindenburg

然而在1937年5月6日 在完成一趟跨越大西洋的旅途後

began to dock in New Jersey. And suddenly...

興登堡號正要在紐澤西停泊時 突然間...

Something ignited the Hindenburg's lifting gas. The Hindenburg was destroyed in a matter of seconds.

興登堡號洩漏出的氫氣被點燃 整艘飛船在幾秒鐘內付之一炬

This wasn't the first airship disaster, it wasn't even the most deadly.

這並非第一次有飛船發生意外 甚至也不是最致命的一次

But this one was different.

但這次不一樣的是

It was captured on film.

它的過程被錄了下來

People weren't used to seeing things like this and it made the tragedy all the more horrifying.

人們第一次在螢幕上看到這種事 讓這起悲劇看起來更恐怖

Many people consider the golden age of the airship travel to have

許多人認為飛船旅行的黃金時代

ended here with the Hindenburg catastrophe.

隨著興登堡號事件就此告終

Public confidence was shattered, and the romance and the extravagance of airships suddenly

大眾對它喪失信心

disappeared.

而搭飛船旅行的浪漫和奢華 一夕之間消失殆盡

But did the Hindenburg disaster really bring an end to the giant airship?

但真的是因為興登堡號的事故 讓巨型飛船走入歷史嗎？

Well, for something nearly the size of the Titanic, the Hindenburg

事實上 儘管它的體積跟鐵達尼號差不多

could only carry 72 passengers at most.

興登堡號最多只能承載72位旅客

And it needed an additional 52 crew members to operate.

還需要加上52位船員才能運作

Compare that to an ocean liner of the day, which could comfortably carry almost 2000

相較於當時的郵輪 能夠輕鬆承載2000位旅客

passengers, and had a crew and staff of over a thousand.

以及超過1000位船員和服務生

Giant airships like the Hindenburg carried so few passengers despite their massive size,

跟興登堡號一樣的巨型飛船 龐大的體積下卻只有微薄的載客量

because lifting gasses, such as Helium just don't provide all that much lift.

主要是因為使用氦氣 提供的升力有限

Even when the Hindenburg switched from helium to hydrogen, it could still only manage to

就連使用氫氣的興登堡號

lift about one hundred thousand pounds.

最多也只能承重約十萬磅

Sounds like a lot, but that's only about the weight of eight elephants.

聽起來好像很多 但也不過就跟八頭大象一樣重

So, everything on the Hindenburg had to be designed to be as lightweight as possible,

因此興登堡號上的所有東西都必須盡量減重

to make sure the whole thing could stay afloat.

以確保整艘飛船能夠飄在空中

Those passenger cabins?

乘客的房間？

Tiny and cramped, complete with bunk beds.

又小又擠 全都是雙層床板

Not so luxurious.

不如想像中奢華

Even the walls and doors had to be made out of lightweight foam covered in fabric, so

就連牆壁和門板都是泡棉纖維做的

you could hear your neighbor talking, coughing, or worse.

所以你聽得到隔壁的聊天聲、咳嗽聲 甚至還有更糟的

And none of the cabins had their own bathrooms.

而且這些客房裡都沒有浴室

That 's too heavy.

那樣會太重

So you'd have to go down a flight of stairs to use shared bathrooms.

所以你必須下樓使用公共浴廁

And for 72 passengers, there was a one single shower.

一共72位旅客要共用一間浴室

Water, which weighs a lot, had to be rationed.

而水很重 要分配好使用量

So even that one shower wasn't much more than a trickle.

所以蓮蓬頭的水 基本上是涓涓細流

The airship's grand piano had to be made out of special lightweight aluminum, but even

至於酒吧裡的鋼琴則是用鋁做的 以減輕重量

that was eventually removed to save weight.

但最後還是為了減重而被移除

And yeah, maybe these are compromises you have to accept for floating in the sky, but

儘管你為了飛行做了這麼多妥協和犧牲

the whole thing was absurdly expensive too.

要搭上這樣的飛船還是非常昂貴

In today's dollars a single one way trip aboard the Hindenburg cost almost $7000.

以今天的標準來看 一張興登堡號的單程票要價7000美元

And sure, an ocean liner was half the speed, but a first class cabin on an ocean liner

至於郵輪雖然只有一半的速度

came with a sprawling suite with a private bathroom.

但其頭等艙有大型奢華套房 配有獨立衛浴

Tickets on ocean liners were more affordable even as the accommodations were much more

比較起來 一張郵輪的票更讓人負擔得起

luxurious, with giant ballrooms, theaters, and even indoor swimming pools.

而且設施更豪華 有大型舞廳、劇院，甚至室內泳池

And by 1937, if you really wanted to cross the ocean as fast as possible, aircraft were

到了1937年 如果你想以最快的方式橫越大西洋

just starting to make transatlantic crossings.

飛機正好開始流行

By the time the hindenburg went up in flames in 1937, the airship was already obsolete.

其實在興登堡號發生意外時 飛船就已經過時了

It couldn't compete with comfort and luxury of an ocean liner.

豪華和舒適程度都不如郵輪

It's speed couldn't match an aircraft.

速度也遠不如飛機

and all of it was absurdly expensive.

而且花費又極為高昂

Today, the giant airship remains an irresistible concept.

時至今日 巨型飛船的概念依然令人著迷

But physics, just like it did 80 years ago,

但就如80年前一樣

always manages to bring the giant airship idea back to earth.

物理學的發展 隨時都可能讓它回到世人眼前再次高飛