Stephen A. Lawrence wrote:
And the surprising truth, learned years later, was that the hydrogen had little or nothing to do with the fire.
This was discussed in the book, "Tomorrow's Energy." See the essay, "Don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." Frankly, I disagree. No doubt the burning fabric contributed to the fire, but I expect the flame was started by hydrogen. Other famous airship accidents were caused by hydrogen explosions, notably the R101 disaster in France (1930), and all of the German airships shot down in World War I. The R101 skin was soaking wet when the ship exploded, so I do not think the fire started there.
- Jed
