◆ SpookStack

Abe LR a te ee ec ae an f peared to be placed hard to the left, and that the upper rudder was three or four degrees to the right. He stated that he did not follow the operation of the ship after she passed over the landing field the first time with respect to the rudders. Subsequent to the accident he has viewed the wreckage of the Hindenburg and has observed what he deems to be an emergency tackle setup which has been placed on the operative equipment from the control car to the rear port fin, and it appears that this tackle is attached to the lower fin and it might have been so attached as a temporary arrangement for the taking up of slack in the controls of this fin. He stated this would not, in his opinion (the slack) cause undue vibrations in any of the other parts of the ship. However, he cannot definitely state whether this temporary tackle was in fact ate tached to the controls of the lower fin. With regard to the rudders, Tobin stated that in his op- inion one could be free to roam, due to the fact that her controls were not working properly, yet the other rudder, if properly set, would be sufficient to keep the ship on its course. He also stated that due to his position he had a limited view of the Hindenburg at the time that she began her mooring operation, and that, therefore, he might not be in a position to see a smaller flame higher up on the ship's superstructure, but he does recall seeing the larger flames appear on the port side aft, anc that he was first concerned about the safety of the ship at the time he saw the smoke and flames. Further, that he was of the opinion that the sound of the crackling noise, which re- minded him of wires being broken, as well as broken girders, seemed to precede the appearance of the flame. Upon being questioned as to why he did not report the ap- parent defect in the rudders of the Hindenburg, he replied that he was of the opinion that this defect was merely an optical iliusion on his part and that he considered the Hindenburg under control at all times up to the time of the fire. Fe also stated that there is a clutching device which is utilized on a great many American ships which makes it possible to steer the ship in a satisfactory manner even though one rud- der is not functioning satisfactorily, but he does not know whether or not the Hindenburg was equipped with this devices He also stated that the damege to the rudder wire would not necesserily damage the gas cells or the superstructure, in his opinion, and that he has never heard of such @ thing in his experience. However, he does consider that the rudder defect noted by him mi ght be considered one of the probabili ities mon