[null and void]

Remember that the big highly visible flames are not from hydrogen as much as they are from the aluminum powder and lacquer mixture used to “dope” the cloth skin.

Although I get a charge out of Dr. Konstantinos Giapis spark of inspiration, you NorthMountain only have a piece of the remaining puzzle.

Yes the Hindenburg was painted with a aluminum powder based paint, the surface was primed with a standard red primer, the red is from iron oxide powder.

Class, what's it called when you mix powdered aluminum and powdered iron oxide?

Anyone? Bueller?

[NorthMountain]

OK ...

First off, Aluminum Powder plus lacquer is called “rocket fuel”.

Secondly, aluminum powder in intimate mixture with iron oxide powder is a form of thermite.

I’m quite sure that the dopant qualified as rocket fuel. You’ll have to do a little more work to show that the Al powder and the Fe2O3 powder were in sufficiently intimate mixture to have a thermite reaction.

I’m mildly curious as to whether you personally have ever made and used thermite. I have.

[NorthMountain]

Oh, yes: I know that the Al powder plus lacquer (or rubber, or any number of other things) rocket fuel needs an oxidizer. In a solid fuel rocket, the fuel is mixed with potassium perchlorate, or something similar, to provide an oxidizer in a n otherwise sealed system. When painted in a thin layer on the surface of an airship, the surrounding air will do just fine as an oxidizer. You just need a flame to get it going; burning hydrogen will suffice.