I am reading some old letters and there's a mention of an engineer who worked for a time in the engine nacelles of the Hindenburg. He didn't seem to like it very much.
Were there engineers posted in airship nacelles?
Why?
How do you get to one?
If an engine failed, what would be a repairable failure mode from the air?
Or were the engineers just glorified gauges?
There is plenty of information online about the Hindenburg disaster.
The crew manifest lists 17 men as "Engine Mechanic" and 3 more "Engineering Officer" so it is safe to say that there were quite a number of people aboard who were responsible for the engines (and of course other systems in the case of officers).
A page about the Design and Technology of the Hindenburg states:
A mechanic was stationed in each engine car at all times to monitor the diesel and carry out engine orders transmitted from the control car.
How did they communicate?
Orders regarding engine speed and direction were transmitted to the engineering room along the keel and to the four power cars from an engine telegraph located at the starboard side of the control car; the telegraph had toggles to alert mechanics in each of the four engine cars and the engineer’s room of changes in power settings, and could transmit orders for four forward speeds (idle, slow, half, and cruise), two reverse speeds (idle and full), and stop.
Adjacent to the engine telegraph was a tachometer, an altimeter, and a variometer (or vertical speed indicator).
There was also a speaking tube to communicate with riggers along the axial catwalk. (Communication throughout the ship was normally by telephone, but to avoid the risk of sparks, no electrical equipment was placed along the axial catwalk.)
You can also read all about the accident investigation if you're interested.
The engine mechanics were there for two reasons:
The engines needed to run continuously for 120+ hours during a typical Frankfurt-to-Rio de Janero flight. For diesels of the era, this means frequent minor maintenance, and occasional major repairs (for example, during the Hindenberg's first return flight from Rio, the #4 engine had a wrist pin failure and was re-built in flight to run with only 15 cylinders).
The engines had to be locally controlled. It's roughly 150 meters from the Hindenberg's control car to the aft engine nacelles. Running a mechanical linkage more precise than an engine telegraph over that sort of length is basically impossible, particularly since a zeppelin will flex during the flight. Electrical controls were not an option because running wiring close to the gas cells was too much of a fire risk.
