An unopened bottle of lager rescued from the remains of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster is expected to fetch £6,000 at auction.
The bottle is understood to be one of just six known to have survived when the German airship LZ 129 Hindenburg burst into flames upon its approach to Naval Air Station Lakehurst, in New Jersey.
Some 35 of the 97 people on board and one member of the ground crew were killed when the aircraft, which measured 245m long and weighed 118 tons, crashed to the ground.
The six-pack of fire-damaged Lowenbrau lager was reportedly recovered from the wreckage by Leroy Smith, a New Jersey firefighter chief, who was part of the rescue crew at the disaster.
Gerald Blaber, an auctioneer from Wallis & Wallis Auctioneers, said: “Wallis & Wallis are delighted to be able to offer this unique item, which comes directly from the renowned Sir David Kirsch collection.
“Still retaining its heavily fire-damaged label and contents, this extraordinary bottle is a poignant and highly unusual piece of aviation history, a direct survivor of an event that brought the era of the great passenger airships dramatically to an end.”
The standard-size green bottle is 23cm and fitted with a crown cap.
It is unopened, but the label is scorched and damaged from the fire, with no top foil.
Mr Smith had to secretly bury his find at the scene after it was sealed off by the authorities.
But he returned later to unearth the mementoes, which he then gave to five colleagues. He kept one of the half-litre bottles and a silver-plated jug for himself.
Despite the price it is expected to fetch, the beer is undrinkable as it would have gone off within a year or two of the disaster.
The zeppelin ship Hindenburg erupted into flames over the Lakehurst airfield on May 6, 1937, after it had flown across the Atlantic from Frankfurt.
It is thought that friction in the landing ropes caused the fire, which destroyed the airship within 60 seconds.
