One of the more unique chapters in the history of naval aviation
involved the operation of rigid dirigibles during the 1920s and
1930s. Though the U.S. Navy began procured and flew kite balloons
and blimps even before the entry of the United States into World
War I, it was not until naval aviators witnessed firsthand the successful
operations of German Zeppelins that the Navy began exploring the
employment of rigid dirigibles. "Aviators and officers of various
corps all believe that the reconnaissance work of the Zeppelins
has been of immense value," wrote one overseas observer. "Their
greatest service is yet to come."
On 11 July 1919 Congress passed the Naval Appropriations Act,
which in part provided for the construction of one rigid airship
and the purchase of another one. To this end, the following year
the U.S. Navy contracted for the purchase of the R-38, a British
dirigible, and sent a detachment of personnel overseas for instruction.
The R-38 made her maiden flight on 23-23 June 1921, and completed
two additional ones before tragedy struck. On 23 August 1921, the
dirigible broke in two, which ignited the hydrogen (the lifting
gas on used in R-38) and fuel. Of the forty-four people killed in
the accident, seventeen were Americans, including senior officer
Lieutenant Commander Lewis Maxfield.
Meanwhile, the construction of a second dirigible on American soil
continued, and in August 1922 she became airborne for the first
time. On 4 September the Navy's newest rigid airship took to the
skies for her first extended flight, logging one hour of flight
time covering a distance of some twenty miles. Christened USS Shenandoah
on 10 October 1922, the airship participated in many notable flights
during her career, conducting experiments with a shipboard mooring
mast on board the airship tender Patoka (AO-9) and completing a
transcontinental flight. On 3 September 1925, during a flight from
Lakehurst, New Jersey, to Columbus, Ohio, Shenandoah encountered
a severe storm, which broke her in two over Ava, Ohio. The control
car dropped to the earth immediately, followed by the after section
of the airship, which broke in two upon hitting the ground. The
forward section of Shenandoah remained airborne for nearly an hour
before falling to earth. All told, twenty-nine crewmen survived
the crash, but among the fourteen killed was the airship's skipper,
Lieutenant Commander Zachary Lansdowne.
The crash of Shenandoah in part prompted a Presidential review
of military and civilian aviation, but the U.S. Navy's operation
of rigid dirigibles continued, championed by none other that Rear
Admiral William A. Moffett, the first Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics
and naval aviation's senior officer. Constructed by Germany's Zeppelin
Airship Company, USS Los Angeles (ZR-3) was flown to the United
States in 1924, and following the loss of Shenandoah operated as
the only rigid dirigible in the Navy for a time. Her career, which
included 331 flights totaling 5,368 hours, included a long-distance
flight between New York and Panama, a carrier landing on board Saratoga
(CV-3), and experiments with operating aircraft from a trapeze-like
contraption suspended beneath the airship. The latter was perfected
on board succeeding airships, USS Akron (ZRS-4) and USS Macon (ZRS-5),
commissioned in 1931 and 1933 respectively.
Akron and Macon marked the pinnacle of the airship in the U.S.
Navy, yet also symbolized its ultimate downfall. The two rigid dirigibles
carried one of the most unique aircraft to ever fly, the F9C Sparrowhawk,
a diminutive fighter with a so-called skyhook affixed to its upper
wing. Pilots were launched and recovered using a trapeze that could
be raised and lowered from a hangar located inside the dirigible.
The Sparrowhawks and their airborne homes operated extensively in
the interwar fleet exercises, flying scouting missions over the
opposing fleet. Though successful in their mission, the airships
were deemed too vulnerable to attacking fighters and antiaircraft
fire. In reality, their greatest enemy was weather. On the evening
of 3-4 April 1933, Akron plunged into the Atlantic off the coast
of New Jersey during a storm with the loss of seventy-three men,
including Admiral Moffett. On 12 February 1935 Macon crashed in
the Pacific Ocean after wind carried her non-reinforced upper fin
away. Fortunately, all but two of her eighty-three- man crew were
rescued.
The loss of Akron and Macon spelled the end of rigid dirigible
operations in the U.S. Navy. The tragic fates of four of the five
airships- Los Angeles completed her service intact and was scrapped
in 1939- cast a pall over their service, but in aviation's golden
age they were true marvels in the air.
The following items relating to the service of rigid airships in
the U.S. Navy are part of the Museum's collection.
|