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The Crash of the USS Shenandoah The USS Shenandoah was the first of four rigid airships (blimps) built for the United States Navy. Assembled in Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1922-23, it was 680 feet long and weighed 36 tons. Its top speed was 70 miles per hour, with a range of 5,000 miles. Christened on October 10, 1923 by Mrs. Edwin Denby, wife of the Secretary of the Navy, the Shenandoah was commissioned on the same day. The Shenandoah was built of an alloy of aluminum and copper known as duralumin. It was filled with helium rather than hydrogen. (The Hindenburg, an airship that had exploded 12 years before, had been filled with explosive hydrogen.) The Shenandoah was designed for fleet reconnaissance and discussed as a possibility for Arctic exploration, but soon after its commissioning, the Shenandoah was damaged when it was torn from its mooring mast in a storm. Its nose had to be repaired. It wasn’t until the following October that the Shenandoah did any serious flying—from Lakehurst to California, becoming the first rigid airship to fly across North America. Because airship technology was new and the cost of the airships had to be justified to taxpayers, the government decided that the Shenandoah would make a promotional flight to the Midwest, flying over 40 cities and visiting state fairs. While passing through thunderstorms over Cambridge, Ohio, early on the morning of September 3, 1925, the airship, under command of Commander Zachary Landsdowne, a native of Greenville, Ohio, began to be buffeted by heavy turbulence. Suddenly, it rose uncontrollably, then it quickly plunged downward, caught by a downdraft. The airship, standing almost on its tail, started to spin and began to come apart. The tail section drifted toward the town of Ava, caught on a tree and dumped out four crewmen, who survived. The tail broke loose again and settled on the ground, where 18 crewmen stepped out from the wreckage unhurt. The front section flew on for another 12 miles before it floated to earth on the Ernest Nichols farm. Another six men walked out of that part of the wreckage. Landsdowne and eleven men who stayed with him in the control car were killed on impact. Another 29 men in the interior of the ship survived.
USS Shenandoah tied to its mooring mast
Words to Know: exploration reconnaissance mooring mast alloy technology airship turbulence commissioned For Discussion: 1. Blimps move slowly. Why would they be desirable for reconnaisance and exploration? 2. Do you think having the Shenandoah go on a promotional flight would have helped convince taxpayers that they were a good thing? Why or why not? 3. Science and technology helped make the Shenendoah safer. What one large safety decision made the biggest difference?
Newspaper Activity: Newspapers report on accidents, disasters, and tragedies every day. No one likes to see such news reported, but it is important to do so. Count the number of accidents reported in your paper for one week. What criteria would you use to rate them?
“Ohio: The Inside Story” is produced through a grant from The Ohio Newspapers Foundation, a nonprofit charitable and educational organization affiliated with The Ohio Newspaper Association. This is one of a series of 24 Ohio profiles.
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