In the period between the world wars, the U.S. Navy saw potential value in a relatively new technology: rigid air ships. During the first half of the 20th century, the Navy experimented with and employed these craft. It was one of the stranger programs developed by the Navy, but its history is not well known.

How it Began

On the tail of increasing interest in the German Zeppelin program, Congress gave the Navy permission in 1919 to acquire two airships and build an air station for their housing and upkeep. One of the two ships, which would have become ZR-2, was purchased from the British. The other was designed and built in the United States and was designated ZR-1. In addition, the Navy built Naval Air Station Lakehurst in central New Jersey. This was the official beginning of the U.S. Navy’s rigid airship program.

Despite the initial success, the program saw disaster early. On 23 August 1921, the soon to be ZR-2 began a voyage across the Atlantic, departing from the city of Howden, U.K. As it passed over the city of Hull, just 22 miles from where it started, a major structural failure resulted in a catastrophic in-air explosion. Forty four out of the 49 crew members died in the accident, and the Navy lost its first airship before it even had one.

Because of the wreck of ZR-2, NAS Lakehurst was without working aircraft for almost two years. During this time, the Navy reduced the number of personnel working there, and the base was designated as non-operating. Regardless, the program continued. On 20 August 1923, ZR-1, christened the USS Shenandoah, was filled with helium and officially launched. The Shenandoah awoke NAS Landhurst, and in 1923 the efforts of the U.S. Navy’s airship program began in earnest.

The USS Shenandoah, the first operational U.S. Navy rigid airship (Photo: U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

Controversy

Despite its eventual ability to get off the ground, naval professionals debated the worth of the airship program. In a  Proceedings article published in 1933, Lieutenant Commander William Nelson outlined many of the benefits of airships, including their ability to carry heavy loads, their impressive range, and their superior operating altitude. These qualities combined, argued Nelson, made the rigid airship “a bomber of importance.” Nelson asserted that the rigid airship could climb above both the range of antiaircraft fire and the ceiling of most conventional aircraft, making it extremely difficult to defend against. Regardless of this kind of support, there were a number of intense critics of the program, in part because of the vulnerability of rigid air ships to intense weather. Indeed, this vulnerability turned out to be the program’s worst enemy and its eventual downfall.

Employing the Ships

The rigid airship fleet was not limited to the Shenandoah. In the late fall of 1924, the Navy saw the arrival of the German made USS Los Angeles (ZR-3). Throughout its service life, the Los Angeles asserted the relevance of the rigid airship program. Partially due the the enthusiasm of Lieutenant Commander Charles Rosendahl, the ship’s commanding officer, ZR-3 logged 1.400 hours while it was under his command from mid-1926 to 1929. This included missions to gather meteorological data, publicity trips, and a series of 11 flights in 1926 to calibrate East Coast radio compass stations. The operations of the Los Angeles also helped develop docking and ground handling procedures. As useful as all of these missions were, however, they did not encompass the full capabilities of the rigid airship.

Because of the novelty of the airships, the Navy had to develop new doctrine and tactics to use them effectively. The ships were applauded for their superior scouting abilities and their effectiveness in counter mine operations, so the Navy designated long-range reconnaissance as their primary use. They also served as effective tools for collecting meteorological data. Additionally, the Los Angeles developed a means by which to carry scouting airplanes on a trapeze apparatus attached to the hull. These all became trademark capabilities of the program.

A scouting plane hooks on to the trapeze system aboard the USS Los Angeles.(Photo: U.S. Naval Institute Archive)

The delivery of the USS Akron (ZRS-4) in 1931 and the USS Macon (ZRS-5) in 1933 marked the last additions to the rigid airship fleet. Designated as “fleet type strategic scouts,” they were the only two aircraft ever designed for an airplane carrying mission and are the third and fourth largest aircraft to ever fly. They both engaged in a variety of missions, including scouting exercises, over the course of their service lives. The aircraft were significantly cheaper and faster than surface cruisers, which traditionally were the scouts of the fleet. In addition, each ZRS could carry four aircraft, extending the airships’ scouting range and thus their utility.

Above: F9C-2 Sparrowhawk Fighters conduct trapeze operations with the USS Macon (Photo: U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

Death of the Program

On 3 April 1933, the Akron crashed into the sea off the coast of New Jersey as a result of foul weather. This accident killed 73 of the 76 on board, including Admiral William Moffet, a medal-of-honor winner who was key to the development of air power in the U.S. Navy and a major proponent of the rigid airship program. Two years later, the Macon was lost off the coast of California due to unaddressed structural issues in the hull. Two men died in the accident. Congress took no steps to reinvigorate the rigid airship program after this, and the Macon’s terminal flight was the last time a U.S. Navy rigid airship flew.

The rigid air ships were not the only lighter than aircraft that the United States had in use. The Navy had been developing both kite balloons and nonrigid airships, known as blimps, in parallel with the rigid airships. Because of this, the Navy continued to employ these cousins of the ZRS through World War II. These types of aircraft remained in service until 1962, but the crash of the Macon in 1935 marked the end of the use of rigid airships in the Navy.

The Navy employed a number of nonrigid airships after the demise of the Macon, including the L, G, K, and M classes, pictured here. (Photo: U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)