Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-01
U. S, Government Building Greatest Fid
By
WILL p. KENNEDY
and
Joseph S. EDGERTON
and

THE greatest fighting machine the world
has seen on sea land or in the air
is to be launched for the United States
n Navy at Akron, Ohio, next Summer.
It is the mammoth dirigible twice the
size of the Graf Zeppelin and IL Will carry
fighting planes and 16 guns.
Completion of this dirigible, the first OF two
contracted for by the Navy at total cost OF
SO 600 0OO marks the beginning OF concerted
effort which has the backing Of several Federal
Departments and the American airship indus
try. to put the United States in a position OF
world leadership In the airship f:ld, both from
a military standpoint and commercially.
Construction of the second dirig1ble, to De
known as the ZRS-5, has just been started at
Akron and the ship probably will be completed
within a year, the Navy Department announces
Congress has authorized the Navy Department
to accept from the Chamber of Commerce OF
Los Angeles and other civic bodies a large tract
at Sunnyvale, Calf, as a base for the second
dirigible The Navy is to pay 81 for the tract,
which win be developed as an operations and
training station.
The ZRS-4 is to be flown to the National
CAPITAL for official Government inspection soon
after acceptance trials are completed. The Navy
has begun the work of assembling ground
crew to handle the zRS-4 during trial flights
from the dock at Akron. Though mechanical
devices will be used in the future to handle
both dirigibles on the ground, the Navy Will take
no chances and will have trained ground crew
during the early period of the Akron's military
life.
A SURVIVOR of the Shenandoah dirigible
"A disaster of 1925 has just been selected by
the Navy Department as the first officer to go
on duty aboard the ZRS-4. He is Lieut. Charles
E. Bauch Of Dorchester, Mass, who was aboard
the Shenandoah when it broke In two in a line
squall over Ohio He directed the successful
landing of portion of the broken airship with
a number Of survivors aboard. He has partici-
pated In a number of long distance flights OF
the Los Angeles and now is stationed at the
Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, N. j. He was Sc
lected by the Navy to head its balloon team in
one Of the great international balloon compete
tons. and he is regarded as one of the coun-
trys experts.
The new Navy giant which viii take to the
skies this Summer viii introduce new and
most formidable element into warfare on the
seas, in the opinion of David S. ingalls, Assist
ant Secretary OF the Navy for Aeronautics It
will serve, for scouting purposes, as cruiser Of
great speed. long range and maximum effective
ness In the opinion of naval experts, 1t should
be the equal Of six cruisers. Because of its abil
ity to climb above the sea it can cover 20 times
the area that can be covered by the ordinary
cruiser Mr.. ingalls, said The dirigible costs
O@e-ffth as much as the cruiser.
The dirigible also Is to serve as an airplane
carrier. carrying within its hold five or six
fighting planes, which may be launched or taken
aboard In flight. In design and construction the
new airship will be unique in many respects. It
WIN be much greater in girth as compared with