Evening star., 1939-05-21

the ship mysteriously disappeared. Pre-
sumably 1t exploded.
Tales of German air raids on London
during the early part of the war nat
urally spurred American interest In
Hghter-than-air craft In 1916 an Air.
craft Board was appointed to study this
construction of dirigibles here. Near the
end of the war it recommended the
purdase OF two ships abroad and the
construction of two more here.
After the war the board was abolished
and the development of a lighter-than-
air program was entrusted to the NAVY
Department. Arrangements to buv an
airship, the R-38 were concluded with
the British but before the craft could
be delivered it fell in flames over Hull.
England. Meanwhile, construction was
started on ship, based on German de-
sign but Incorporating improvements
suggested by American scientists. This
ship, the Shenandoah, first drigible to
be built in the United States. was COM
pleted in 1923. For two years it roamed
American skies and was hailed as a great
success, but in 1925, while over the Mid
die West, storm broke it in half and
it fell in ruins.
Oddly enough the one airship which
the Navy now possesses is a German
productive Los Angeles. now decom.
missioned, but still used for testing
work at the Naval Air Station, Lake.
hurst, N. j. and still capable of flight.
This Supplemented S one tangible evil
dence of war spoils'.-was flown here
by German crew in October. 1924. and
was IN daily service in the United States
Navy for more than a decade.
Real Bid Made in 1926.
Americas real bid for lighter-than-
air supremacy was made in 1926 when
Congress, acting on the recomnenda.
ton of the Morrow board. voted au-
thorization for the construction of two
giant airships.
These ships were to be of $500 900
cubic feet-far larger than the 3,5OO,-
O0O-cuoic-foot Graf Zeppelin, then
queen of the skies. A contract for their
construction was awarded to the Good.
year-Zeppelin Co, which imported eight
German engineers skilled in dirigible
construction to supervise their building.
The first of these great ships, the
Akron, was completed in 1881. For two
years it roamed over the Nation. but
crashed in storm off the New JERSEY
coast in 1888, carrying all but three Of
its crew to death. Ironically enough,
among the victims was Rear Admiral
William A. Moffett, then chief of the
Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, whose
courage, energy and profound faith in
lighter-than-ai craft had been largely
responsible for persuading Congress to
build the Akron
The Macon Goes Down,
Despite this disaster, American lighter
than-alr enthusiasts took new hope in
the completion, shortly afterward, of
the Macon, sister ship of the Akron.
But the fate of the two air giants was
almost identical. The Macon also was
operated successfully for nearly two
years, but finally went down in a storm
off the Pacific Coast in 1885. The two
ships, twins in birth, had parallel lives
Ai4S EAhA oii ciiu 0dlllc d4leI 4,ioo HOuIS
in the air The Macon flew 1900.
The tragic fate of these ships marked
the end of what was expected to be
vast lighter -than-air expansion pro-
gram. A few naval officers still believe
in the future of the airship. But their
number is waning
Meanwhile, the Navy has been ex-
perimenting in the development and
operation of the semi-rigid airship, much
smaller in size than the metal-hulked
giants. 1t now has several in operation,
but its largest non-rigid ship was
wrecked only last week at Lakehurst.
The Navy also has in commission an
all-metal airship of 100000 cubic feet,
an eyper;r,eptol tyoa h,,;It l., mon