Charles E . Rosendahl Charles Emery Rosendahl ( 15 May 1892 – 17 May 1977 ) was a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy , and an advocate of lighter - than - air flight . Biography . Early career . Rosendahl was born in Chicago , Illinois . His family subsequently relocated to Kansas and Texas and , in 1910 , he was appointed to the Naval Academy from the latter state . Commissioned in the rank of ensign in June 1914 , upon graduation from the Academy , he was ordered to join the armored cruiser off Mexico during the Veracruz crisis . After " West Virginia " was decommissioned he served briefly on the battleship and the protected cruiser , before reporting for duty aboard the protected cruiser on 14 May 1915 . On 15 September 1916 he returned to the recommissioned " West Virginia " , which was subsequently renamed the " Huntington " . On 19 June 1917 he received promotion to lieutenant ( j . g ) , and to full lieutenant on 31 August 1918 , having served aboard the " Huntington " escorting convoys of troops and supplies to Europe during World War I . From 6 June 1918 Rosendahl served as an Engineering Officer , putting the new destroyer into commission . On 30 July 1919 he was ordered to the Pacific Coast for further duty , first serving on the cruiser as Gunnery Officer , and receiving promotion to lieutenant commander on 27 January 1920 . In August he began fitting out new destroyers , commissioning , and delivering them to the Fleet ; they included the , , , and . On 11 July 1921 Rosendahl assumed command of the destroyer , before being ordered to duty at the Naval Academy as Instructor in Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics in September . Move to airships . When the Navy ' s Bureau of Navigation circulated a letter asking for volunteers for rigid airship duty , Rosendahl volunteered . He reported to Naval Air Station Lakehurst , New Jersey , to be trained in airship operation on 7 April 1923 . Designated a Naval Aviator in November 1924 , Rosendahl served in the dirigible as mooring officer and navigator . Promoted to lieutenant commander on 5 January 1925 , he distinguished himself by successfully bringing the bow section of the shattered airship safely to earth after she broke up in the air on 3 September 1925 over Noble County , Ohio . From 9 March 1926 he served as Executive Officer , and then as Commanding Officer from 10 May , of the dirigible , making numerous flights for crew training , radio compass station calibration and flight tests for National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ( NACA ) . " Los Angeles " also took part in the searches for Nungesser and Coli ' s aircraft " The White Bird " , and Frances Wilson Grayson ' s " Dawn " , both of which went missing during attempts on trans - Atlantic flights . In January 1928 Rosendahl flew " Los Angeles " out to sea off Newport , Rhode Island , to rendezvous with the aircraft carrier and moored to the ship ' s stern to take on fuel and stores . Further experimental flights were undertaken , mooring to the airship tender during long - range flights . In July 1928 Rosendahl traveled to Britain to observe their airship activities , and then to Germany for the trials of the airship . In October he was aboard the " Graf " as she made her first Atlantic crossing from Friedrichshafen to Lakehurst . On 9 May 1929 he was relieved as Commanding Officer of " Los Angeles " and assumed duty as the Commander of the Rigid Airship Training and Experimental Squadron at NAS Lakehurst . In August he was aboard the " Graf Zeppelin " s " Round the World " flight as observer and watch officer . On 27 June 1930 Rosendahl was assigned to the Bureau of Aeronautics , in Washington , D . C . , and from 21 October 1931 to 22 June 1932 commanded the new dirigible , during which time experiments in the role as an airborne aircraft carrier were tried . Between July 1932 and June 1934 Rosendahl served at sea on board the battleship and heavy cruiser . On 11 June 1934 he assumed command at NAS Lakehurst , and was promoted to commander on 1 February 1935 . Rosendahl served as an official observer on the German airship , on transatlantic flights between Frankfurt and Rio de Janeiro in August – September 1936 . He was in command at Lakehurst on the night of 6 May 1937 and witnessed the destruction of the " Hindenburg " , leading fire fighting and rescue efforts . He later testified at the Department of Commerce Inquiry into the accident and stated : On 6 August 1938 he was relieved of command of NAS Lakehurst , and on 31 August he reported to Pearl Harbor to serve as Executive Officer of the light cruiser . On 23 May 1940 he was assigned to the office of the Secretary of the Navy for duty in airship evaluations , and was promoted to the rank of captain on 13 July . In September he became the senior member of the Board created to investigate sites for new airship stations . On 25 February 1941 he was detached from that duty to serve in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy , and then on 23 April 1942 to the office of Chief of Naval Operations , under the Director of Fleet Training , for airship training and base selection . World War II . On 6 September 1942 Rosendahl took command of the heavy cruiser . The ship was torpedoed during the Battle of Tassafaronga , off Guadalcanal , on 30 November 1942 , losing of her bows and had three of four boilers knocked out . Rosendahl kept her afloat and reached the safety of Tulagi . He was subsequently awarded the Navy Cross . On 15 May he returned to NAS Lakehurst and assumed duty as the Chief of Naval Airship Training Command , receiving promotion to rear admiral on 26 May 1943 . This service lasted through World War II , until he retired on 1 November 1946 . He was advanced to the rank of vice admiral on the same day . Post - Navy activities . Between 1947 and 1952 Rosendahl was an aeronautical consultant and a Vice - President of the Flettner Aircraft Corporation , New York . In 1953 he was appointed Executive Director of the National Air Transport Coordinating Committee , a group set up to study air transport problems in the greater New York area after three crashes in Elizabeth , New Jersey , during 1952 . Rosendahl retired to Toms River , New Jersey in 1960 to write and to organize the Lighter - Than - Air Museum Association at Lakehurst . The Navy conditionally deeded land to the LTA Museum Association , but because the group was unsuccessful in raising funds , the land reverted to NAS Lakehurst . The United States Navy ended airship operations in August 1962 . Rosendahl was aboard the N class blimp " ZPG - 3W " on the final flight . Rosendahl died on 17 May 1977 at the Naval Hospital Philadelphia . Personal life . On 30 June 1932 he met Jean Wilson on a train en route to Los Angeles , California . They were married on 22 December 1934 . Publications . Rosendahl published several books , as well as numerous scientific and popular articles about airships . His collected papers are held by the University of Texas at Dallas . These include notes for an unpublished study of the attack on Pearl Harbor written with the assistance of Vice Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka , who Rosendahl had first met and befriended on the " Graf Zeppelin " circumnavigation in 1929 . Memberships . Rosendahl was a member of the following organizations : Honors and awards . Civilian . Rosendahl was the recipient of numerous honors : He also received two honorary degrees : Military . For his service in World War I and World War II he was awarded : And also received :