“This remarkable stack rises to a height of 250 feet. The diameter at base is 22 feet and 5 in. with 32 5/8 in. wall. Is 12 feet in diameter at top. 1310 tons of material were required to build it. The stack fans the fires under our boilers and is in a way responsible…
At 1,175 feet long, 325 feet wide, and 211 feet high it is no understatement to say the airdock is massive! There is 364,000 square feet of unobstructed floor space, or an area larger than 8 football fields side-by-side. The Airdock has a volume of 55 million cubic feet.
Built during World War II, the multi-million dollar Research laboratory of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, located on Goodyear Boulevard in Akron.
“The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is one of the largest rubber factories in the United States. Good year produced more than 110,000,000 tires since 1898. It employs thousands of people. The annual Payroll is over $43,000,000. Goodyear is the largest producer of auto tires and rubber heels in the world. 110,000,000 tires linked together would…
In 1898, Frank Seiberling established the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. The company was named for Charles Goodyear, the man who developed vulcanized rubber.
Postcard view of the colossus of engineering, the Airdock. The structure was built in 1929 for the building of the U.S. Navy’s rigid airships, the USS Akron (1931) and USS Macon (1933). The buildings eleven steel parabolic arches, cresting at 211 feet, create one of the largest open space interiors in the world and create…
In 1916, Goodyear became the world’s largest tire company. This is also when the company began using the slogan “More people ride on Goodyear tires than on any other kind.”
IN 1889, with just 13 employees, Goodyear production began. The product line included bicycle and carriage tires, horseshoe pads, and poker chips. By 1916, Goodyear had grown into the world’s largest tire company, and by 1926 it was the world’s largest rubber company.
In this Picture Postcard view of the USS Macon, a member of the crew checks one of the ships many gasoline tanks prior to a test flight from the Goodyear-Zeppelin dock in Akron. This is the starboard lateral gangway. Narrow catwalks like this one stretched throughout the interior of the ships hull. The Macon ZRS-5, The Macon, was…
The Air Dock, as it is known, was constructed in 1929. It was the largest building in the world without interior supports and provided a huge structure in which “lighter-than-air” ships (later known as airships, dirigibles, and blimps) could be constructed. The first two airships to be constructed and launched at the Airdock were USS Akron and its sister ship, USS Macon, built…
Goodyear had its initial public offering and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on On August 5, 1927.
Men at work on duralumin framework of U.S.S. Akron – ZRS-4, the world’s largest airship. From Framework to Flight On October 31, 1929 construction of the Akron began inside the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation dock at Akron, Ohio. On November 2, 1931, she left the dock on her maiden voyage as a commissioned “ship” of the U.S. Navy.…
“The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, one of the largest rubber factories in the United States, is located in Akron, the rubber center of the United States. Goodyear produced more than 110,000,000 tires since 1998. It employees thousands of people. The annual payroll is over 43,000,000. Goodyear is the largest producer of auto tires and rubber…
Goodyear built its first blimp in 1912. In 1928 the company was awarded a contract to build the Navy’s rigid airships Akron and Macon.
By 1930 Goodyear had pioneered what would later become known as “tundra tires” for smaller aircraft — the “airwheel” aviation wheel-rim/tire sets were initially available in sizes up to 46 inches in diameter.
USS Akron flys proudly over the Goodyear plant. She was the world’s first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier, carrying F9C Sparrowhawk fighter planes which could be launched and recovered while she was in flight. The Goodyear company is named after American Charles Goodyear, inventor of vulcanized rubber. The first Goodyear factory opened in Akron, Ohio, in…
“Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation’s Factory and Dock located on the grounds of Akron’s Municipal Airport (Akron Fulton International). This building is 1,196 feet in length, 325 feet in width and 211 feet high, equal to a 22 story building. There are 3,600,000 pounds of steel used in the doors and 5,350 tons of structural steel in the…
The USS Macon was built at the Goodyear Airdock in Springfield Township (Akron) by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation. This was by far the biggest airship ever to be built in America. A team of experienced German airship engineers—led by Chief Designer Karl Arnstein—instructed and supported design and construction of both the U.S. Navy airships Macon and Akron.
By 1926 Goodyear was the largest rubber company in the world. Only four years earlier it was forced to temporarily halt production of racing tires due to heavy competition. Nevertheless, the popularity of the Goodyear tire on the racing circuit led to a popular demand for the return of the brand.
Was Goodyear big in Akron? Oh yeah. By the early 1900’s this plant had one million square feet of rubber making floor space and covered 41 acres!
First Flying Aircraft Carrier Between September 1931 and April 1933 the Navy’s USS Akron (ZRS-4) sailed the skies. She was the world’s first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier. Tucked neatly inside her massive body were F9C Sparrowhawk fighter planes which could be launched and recovered while the airship was in flight. Largest Flying Object With an overall length of 785 ft (239 m), the Akron and her…
Building Airship ZRS-4 Construction of Airship ZRS-4 began on October 31, 1929 at the Goodyear-Zeppelin Airdock. wish was a purpose-built hanger for the construction of these massive airships. On November 7 that year, Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, the Chief of the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics, drove the “golden rivet” in the ship’s first main ring. Erection of the hull sections began…
The Goodyear-Zeppelin Airdock was a purpose-built facility for the construction of large airships. The $2.2 million building is over 200 feet tall and more than 1,000 feet long. Most remarkable, the entire length of the building is free of interior supports like pillars or struts. At the time of its construction in 1929, the air dock was the…
Goodyear entered the fledgling aviation industry when it established its aeronautics department in 1910. The company built its first balloon in 1912 and the next year began building and flying balloons in competition.
The first Goodyear factory opened in Akron, Ohio, in 1898. The thirteen original employees manufactured bicycle and carriage tires, rubber horseshoe pads, and poker chips. The company grew with the advent of the automobile. In this image, an Akron & Barberton Belt steam train switches cars at Goodyear’s east Akron factory.