USS Macon was built at the Goodyear Airdock in Springfield Township, Ohio by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation. Because 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 USS Macon and the USS Akron. From the collection…
Sister ship of the USS Akron. Measuring an incredible 785 feet in length, the Macon and Akron were the largest airships in the world. At 50mph, these airships has a potential 10,580 mile range. The airships were large enough to house 5 airplanes that could be launched and recovered while in flight. From the collection…
The USS Macon was christened on 11 March 1933, by Jeanette Whitton Moffett, wife of Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, Chief of the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. The airship was named after the city of Macon, Georgia. On April 21, 1933, just weeks after the loss of the USS Akron in which Admiral Moffett…
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…
As the US Navy’s newly built USS Akron flys overhead, the Akron Municipal Airport and its distinctive architecture stand proudly below in this vintage Akron Postcard. Opening in 1929, the Akron Municipal Airport at one point was a U.S. naval air station, known as Naval Air Station Akron. Today the airport is known as the…
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 YMCA building was constructed to give people a place to eat, stay for short or long terms, and worship.The highrise was originally constructed with an indoor pool which is still in use. The main part of the building was used as living/housing space.
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.
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…
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.
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…
ZRS-4 Built in Akron, Ohio, The United States Navy airships U.S.S. Akron – ZRS-4 and U.S.S. Macon – ZRS-5 were among the largest airships ever built. Each ship was designed as a long-range scouting platform for use in Naval fleet operation. The helium-filled airships each carried F9C-2 Curtiss Sparrowhawk biplanes which could be launched and…
The USS Los Angeles was decommissioned in 1932, but was recommissioned for a period after the USS Akron crashed in April 1933. The airship was struck off the Navy list in 1939 and dismantled in its hangar, thus ending the career of the Navy’s longest-serving rigid airship.
Built and previously owned by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, later Goodyear Aerospace, the massive Airdock was constructed in 1929.at a cost of $2.2 million.
Planned as the finest YMCA in Ohio, the 16-story Art Deco building opened to the public in 1931.