Akron disaster
The Akron disaster refers to the tragic crash of the rigid airship USS Akron (ZRS-4) on April 3, 1933, which resulted in the deaths of 73 people out of the 76 aboard. Constructed by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, the Akron was a significant technological advancement of its time, measuring 785 feet long and capable of launching and recovering airplanes in flight. Designed to serve various purposes, including reconnaissance and maritime rescue, the Akron's launch was intended to uplift spirits during the Great Depression, particularly in Akron, Ohio, which had been economically impacted.
The airship departed from the U.S. Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey, but encountered severe thunderstorms shortly after takeoff, leading to its descent into the Atlantic Ocean. Captain Frank C. McCord and his crew faced challenging weather conditions, and although some crew members survived, the absence of life jackets on board contributed to the high casualty rate. The cause of the disaster remained undetermined, with theories suggesting structural failure or severe down drafts from the storm. The incident was compounded by the subsequent crash of a nonrigid airship, J-3, which was involved in the search for survivors, resulting in more fatalities.
Following the Akron disaster and the loss of its sister ship, the Macon, in 1935, the U.S. Navy shifted away from rigid airships, transitioning to the use of nonrigid blimps primarily for reconnaissance during World War II.
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Akron disaster
The Event Crash of a U.S. Navy airship
Date April 3, 1933
Place Off the New Jersey coast
The Akron, one of the largest man-made objects ever to fly, was part of the early history of U.S. naval aviation. The Navy commissioned the ship to help it develop a lighter-than-air aviation program, but the crash of the Akron prompted the U.S. government to move toward a fleet of heavier-than-air ships such as airplanes.
The Akron, officially known as the ZRS-4, was 785 feet long and 133 feet in diameter and had a top speed of 78 miles per hour. Akron, an industrial city in Ohio, had been hard hit by the Depression, and the naming of the ZRS-4 was an effort to instill some cheer. The ship, which Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company built in two years at the cost of more than $5 million, launched in 1930. A rigid airship, the Akron could launch and recover airplanes in flight, provide reconnaissance, and help rescue sailors.
The airship departed from the U.S. Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey, at 7:38 p.m. on April 3, 1933. Frank C. McCord served as captain, with Herbert V. Wiley as his executive officer. Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, first head of the U.S. Bureau of Aeronautics and arguably the father of naval aviation, was also on board. The Akron soon encountered thunderstorms that accompanied a cold front from the west. Trying to dodge the storms, McCord guided the Akron over the Atlantic Ocean. About midnight, the ship went into the sea tail first, killing seventy-three people; only Wiley and two enlisted men survived. A German tanker rescued the survivors. The Akron carried no life jackets. The cause of the crash was never determined. Both structural failure and down currents from the storm cells were suspected. To add to the tragedy, the nonrigid airship J-3 crashed while searching for Akron survivors, killing two crew members.
Impact
When the Akron’s sister ship, the Macon, crashed in 1935, the Navy’s rigid airship program ended. Congress did authorize two hundred blimps, all nonrigid, for the Navy in 1940, as preparation for World War II. However, the ships proved too fragile for anything more than monitoring U-boats.
Bibliography
Topping, Dale. When Giants Roamed the Sky: Karl Arnstein and the Rise of Airships from Zeppelin to Goodyear. Akron, Ohio: University of Akron Press, 2001.
Vaeth, J. Gordon. They Sailed the Skies: U.S. Navy Balloons and the Airship Program. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2005.