USS Los Angeles (ZR-3)
| USS Los Angeles (ZR-3) | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Los Angeles tied up to the mooring mast aboard the tender USS Patoka | |
| Manufacturer | Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, Friedrichshafen |
| Construction number | LZ-126 |
| Manufactured | July 1922 (Commenced) August 1924 (Launched) |
| Serial | ZR-3 |
| In service | 25 November 1924 (Commissioned) 30 June 1932 (Decommissioned) 24 October 1939 (Struck from Naval Register) |
| Fate | Broken up for scrap |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type: | Los Angeles class rigid airship |
| Displacement: | 2,764,460 cu ft (78,280.8 m3) |
| Length: | 658 ft 4 in (200.7 m) |
| Beam: | 90 ft 8 in (27.6 m) (hull diameter) |
| Draft: | 104 ft 5 in (31.8 m) (height) |
| Installed power: | 400hp per engine |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | |
| Range: | 5,770 nmi (10,690 km; 6,640 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 40 |
The USS Los Angeles was a rigid airship, designated ZR-3, which was built in 1923–1924 by the Zeppelin company in Friedrichshafen, Germany as war reparation. It was delivered to the United States Navy in October 1924 and after being used mainly for experimental work, particularly in the development of the American parasite fighter program, was decommissioned in 1932.
The second of four vessels to carry the name USS Los Angeles, the airship was built for the United States Navy as a replacement for the Zeppelins that had been assigned to the United States as war reparations following World War I, and had been sabotaged by their crews in 1919. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles Luftschiffbau Zeppelin were not permitted to build military airships. In consequence Los Angeles, which had the Zeppelin works number LZ 126, was built as a passenger airship, although the Treaty limitation on the permissible volume was waived, it being agreed that a craft of a size equal to the largest Zeppelin constructed during World War One was permissible.
The airship's hull had 24-sided transverse ring frames for most of its length, changing to an octagonal section at the tail surfaces, and the hull had an internal keel which provided an internal walkway and also contained the accommodation for the crew when off duty. For most of the ship's length the main frames were 32 ft 10 in (10 m) apart, with two secondary frames in each bay. Following the precedent set by LZ 120 Bodensee, crew and passenger accommodation was in a compartment near the front of the airship that was integrated into the hull structure. Each of the five Maybach VL I V12 engines occupied a separate engine car, arranged as four wing cars with the fifth aft on the centerline of the ship. All drove two-bladed pusher propellers and were capable of running in reverse. Auxiliary power was provided by wind-driven dynamos.
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