USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)
USS Shenandoah moored at NAS San Diego
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Shenandoah |
| Namesake: | Shenandoah Valley |
| Ordered: | 11 July 1919 |
| Builder: |
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| Laid down: | 24 June 1922 |
| Launched: | 20 August 1923 |
| Christened: | 10 October 1923 |
| Commissioned: | 10 October 1923 |
| Maiden voyage: | 4 September 1923 |
| Struck: | 5 September 1925 |
| Honors and awards: |
First transcontinental U.S. flight |
| Fate: | Crashed during storm near Caldwell, Ohio, 3 September 1925 |
| Notes: | First rigid airship commissioned into U.S. Navy |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Shenandoah-class rigid airship |
| Tonnage: | 77,500 lb (35,200 kg) |
| Length: | 680 ft (207.26 m) |
| Beam: | 78 ft 9 in (24.00 m) (maximum diameter) |
| Height: | 93 ft 2 in (28.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | Six (later five) 300 hp (220 kW) eight-cylinder Packard gasoline engines |
| Speed: | 60 kn (69 mph; 110 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 mi (4,300 nmi; 8,000 km) |
| Capacity: |
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| Complement: | 25 |
| Armament: |
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| Official name | Shenandoah Crash Sites |
| Designated | 25 July 1989 |
| Reference no. | 89000942 |
| Coordinates | Site #1: 39°50′21″N 81°32′22″W / 39.83917°N 81.53944°WCoordinates: 39°50′21″N 81°32′22″W / 39.83917°N 81.53944°W Site #2: 39°50′7″N 81°32′46″W / 39.83528°N 81.54611°W Site #3: 39°44′29″N 81°35′36″W / 39.74139°N 81.59333°W |
USS Shenandoah was the first of four United States Navy rigid airships. It was constructed during 1922–23 at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, and first flew in September 1923. It developed the U.S. Navy's experience with rigid airships, and made the first crossing of North America by airship. On the 57th flight,Shenandoah was torn apart in a squall line over Ohio in September 1925.
Shenandoah was originally designated FA-1, for "Fleet Airship Number One" but this was changed to ZR-1. The airship was 680 ft (207.26 m) long and weighed 36 tons (32658 kg). It had a range of 5,000 mi (4,300 nmi; 8,000 km), and could reach speeds of 70 mph (61 kn; 110 km/h). Shenandoah was assembled at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1922–1923, in Hangar No. 1, the only hangar large enough to accommodate the ship; its parts were fabricated at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia. NAS Lakehurst had served as a base for Navy blimps for some time, but Shenandoah was the first rigid airship to join the fleet.
The design was based on Zeppelin bomber L-49 (LZ-96), built in 1917.L-49 was a lightened "height climber", designed for altitude at the expense of other qualities. The design was found insufficient and a number of the features of newer Zeppelins were used, as well as some structural improvements. The structure was built from a new alloy of aluminum and copper known as duralumin. Girders were fabricated at the Naval Aircraft Factory. Whether the changes introduced into the original design of L-49 played a part in Shenandoah's later breakup is a matter of debate. An outer cover of high-quality cotton cloth was sewn, laced or taped to the duralumin frame and painted with aluminum dope.
The gas cells were made of goldbeater's skins, one of the most gas-impervious materials known at the time. Named for their use in beating and separating gold leaf, goldbeater's skins were made from the outer membrane of the large intestines of cattle. The membranes were washed and scraped to remove fat and dirt, and then placed in a solution of water and glycerine in preparation for application to the rubberized cotton fabric providing the strength of the gas cells. The membranes were wrung out by hand to remove the water-glycerine storage solution and then rubber-cemented to the cotton fabric and finally given a light coat of varnish. The 20 gas cells within the airframe were filled to about 85% of capacity at normal barometric pressure. Each gas cell had a spring-loaded relief valve and manual valves operated from the control car.
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