Last month a centennial went nearly without notice. On September 3, 1925 the US NAVY Airship USS Shenandoah crashed in Noble County, Ohio. Several crew members were killed and the tragedy also marked the beginning of the end of the Navy’s airship mission. Blue Skies and Tailwinds producer Dan Patterson has some thoughts.
After the first World War it became obvious that aviation had become a huge element in how the world’s militaries planned all of their strategies. The former enemy, Germany, turned into a supplier. Their efforts using enormous airships as bombers and reconnaissance aircraft did not go without being noted by the victorious allies, using 1000 foot long Zeppelins which had terrorized the residents of London The newer versions were now USS “AIRSHIPS” A fleet of these leviathans with names of Macon, Akron, Los Angeles and Shenandoah were cruising across the USA. The airships were built of an aluminum frame, the gas bags inside that and the whole thing was covered with a silvery grey rubberized fabric.
Huge airship hangars were built along both American coasts as well in the heartland. One of those remains here in Ohio in Akron. Another is at Wingfoot Lake. The corporate logo of the Goodyear is the winged foot of the mythological figure “Mercury”. Goodyear remains a corporate partner with the Zeppelin company.
In 1925 aviation it was just over 20 years since the Wright’s first flight. Flying was not novel anymore but it was pretty raw. The understanding of the weather was just starting. For example, in 2025 we know better than fly into a thunderstorm. Much less than in a 1000 foot long gas bag. The US Navy needed to show its flag, justify the money and manpower with these huge and majestic airships.
The Ohio connections went beyond Goodyear. The commander of the Shenandoah was Lt. Cdr. Zachary Lansdowne, who grew up in Greenville. Many in the country were pushing for more demonstration flights, and the USS Shenandoah was ordered to make a flight across multiple cities throughout the Midwest. Lansdowne protested this flight as the weather in the summer was very unpredictable, so it was moved to September 1925.
As September approached, preparations were made to begin the cross-country journey, and on September 2, 1925, the USS Shenandoah left the hangar at Lakehurst, New Jersey, beginning its flight to Ohio.
Thunderstorms are columns of air which are warm air rising and cold air descending. The warm and humid air in Ohio is the same fuel which creates hurricanes. The opposing columns of air also creates friction and creates static electricity . . . lightning. They storms can be isolated or they can be a part of a larger weather system. The USS Shenandoah flew right into a large system of storms which creates enormous updrafts and then the opposite . . . violent winds going down. The 1000 foot airship became caught in and in between both.
After an updraft . . . the crew could hear the aluminum framework creaking and groaning, the Shenandoah hit a very violent downdraft and that was too much. The airship began to breakup.
The airship came to earth in several places in Noble County. The control car snapped off and plunged straight down, the commander and all of the crew did not survive. Other crew members rode the intact and huge sections to the surface and survived. The Shenandoah had crashed in three separate locations miles apart.
Nobel county is still a very remote part of Ohio. The crash is the biggest single event to ever take place there. The legacy began the day after the crash. Residents swarmed to the crash sites and stripped the rubberized fabric from the framework. Legend has it that many of the Noble County folks were soon wearing silvery grey raincoats. The Navy took a few days to secure the crash sites, but the scavenging had already happened.
Today the High School football team are “The Zepps” and the school flagpole has a Zeppelin at the very top. There is a Shenandoah museum in an airstream trailer next to a local gas station.
Flying through storms continued into the times after World War II. The realities of violent weather were unfortunately learned the hard way and that cost lives.
In 2025, student pilots are taught almost at the start that thunderstorms are to be avoided at all times. If that kind of weather is in the area . . . go fly another day . . . walking in the rain would be a safer choice.
For WYSO, this is Dan Patterson wishing you Blue Skies and Tailwinds!