On November 3, 1931, the USS Akron flew over Arlington and DC on its maiden voyage.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Arlington Historical Society
5 hrs ·

On this day in Arlington history, November 3, 1931 the USS Akron, on its maiden voyage flew over Arlington and Washington, D.C. The USS Akron (ZRS-4) was a helium-filled rigid airship of the U.S. Navy and was operated between September 1931 and April 1933.

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Source: USS Akron (ZRS-4), Airship 1931-1933

Photo #: NH 44099

USS Akron (ZRS-4)

Flies over Arlington, Virginia, with the Potomac River and Washington, D.C., in the background, circa 1931-1932.
Note construction work on the Virginia approaches to the Memorial Bridge, with the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool at the bridge's D.C. end. The Munitions and Main Navy Buildings are visible on the north (left) side of the Reflecting Pool.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 108KB; 740 x 575 pixels

More information and lots of pictures:

NavSource Online: Rigid Airships Photo Archive USS AKRON (ZRS-4)

Fri Nov 3, 2023: On this day, November 3, 1931, the USS Akron flew over Arlington and DC on its maiden voyage.

Tue Nov 3, 2020: On this day, November 3, 1931, the USS Akron flew over Arlington and DC on its maiden voyage.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Her sad demise:

Loss
On the evening of 3 April 1933, Akron cast off from the mooring mast to operate along the coast of New England, assisting in the calibration of radio direction finder stations. Rear Admiral Moffett was again on board along with his aide, Commander Henry Barton Cecil, Commander Fred T. Berry, the commanding officer of NAS Lakehurst, and Lieutenant Colonel Alfred F. Masury, U.S. Army Reserve, a guest of the admiral, the vice-president of Mack Trucks, and a strong proponent of the potential civilian uses of rigid airships.

After casting off at 19:28, Akron soon encountered fog and then severe weather, which did not improve when the airship passed over Barnegat Light, New Jersey, at 22:00. According to Richard K. Smith, Unknown to the men on board the Akron, they were flying ahead of one of the most violent stormfronts to sweep the North Atlantic States in ten years. It would soon envelop them." Enveloped in fog, increased lightning and heavy rain, it became extremely turbulent at 00:15. The Akron began a rapid nose-down descent, reaching 1,100 feet (340 m) while still falling. Ballast was dumped, which stabilized the ship at 700 feet (210 m), and climbed back to 1,600-foot (490 m) cruising altitude. Then a second violent descent sent the Akron downwards at 14 feet per second (4.3 m/s). "Landing stations" alerted the crew, as the ship descended tail-down. The lower fin struck the sea, water entered the fin, and the stern was dragged under. The engines pulled the ship into a nose-high attitude, then the Akron stalled, and crashed into the sea.

Akron broke up rapidly and sank in the stormy Atlantic. The crew of the nearby German merchant ship Phoebus saw lights descending toward the ocean at about 00:23 and altered course to starboard to investigate, with her captain believing that he was witnessing an airplane crash. At 00:55, executive officer Lieutenant Commander Herbert V. Wiley was pulled from the water while the ship's boat picked up three more men: Chief Radioman Robert W. Copeland, Boatswain's Mate Second Class Richard E. Deal, and Aviation Metalsmith Second Class Moody E. Erwin. Despite artificial respiration, Copeland never regained consciousness, and he died aboard Phoebus.[6]: 80  Although the German sailors spotted four or five other men in the water, they did not know their ship had chanced upon the crash of Akron until Lt. Commander Wiley regained consciousness half an hour after being rescued. The crew of Phoebus combed the ocean in boats for over five hours in a fruitless search for more survivors. The Navy blimp J-3—sent out to join the search—also crashed, with the loss of two men.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Tucker—the first American vessel on the scene—arrived at 06:00, taking the airship's survivors and the body of Copeland on board. Among the other ships combing the area for survivors were the heavy cruiser Portland, the destroyer Cole, the Coast Guard cutter Mojave, and the Coast Guard destroyers McDougal and Hunt, as well as two Coast Guard aircraft. The fishing vessel Grace F from Gloucester, Massachusetts, also assisted in the search, using her seining gear in an effort to recover bodies. Most casualties had been caused by drowning and hypothermia, since the crew had not been issued life jackets, and there had not been time to deploy the single life raft. The accident left 73 dead, and only three survivors. Wiley, standing next to the two other survivors, gave a brief account on 6 April

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