Patent Drawing for R. J. Spalding’s Flying Machine, 03/05/1889
Italian airship “Roma” over Norfolk, Virginia.
In one of the largest aviation disasters at that time, the US Army’s airship Roma (purchased from the Italian government) crashed into power lines on February 21, 1922, with the loss of 34 crew.
Lost in a storm on February 12, 1935, the airship USS Macon emerges from the clouds in this stock Navy footage.
RIGID AIRSHIP GROUND OPERATIONS, SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, 1934 - 1935
Macon’s sister airship the USS Akron shared the same fate and was lost in the Atlantic 2 years earlier. However lessons learned from the Akron disaster enabled the rescue of nearly the entire crew of the Macon.
Both were among the largest airships ever built, and included their own complement of Sparrowhawk “parasite fighters” that could be launched while in flight.
Thomas L. Shaw’s Improvement in Aerostation, 02/10/1863
(special thanks to our colleagues in our “Steampunk in the Archives” working group)
Steampunk fan? Don’t forget to check out the National Archives’ Steampunk board on Pinterest!
USS Akron in Flight
The ill-fated airship USS Akron (ZRS-4) was launched on August 8, 1931. Designed as a potential flying aircraft carrier, this reel of stock Navy footage includes scenes of the Akron launching and retrieving its complement of Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk “parasite fighters.”
June 23, 1919. Subject: Carrier Pigeons
Did you get the memo?
Today is national memo day, the day where we Americans celebrate (or maybe the better verb is recognize) the ever circulating, sometimes useful memo!
Here is one of our favorite memos. It is part of a series of General Correspondence Files created by the Army Air Forces at Ross Field between 1918-1929. The memo details the potential uses for carrier pigeons in the operations of the air field.
If nothing else, “The use of carrier pigeons might save a pilot and passengers from possible starvation in the mountains in case of forced landings…”
![Patent Drawing for a Flying Machine, 04/15/1913
On April 15, 1913, The Patent Office granted David Hamilton Coles a patent for an improvement in airships. In his application, Coles meticulously described his new designs for various parts of the airship, such as, the valves, propellers, and engine.
[note: image rotated 90° for the full airship effect]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m22echdjWd1qhk04bo1_r1_1280.jpg)
Patent Drawing for a Flying Machine, 04/15/1913
On April 15, 1913, The Patent Office granted David Hamilton Coles a patent for an improvement in airships. In his application, Coles meticulously described his new designs for various parts of the airship, such as, the valves, propellers, and engine.
[note: image rotated 90° for the full airship effect]
Several months before the disaster at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the German airship Hindenburg is photographed at the very same location.
German airship “Hindenburg” at Lakehurst, New Jersey., 01/25/1937
August 8, 1943 - Dirigible escort as seen from the U.S.S. Casablanca
Here’s your archaic word of the day, brought to you by a federal record: “dirigible.”
It means “airship” and is also commonly known as a “Zeppelin.”
