Page 57 - All About History - Issue 38-16

The Weird World of Airships

Despite helium being the
safer gas its higher cost
meant that hydrogen was still
used until the late 1930s

1921 1925 1925 onwards
First helium airship Advertising advances Tragedy at sea

On 1 December 1921, the US Navy blimp C 7 With the airship market booming, the Goodyear After World War I, the USA became interested
sailed into the sky. It was the first airship to Tyre and Rubber Company saw an excellent in airship technology for the military.
be filled with helium, not hydrogen. Helium, marketing opportunity. Christened Pilgrim, their Commissioning a number of ships from both
being an inert gas, was far safer to use in first advertising blimp was launched in July 1925 German and British manufacturers, the US Navy
these temperamental machines but did not with resounding success. The company’s president began to build its airship fleet. Danger was never
generate as much lift. had them named after competitors in the far behind, and the first in a series of tragedies
America’s Cup yacht race, as he saw that airships struck in 1925 when USS Shenandoah ran into
could “serve a similar purpose for persons living a storm and was torn apart, killing 14 crew.
inland as do yachts for those living along the Although improvements to airship
seacoast.” The burgeoning airship industry designs were made, one of
had created a romantic image around the deadliest accidents
itself and Goodyear’s blimps were would occur just eight
seen as embodying the spirit of the years later. Caught in a
Roaring Twenties. Publicity stunts lightning storm off the
and feats of daring were carried coast of New Jersey,
out with acrobats and wing USS Akron was lost,
walkers exciting and wowing leaving only three
crowds all across the USA. survivors. Akron’s
Today, Goodyear still maintains sister ship, USS
its airship fleet and is in the Macon, would suffer
process of replacing all its blimps a similar fate, but
with semirigid designs. Although mercifully almost all
these are not technically blimps, of the 81 crew survived
the aircraft have become such a well thanks to their life rafts.
known sight that the name has stuck.

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