USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)

USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)

USS Shenandoah moored at NAS San Diego
History
United States
Name	USS Shenandoah
Namesake	Shenandoah Valley
Ordered	11 July 1919
Builder	Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia Hangar No. 1, NAS Lakehurst
Laid down	24 June 1922
Launched	20 August 1923
Christened	10 October 1923
Commissioned	10 October 1923
Maiden voyage	4 September 1923
Stricken	5 September 1925
Honors and awards	First transcontinental U.S. flight
Fate	Crashed during a thunderstorm near Caldwell, Ohio, 3 September 1925
Notes	First rigid airship commissioned into U.S. Navy World's first helium-filled rigid airship
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	Useful lift 53,600 lb (24,300 kg) Nominal gas volume: 2,100,000 ft (59,465 m³) (at 95% inflation)
Complement	25
Armament	6× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) Lewis machine guns 8× 500 lb (230 kg) bombs
U.S. Historic district
Official name	Shenandoah Crash Sites
Designated	25 July 1989
Reference no.	89000942[1]
Coordinates	Site #1: 39°50′21″N 81°32′22″W / 39.83917°N 81.53944°W / 39.83917; -81.53944 Site #2: 39°50′7″N 81°32′46″W / 39.83528°N 81.54611°W / 39.83528; -81.54611 Site #3: 39°44′29″N 81°35′36″W / 39.74139°N 81.59333°W / 39.74139; -81.59333

USS Shenandoah was the first of four United States Navy rigid airships. It was constructed during 1922–1923 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,^[2] Shenandoah was destroyed in a squall line over Ohio in September 1925.^[3]