The first Americian rigid airship, the Shenandoah also kown as the ZR-1. This great zeppelin was 680 feet or 207.26 meters in length and 79 feet or 24.08 meters in diameter. It was the first rigid airship to use Helium as a lifting gas. It had six 300 hp Packard engines and traveled about 60mph or 96km/h. Unfortunately
in December of 1924 just two years after the ship was constructed ,due to severe winds over Caldwell,Ohio, it fell apart and crashed. There were 43 crew members of which 29 survived.. This is a memeorial to the U.S. Navy and its crew members.
fjpetri@ibm.net
(c) Frank J. Petriccione January 2000