USS Macon (ZRS-5)

History of USS Macon (ZRS-5)

The USS Macon (ZRS-5) served as a reconnaissance platform and experimental mothership for the US Navy during its brief airborne career in the 1930s. As a rigid airship, its development coincided with America's interest in "parasitic fighter jets." The Parasite fighter will be housed in a hangar on the airship and released when needed and recovered through an elaborate "trapezoidal" approach.

Construction of the USS Macon began in May 1931 by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Company of Springfield, Ohio. The airship was launched on March 11, 1933, and officially commissioned on June 23 of the same year (as were naval battleships).

Their development was aided by German engineering support, including Karl Arnstein, an experienced airship designer at the time.

Macon belongs to the Akron-class group, which consists of only one other aircraft - the USS Akron (ZRS-4). Displacement is 7,401,260 cubic feet, while dimensions include an overall length of 785 feet, a beam of 133 feet, and a draft of 146.4 feet. The drive was provided by eight (Germany) Maybach VL-2 12-cylinder, water-cooled inline-piston engines, each producing 560 hp.

These engines drive variable pitch three-blade metal propeller units. The propellers have a tilt function that allows them to reduce power and vice versa. Top speed is 86 mph, while driving is limited to around 63 mph. The airship has a range of 6,840 miles.

Internally, Macon carried a crew of 60. Also equipped with 8x.30 caliber medium machine guns for local defense. A single trapeze recovery system was used to launch one of five Curtiss F9C "Sparrowhawk" biplanes (detailed elsewhere on this page).

The general structure of the airship consists of a dozen helium-filled chambers made of gelatin latex, and the airship's solid substructure is made of duralumin.

Once in the air, the Akron-class airship was the largest aircraft of its kind ever built on American soil. In April 1933, Macon's sister, the USS Akron, crashed and disappeared (only three souls survived). Macon started his career in June this year with a training assignment. It then joins U.S. Navy warships for fleet exercises, whose contributions are limited due to widespread misunderstandings about how to use such aircraft in conjunction with ocean-going vessels.

The airship took off and then successfully loaded the first aircraft in July 1933. It moved from Lakehurst, New Jersey to Santa Clara County, California, before the end of the year.

In 1934, the USS Macon attempted another continental voyage but was damaged before reaching its destination. Her life ended in a storm on February 12, 1935, when she crashed off the coast of California (near Monterey Bay, two crew members were killed in the incident).

The losses of Akron and Macon prompted the U.S. Navy to increase investment in non-rigid airships during World War II.

The ship made 50 flights before being written off (26 February 1935). The accident site was explored again in February 1991 and again in 2006. In January 2010, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

At least four Sparrowhawk fighter jets have been identified in connection with the wreckage.

Specification

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