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USS Akron (ZRS-4)

1931 GOLDEN AGE

History of the USS Akron (ZRS-4)

The USS Akron (ZRS-4), the first ship of its class, was built in Akron, Ohio. Together with its sister ship USS Macon (ZRS-5), both airships have 6,500,000 cubic feet. She entered service in October 1931, conducting tests and search exercises in the eastern United States and the western Atlantic, including tests with reconnaissance forces.

She was damaged in a ground handling accident in February 1932, but was repaired for test boarding.

Akron set off for the West Coast in May, arriving at Camp Carney in San Diego, California, where she was docked in an accident that killed two sailors. Back in Lakehurst, NJ, she had another accident while leaving the hangar in August.

For the rest of the year, she flew up and down the East Coast, testing aircraft such as the F9C-2.

In early 1933, Akron visited Florida, Cuba, and Panama, inspecting bases in the US Fleet's southern operating area, before returning to New Jersey. Earlier on April 4, she was hit by a severe storm off the coast of New Jersey during her voyage to New England.

When they trailed into the sea, only three of the seventy-six people on board survived. While searching for survivors, the Navy's non-rigid airship J-3 also crashed, killing two others. The Akron wreck lies about 100 feet below sea level east of Atlantic City. In June 2003, the U.S.

Navy submarine NR-1 surveyed the wreck site, and her collapsed frame is still visible.