USS Akron
U.S. Navy airship destroyed in 1933
Summary
USS Akron was a helium-filled rigid airship of the U.S. Navy, the lead ship of her class, which operated between September 1931 and April 1933. She was the world's first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier, carrying F9C Sparrowhawk fighter planes, which could be launched and recovered while in flight. With an overall length of 785 ft (239 m), Akron and her sister ship the Macon were among the largest flying objects ever built. Although LZ 129 Hindenburg and LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II were some 18 ft (5.5 m) longer and slightly more voluminous, the two German airships were filled with hydrogen, so the two US Navy craft still hold the world record for the largest helium-filled airships.
Originally created by The Epopt
7/7/2002, 7:27:20 PM
Modified
4/26/2026, 8:33:46 PM
Recent revisions
akron
We fixed a lot
Moving [[:Category:Accidents and incidents involving balloons and airships]] to [[:Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving balloons and airships]] per [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy]]
/* Specifications (as built) */
no citation for air disaster during ww2 with greater fatalities
more MOS:SEAOFBLUE and other overlinking
/* "Coast-to-coast" flight and second accident (May 1932) */ overlinking
/* Experimental use as a "flying aircraft carrier" */ seaofblue+overlinking
/* Participation in a search exercise (January 1932) */ mos:seaofblue
/* Construction and commissioning */ MOS:SEAOFBLUE and general overlinking
MOS:SEAOFBLUE
added
/* Loss */ crash-officers-crew
/* External links */ added
/* External links */ layout
Changed text size
