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ZR-1 U.S.S. Shenandoah
U.S.S. Shenandoah. The first of the four rigid airships commissioned into the U. S. Navy, all personified in the female gender. On October 19, 1923 the Shenandoah was christened by the wife of the Secretary of the Navy, Mrs. Edwin Denby. Basically a trainer, she flew 59 flights/740 hours before she crashed on September 3, 1925 in Ohio, as a result of unforecast violent thunderstorms, long before the inception of the National Weather Advisory. 14 of her crew of 43 died, including her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Zachary Landsdowne.