Wreck of USS Macon added to historic places

AP/YahooNews ^ | 2/11/10

[Kartographer]

The final resting place of a massive blimp-like airship that went down off the California coast 75 years ago has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

[Kartographer]

[oyez]

The Macon was a flying aircraft carrier.(sort of) It carried four biplanes. They landed on the Macon via a hook suspended on the bottom of the blimp. Not for the faint hearted.

[lafroste]

It’s not “blimp like”, its a dirigible. Why can’t they just say that?

[Psycho_Bunny]

Incredible picture....: http://aerospace.b3ch.com/macon.jpg

[Kartographer]

MAN! By the time you climb one of those ladders your shift was half over!!!

[jimfree]

I was on business in Monterey CA several years ago and happened onto the museum honoring the Macon. It was quite a story that I wasn’t earlier familiar with. Those were very small aircraft she carried.

[IrishCatholic]

Yea, that would be me. Halfway up I would drop a bolt or washer, or get all the way to the top and find out I had a straight screwdriver and needed a phillips.

You sure would get over your fear of heights quick

[George Varnum]

I seem to remember a National Geographic article on the MACON some many years ago, which was quite fascinating.

Apparently those biplane pilots had to be pretty optimistic, as IIRC the fighters had no conventional landing gear and could only be retrieved by being “captured” by the mother ship.

Since the top speed of the dirigible was just about if not a little better than the stall speed of the biplane, it would seem like the plane would hover or pass slowly beneath the belly of the airship where it was hooked up and hauled up into the docking bay.

Sounds like a piece of cake... provided that there isn’t any turbulence I suppose.

This was only one of the military dirigibles that wrecked in bad weather - the turbulence of a storm, which they could not fly over or in many cases outrun, would literally tear these ponderous behemoths to pieces.

By the time the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbor, the day of the dirigible had been over for about a decade.

In a tactical situation they were extremely vulnerable, and anti submarine observation blimps off the US Coast and occasional unmanned “barrage balloons” dangling cables against enemy aircraft were about the only lighter than air craft that I know of being deployed in WW-II or any time since.

[Spirochete]

These navy dirigibles all succumbed to thunderstorms. The dirigible was a great concept, but a bit ahead of its time in an era without modern materials or weather radar.

I wish passenger zeppelins would make a comeback.

[DCBurgess58]

I wish passenger zeppelins would make a comeback.

I wish Led Zeppelin would make a comeback

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I wish Led Zeppelin would make a comeback

Based on The Who's performance during the Super Bowl, I would rather remember LZ as they were.

Robert Plant has been doing some rather nice stuff lately btw.

[exit82]

For your info.

[exit82]

Picture of one of the Macon’s biplanes—restored:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Macon_plane.jpg

[ROLF of the HILL COUNTRY]

Because journalists have never heard of a dirigible!!

(And the only Zeppelin they’ve heard of is Led.)

[IMR 4350]

In the mid 80’s I went in one of the old blimp hangers in Hitchcock, Tx. It gives you the feeling that you’ve shrunk.

[Ole Okie]

Based on The Who's performance during the Super Bowl, I would rather remember LZ as they were.

I wasn't paying attention to the halftime show. Glanced up and wondered who those old farts were.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks exit82.

[GreenLanternCorps]

These navy dirigibles all succumbed to thunderstorms.

USS Los Angeles (ZR-3) did not crash, and had a successful career. She did, however, have one notable incident...

[SunkenCiv]

• Uncovering the USS Macon : The Underwater Airship (2006)
• Wreck of Airship USS Macon Added to National Register of Historic Places (2/14/2010)