Trio of thick albums with hundreds of handsome, professional photographs documenting all aspects of the two important and ultimately doomed American dirigibles, the USS Akron and USS Macon, as well as other projects related to their manufacturer, Goodyear and its subsidiary Goodyear-Zeppelin.

Present in the album are numerous photos showing construction of the Akron, Macon, and a few other Goodyear airships. Constructed in the company’s sprawling airdock in Akron, Ohio, the photographs show the airships in various states of completion. Many compelling, geometrically-dynamic compositions are created from the dirigibles’ imposing, skeletal frameworks.
There are also commanding scenes of the airships in flight, and almost surreal scenes of the ships docking on towers and tall buildings.

There are also group portraits of the ships’ crews and officers, construction workers, and other employees, and their families (many of whom are identified). There are shots of the living quarters, mess halls, and other rooms inside the vessels, views of celebrations and ceremonies inside the airdock, and a handful of photographs of buildings around Akron (likely personal photos printed by the person who compiled these albums). There are also photos taken at Lakehurst, NJ, including views of other airships such as the Shenandoah, and photos of other projects such as the Comet, a diesel-electric streamliner built in 1935 by Goodyear-Zeppelin for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad .

Greater than the length of two football fields at 785 feet, the USS Macon was the largest dirigible helium airship at the time of launch in 1933. Not to be mistaken for a blimp, dirigibles are airships similar in shape but with a rigid structure, more commonly referred to by the German world zeppelin. Dirigibles are an airspace feat with their size and futuristic look, but also because of the spectacle of their wrecks - most notably the longest helium-filled dirigible, the Hindenburg. Specifically, the naval dirigibles were an exciting wartime development as aircrafts could launch and dock the massive aircraft while still airborne. After participating in multiple fleet exercises the USS Macon met its tragic fate in February 1935 when turbulent weather brought down the aircraft while departing Moffett Airfield in Sunnyvale, CA.. The behemoth dropped tail-side into the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Big Sur. There were a total of 83 casualties and only two survived, including Lt. Commander Wiley. The Macon disaster followed a series of dirigible incidents, leading ultimately to the demise of the Naval rigid airships which were prone to damage by severe weather. The USS Macon was rediscovered in the depths of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 1990 and in 2005 and 2006, the wreckage was studied by marine scientists in two separate expeditions and remains today as a national historic site.

Sister ship to the USS Macon, the USS Akron was named after the city in Ohio where the ship was built. The airship was launched in August 1931 and had its first flight a month later. Active for just two years, the USS Akron had a short but impactful time and was deployed in search exercises and scouting missions on both coasts. The airship also went through a considerable number of repairs after several incidents during training and operations. On April 4, 1933 after surveying bases as far as Panama, the aircraft was taken down by severe winds as it neared homebase in Lakehurst, NJ. The USS Akron sunk into the Atlantic off the shore of Atlantic City, NJ where it remains today in the seabed. Out of 76 passengers, only three survived, including Lt. Commander Wiley who would miraculously survive the equally fatal wreck of the USS Macron just two years later. During the search party, a Navy blimp was also damaged, adding two more fatalities. Considered a national disaster, the loss of the Akron majorly shifted the popular opinion of the use of Naval dirigibles.