| USSLos Angeles (ZR-3) | |
|---|---|
 Los Angeles at themooring mast on the tenderUSS Patoka | |
| General information | |
| Manufacturer | Luftschiffbau Zeppelin,Friedrichshafen |
| Construction number | LZ-126 |
| Serial | ZR-3 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | July 1922 (Commenced) August 1924 (Launched) |
| In service | 25 November 1924 (Commissioned) 30 June 1932 (Decommissioned) 24 October 1939 (Struck from Naval Register) |
| Fate | Broken up for scrap in 1939 |
USSLos Angeles was a rigidairship, designatedZR-3, which was built in 1923–1924 by theZeppelin company inFriedrichshafen, Germany, aswar reparations. She was delivered to theUnited States Navy in October 1924 and after being used mainly for experimental work, particularly in the development of the Americanparasite fighter program, was decommissioned in 1932.
The second offour vessels to carry the nameUSSLos Angeles, the airship was built for theUnited States Navy as a replacement for theZeppelins that had been assigned to the United States as war reparations followingWorld War I, and had been sabotaged by their crews in 1919.[1]Under the terms of theTreaty of Versailles Luftschiffbau Zeppelin were not permitted to build military airships. In consequenceLos Angeles, which had the Zeppelin works numberLZ 126, was built as a passenger airship, although the treaty limitation on the permissible volume was waived, it being agreed that a craft of a size equal to the largest Zeppelin constructed during World War I was permissible.[2]
The airship's hull had 24-sided transverse ring frames for most of its length, changing to anoctagonal section at the tail surfaces, and the hull had an internal keel which provided an internal walkway and also contained the accommodation for the crew when off duty. For most of the ship's length the main frames were 32 feet 10 inches (10.01 m) apart, with two secondary frames in each bay.[2]
Following the precedent set byLZ 120Bodensee, crew and passenger accommodation was in a compartment near the front of the airship that was integrated into the hull structure. Each of the fiveMaybach VL I V12 engines occupied a separate engine car, arranged as four wing cars with the fifth aft on the centerline of the ship. All drove two-bladedpusher propellers and were capable of running in reverse. Auxiliary power was provided by wind-driven dynamos.[2]
LZ-126 was first flown on 27 August 1924. After completing flight trials, she began the transatlantic delivery flight to the U.S. on 12 October 1924 under the command ofHugo Eckener, arriving at the U.S. Naval Air Station atLakehurst, New Jersey, after an 81-hour flight of 4,229nautical miles (7,832 km; 4,867 mi).[1][3] The airship was commissioned into theU.S. Navy as USSLos Angeles on 25 November 1924 atNaval Support Facility Anacostia atWashington, D.C. with Lieutenant Commander Maurice R. Pierce in command.[1]
On her arrival in the United States, her lifting gas was changed fromhydrogen tohelium, which reduced payload but improved safety. At the same time the airship was fitted withequipment to recover water from the exhaust gases for use as ballast to compensate for the loss of weight as fuel was consumed, so avoiding the necessity to vent scarce helium to maintain neutral buoyancy.[1]
The airship went on to log a total of 4,398 hours of flight, covering a distance of 172,400 nautical miles (319,300 km; 198,400 mi). Long-distance flights included return flights toPanama,Costa Rica andBermuda.[1][4] She served as an observatory and experimental platform, as well as a training ship for other airships.
On 24 January 1925, U.S. Naval Observatory and U.S. Bureau of Standards gathered a group of astronomers to observe atotal solar eclipse from the airship over the New York City, with CaptainEdwin Taylor Pollock as a head of the group.[5][6] They used "two pairs of telescopic cameras", to capture inner and outer portions of Sun's corona, and a spectrograph. The expedition achieved good publicity, but it was not very successful in its observations - the dirigible was not very stable and the photos were blurred.[7]
On 25 August 1927, whileLos Angeles was tethered at the Lakehursthigh mast, a gust of wind caught her tail and lifted it into colder, denser air that was just above the airship. This caused the tail to lift higher. The crew on board tried to compensate by climbing up thekeel toward the rising tail, but could not stop the ship from reaching an angle of 85 degrees, before it descended. The ship suffered only slight damage and was able to fly the next day.
In 1929,Los Angeles was used to test thetrapeze system developed by the U.S. Navy to launch and recover fixed wing aircraft from rigid airships. The tests were a success and the later purpose-builtAkron-class airships were fitted with this system.[1] The temporary system was removed fromLos Angeles, which never carried any aircraft on operational flights.[8] On 31 January 1930,Los Angeles also tested the launching of a glider over Lakehurst, New Jersey.[9][10]
On 25 May 1932,Los Angeles participated in a demonstration ofphotophone technology. Floating over theGeneral Electric plant inSchenectady, New York, the crew of the ship engaged in an on-air conversation with aWGY radio announcer using a beam of light.[11]
As the terms under which the Allies permitted the United States to haveLos Angeles restricted her use to commercial and experimental purposes only, when the U.S. Navy wanted to use the airship in afleet problem in 1931 permission had to be obtained from the Allied Control Commission.[12]Los Angeles took part in Fleet Problems XII (1931) and XIII (1932), although as was the case with all U.S. Navy rigid airships, demonstrated no particular benefit to the fleet.[13]
Los Angeles was decommissioned in 1932 as an economy measure, but was recommissioned after the crash ofUSS Akron in April 1933. She flew for a few more years and then retired to her Lakehurst hangar where she remained until 1939, when the airship was struck off the Navy list and was dismantled in her hangar.Los Angeles was the Navy's longest-serving rigid airship. UnlikeShenandoah,R38,Akron, andMacon, the German-builtLos Angeles was the only Navy rigid airship which did not meet a disastrous end.
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