The USS Shenandoah was the first of the great American airships, it was closely based on the German Zeppelin bomber L-49, built just after WWI and still viewed as one of the most important dirigibles of the era. With a gross weight of 36 tons, a total length of 68ft, a cruising speed of 70mph and a range of over 5000 miles, the Shenandoah was the first airship to cross the continental USA, the first to launch an aircraft and the first to dock with a ship at sea (the USS Patoka, seen above).
Sadly the Shenandoah’s life was cut short when it was caught in a severe storm (a squall line), it was caught in a violent updraft that carried it far higher than the upper pressure limits of its helium bags. It was torn apart in the extreme turbulence and crashed in multiple parts in farmland near Caldwell, Ohio – killing 14 crew members.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
It’s believed that just 10 examples of the Baldwin Motion Corvette were built before production was shut down by the US Justice Department. Motion Performance – Shutdown By The Justice Department The cars were made…
This three part, 90 minute long film covers everything you need to know to ride one of the most common motorcycles used by the British in the Second World War – the Norton 16H. The…
This film was made in the mid-1960s just as the reputation of Carroll Shelby as a race car manufacturer was beginning to take off. It includes a lot of footage of Shelby, telling his own…
The first generation of the Buick Riviera was developed specifically to compete with the Ford Thunderbird, a luxurious grand touring coupe with elegant styling, seating for four adults, and a prodigious American V8 under the hood….
The Texas Bushcraft Fire Starter Survival Kit was developed to include everything you need to get a fire going, even in inclement weather conditions like rain and snow. The kit comes in a water-resistant cowhide…
This is the Seventy2 Pro Survival System by Uncharted Supply Co., it was designed as a bug out bag for the 21st century to keep two people alive for 72 hours – the length of…
