U.S.S. Shenandoah Crash Sites

First known as ZR1, the U.S.S. Shenandoah was America's first "lighter-than-air" dirigible. This helium filled ship was built for the United States Navy in 1923 as a weapons system, flying laboratory, and as a scouting vessel. The Shenandoah was 680 feet in length and 93 feet 2 inches high. On September 3, 1925, the huge ship was met by a violent thunderstorm over Noble County in Southeastern Ohio. High winds tore the ship apart bringing her down in three sections and claiming the lives of 14 crewmembers, including the commander, Zachary Landsdowne. An interesting activity is to visit a small museum in the little town of Ava to study some of the artifacts, photographs and statistics, as well as the accounts of what happened. Then visit the crash sites while comparing today's terrain with that of 1925.