Pieced together from the captain's log as well as various first-hand observations that were called to mind by the 29 surviving crew members, this article presents a blow-by-blow account as to how the U.S. Navy dirigible Shenandoah was overwhelmed by turbulent winds over Eastern Ohio and torn in two.
"As they climbed into the hull, the ship began spinning counterclockwise on its keel, then lifted its nose and shot upward. Girders groaned and wires snapped. Then came a crunching, sickening roar as the girders parted. The ship had broken in two. Another rending crash and the control car plunged earthwards, carrying Lt. Commander Landsdowne and seven other men to their death."
Click here to read additional primary source articles about dirigibles and zeppelins.
The skipper of the Shenandoah was Charles Rosendahl - he was not spooked by the crash of the airship; in 1944 he wrote an article about the great future dirigibles deserve - and it can be read here
