U.S.S. Akron 1931-33 Flies over Five Points

Movie: Nona's voice, Peter L. Ferry behind the camera, and Pat Ferry and Baby Marie looking at the Akron.

Nona recounts in her book Westside Pioneer Farmers (p.17):

A few months after we had moved to our new home [Feb 14, 1931], a voice from outside excitedly called, "Come, come out here." My mother and I hurriedly went outdoors as my father rushed inside to get his movie camera. There, flying directly over our yard at about 300 feet, was the new U.S. Navy airship, the Akron. This flying giant was 785 feet long and its diameter was 133 feet. It was big enough that it had five airplane hangers inside, and on the outside, it carried a trapeze-like mechanism for the landing and launching of airplanes. This airship was short-lived. On April 4, 1933, it crashed in a storm off the New Jersey coast, with a loss of seventy-three persons.

More info about the Akron:

The U.S.S Akron was a helium-filled airship that operated between 1931 and 1933. It was the world’s first flying aircraft carrier, it carried biplanes which could be launched and recovered in flight. The planes were launched by a trapeze through a t-shaped opening as seen below.

Although the Navy originally envisioned the Akron as a scouting vessel, over time the Navy realized that the airship itself was best used in the background, out of sight of the enemy; the airship’s function would be to carry scouting planes within range of the enemy.

Construction of U.S.S. Akron began in November, 1929 in Akron, Ohio. The ship was christened by First Lady Lou Hoover, the wife of  President Herbert Hoover, and made its first flight on September 23, 1931.

The Akron flew over Nona and Papa Frank’s ranch and was caught on movie film by Peter L. Ferry, as seen above.