Ava in Noble County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Crash of the USS Shenandoah
⎯⎯⎯
Lighter-Than-Air Flight

Crash of the USS Shenandoah Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 23, 2008

1. Crash of the USS Shenandoah Marker

Inscription. Crash of the USS Shenandoah
September 3, 1925 On a stormy autumn morning in 1925, the giant Navy airship, christened Shenandoah, crashed near this site. Initially, the Shenandoah was commissioned to perform scouting missions for the Navy; however, she would soon be flying promotional missions. The Shenandoah had recently begun a six-day publicity tour across the Midwest when she crashed. The turbulent weather of late summer created strong winds, which ripped the 680-feet long Shenandoah in two and tore the control car from the keel. A majority of the 14 crewmen who died in the crash, including the captain, Lt. Commander Zachary Lansdowne of Greenville, Ohio, were killed when the control car plummeted to the ground. The stern section fell in a valley near Ava and the bow was carried southwest nearly twelve miles before landing near Sharon, Ohio. The Ohio National Guard was called in to control the crowds of spectators who traveled to the crash sites.

Lighter-Than-Air Flight The USS Shenandoah was America's first rigid dirigible and was launched in 1923 at the height of the worldwide enthusiasm for lighter-than-air flight.

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By the early 1920s, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and France all had airships, some suffered tragic crashes. In efforts to improve on the safety of European made airships, the Shenandoah was designed to be filled with nonflammable helium instead of hydrogen and became the first rigid dirigible in the world to use helium. One year after her initial flight, the Shenandoah successfully crossed the United States logging 235 hours of flight time. With the crash of the Shenandoah and two other American airships, the Akron and the Macon, the future of rigid dirigibles was uncertain. In 1937, the fiery crash of the German airship Hindenburg brought an abrupt end to the era of the great airships.

Erected 2002 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, Shenandoah Commemoration Committee, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 2-61.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Disasters. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 3, 1720.

Location. 39° 49.843′ N, 81° 34.445′ W.

Lighter-Than-Air Flight Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 23, 2008

2. Lighter-Than-Air Flight Marker

Marker is in Ava, Ohio, in Noble County. It is at the intersection of Marietta Road (Ohio Route 821) and Rayner Road, on the right when traveling south on Marietta Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 50495 Ohio Route 821, Ava OH 43711, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: U.S.S. Shenandoah (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named U.S.S. Shenandoah (approx. 2 miles away); Wreckage Site Number 1 of the U.S. Navy Airship Shenandoah (approx. 2 miles away); Exhaltation/Elevation of the Holy Cross Church (approx. 2.9 miles away); Claude L. Wilson (approx. 3 miles away); Cumberland (approx. 4.7 miles away);

Crash of the USS Shenandoah / Lighter-Than-Air Flight Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 23, 2008

3. Crash of the USS Shenandoah / Lighter-Than-Air Flight Marker

John Gray (approx. 4.8 miles away); Cumberland Veterans Memorial (approx. 5.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ava.

Also see . . . USS Shenandoah's Last Flight. Port engines, up flank speed!' It was 3:30 a.m. on September 3, 1925, and in the control cabin of the huge cigar-shaped dirigible Shenandoah its skipper, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Zachary Lansdowne, was worried. It was proving increasingly difficult to keep the 690-foot airship steady in the mounting turbulence over southeastern Ohio. 'Starboard engines, hold standard,' called Lansdowne. 'Valve cells four and five.'... (Submitted on November 25, 2013, by James King of San Miguel, California.)

Additional keywords. Crash of the USS Shenandoah / Lighter-Than-Air Flight

Crash of the <i>USS Shenandoah</i> / Lighter-Than-Air Flight Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, February 11, 2016

4. Crash of the USS Shenandoah / Lighter-Than-Air Flight Marker

Crash of the <i>USS Shenandoah</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jessica Tiderman, September 3, 1925

5. Crash of the USS Shenandoah

[Hand written on the back of photo:]
East Side

Photographed by Jessica Tiderman, September 3, 1925

6. Crash of the USS Shenandoah

[Hand Written on back of photo:]
North West End

Postcard of crash of the <i>USS Shenandoah</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jessica Tiderman, June 1, 2009

7. Postcard of crash of the USS Shenandoah

Credits. This page was last revised on January 21, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 9, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 4,421 times since then and 63 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week August 30, 2009. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 9, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 4. submitted on February 11, 2016, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 5, 6, 7. submitted on June 21, 2009, by Jessica Tiderman of Hamler, Ohio. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.

Crash of the USS Shenandoah⎯⎯⎯Lighter-Than-Air Flight

Crash of the USS Shenandoah
⎯⎯⎯
Lighter-Than-Air Flight