Rusty
September 28th 06, 08:39 PM
New Photos Reveal 1935 Airship at Bottom of Pacific Ocean
By LiveScience Staff
posted: 28 September 2006
12:06 am ET
http://www.livescience.com/history/060928_airship_wreck.html
On Feb. 12, 1935, during severe weather off Point Sur, Calif., a U.S.
Navy flying machine called the USS Macon fell from the sky, plunged
into the Pacific Ocean, and sank.
It was the nation's largest rigid, lighter-than-air craft, and the last
of its kind [photo].
This month researchers documented the wreckage of the 785-foot
dirigible.
The images
>From a Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's (MBARI) research
ship, scientists deployed a remotely operated vehicle to capture
high-definition video and still images of wreckage.
Images show the airship's hangar bay, containing four Sparrowhawk
biplanes, five of the eight 12-cylinder gasoline engines, and objects
from the ship's galley, including two sections of the aluminum stove,
propane tanks that supplied fuel for it and a dining table and bench.
A second debris field contained the Macon's bow section, including the
mooring mast receptacle, plus aluminum chairs and desks that may have
been in a port side officers' or meteorologist's office.
Decades of mystery
The exact location of the submerged wreckage remained a mystery for
nearly 50 years until a commercial fisherman snagged a piece of the USS
Macon's girder in his net, and ended up displaying the artifact at a
local seafood restaurant.
Meanwhile, researchers had attempted to locate the airship remains with
no luck, because the objects weren't at the recorded sinking
location. In the early 1990s they finally spotted the wreckage at a
depth of 1,000 feet.
The new survey included researchers from the NOAA National Marine
Sanctuary program, MBARI, the University of New Hampshire and Stanford
University. The researchers will now investigate the level of
preservation of the artifacts and whether further research at the site
is feasible.
By LiveScience Staff
posted: 28 September 2006
12:06 am ET
http://www.livescience.com/history/060928_airship_wreck.html
On Feb. 12, 1935, during severe weather off Point Sur, Calif., a U.S.
Navy flying machine called the USS Macon fell from the sky, plunged
into the Pacific Ocean, and sank.
It was the nation's largest rigid, lighter-than-air craft, and the last
of its kind [photo].
This month researchers documented the wreckage of the 785-foot
dirigible.
The images
>From a Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's (MBARI) research
ship, scientists deployed a remotely operated vehicle to capture
high-definition video and still images of wreckage.
Images show the airship's hangar bay, containing four Sparrowhawk
biplanes, five of the eight 12-cylinder gasoline engines, and objects
from the ship's galley, including two sections of the aluminum stove,
propane tanks that supplied fuel for it and a dining table and bench.
A second debris field contained the Macon's bow section, including the
mooring mast receptacle, plus aluminum chairs and desks that may have
been in a port side officers' or meteorologist's office.
Decades of mystery
The exact location of the submerged wreckage remained a mystery for
nearly 50 years until a commercial fisherman snagged a piece of the USS
Macon's girder in his net, and ended up displaying the artifact at a
local seafood restaurant.
Meanwhile, researchers had attempted to locate the airship remains with
no luck, because the objects weren't at the recorded sinking
location. In the early 1990s they finally spotted the wreckage at a
depth of 1,000 feet.
The new survey included researchers from the NOAA National Marine
Sanctuary program, MBARI, the University of New Hampshire and Stanford
University. The researchers will now investigate the level of
preservation of the artifacts and whether further research at the site
is feasible.