The Explorers' Club, № MCXI

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars
3 September 1925: The airship U.S.S. Shenandoah ZR-1 was destroyed by a squall line, crashing to earth in three main pieces near Caldwell, Ohio; fourteen souls were lost, but twenty-nine officers & crew survived; Lt. Cdr. Lansdowne, the captain, who perished, made the flight under protest due to the prevalence of storms in the area at that time of year, but he was overruled by his Navy superiors.

Commentary: The Shenandoah was the first rigid airship to use helium as the lifting gas instead of hydrogen.

The Space Shuttle Discovery landed on 3 September 1985 at the end of S.T.S.-51-I. With a few exceptions, "The Space Age" anniversaries (3 September 1985) will have priority over "Between the Wars" anniversaries (3 September 1925). We thank you for your understanding.

Semper exploro.