__NOTOC__ The Goodyear RS-1 was the first

semi-rigid airship A semi-rigid airship is an airship which has a stiff keel or truss supporting the main envelope along its length. The keel may be partially flexible or articulated and may be located inside or outside the main envelope. The outer shape of the ai ...

built in the United States. The airship was designed by chief aeronautical engineer and inventor, Herman Theodore Kraft with the

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...

for the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

in the late 1920s. Goodyear built only one airship of this type.

Design and development

The main components of the RS-1 were assembled at the Goodyear hangar at Wingfoot Lake in

Suffield, Ohio Suffield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 6,383 people in the township. Geography Located in the southwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships and ci ...

in 1924. The airship was designed by Goodyear engineer and inventor, Herman Theodore Kraft. Components for the dirigible were shipped to Scott Field,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

for assembly. The first flight was delayed due to an error made by a rigger during erection and eventually took place on 8 January 1926, lasting just over an hour with a crew of eight men. The dirigible was 282 feet (85.9 m) long and had a gas volume of and was initially powered by four 300 horsepower, 12 cylinder Liberty engines. In 1927, the Liberty engines were replaced with lighter 500 horsepower, 2A-1500 Packard engines. A enclosed control car was suspended from the keel at the nose. The control car included sleeping accommodations, a radio compartment and a small galley. Equipment included a bombing cockpit and the ability to carry of bombs, as well as machine gun mounts on each side at the forward end of the car. The airship was grounded in November, 1928 after an inspection revealed deterioration of the envelope. Due to poor economic conditions of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, a replacement envelope was never ordered and the RS-1 never flew again. The airship remained in its hanger at Scott Field until it was deflated and scrapped sometime in 1930.

Operators

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Specifications

References

{{Goodyear aircraft RS-1 Airships of the United States 1920s United States experimental aircraft

Design and development

Operators

Specifications

See also

References