The untold story of the US Navy 'air carrier'

During the early years of the 20th century, the US Navy began developing a new strategy, building a series of aircraft lighter than air to spy in the sky, carrying and operating double-decker planes during the scouting.

From the nose to the tail, the giant airplanes that serve aerial aircraft carriers are about the same size as a 60-story skyscraper.

The US Navy began to design ultralight solid-state aircraft in 1916, until 1926, focusing on aircraft that could support aerial reconnaissance missions. Thereby the first aircraft carrier, USS Akron, was commissioned in 1931.

USS Macon "aerial carrier "in New York sky.

USS Akron is equipped with a crew of nearly 100 people. The giant gas contains common utilities like sleeping areas and toilets. Individual compartments can hold up to five fixed biplane aircraft on board.

And since it is filled with helium instead of flammable gas, Akron even has a fully functional stove. However, after several incidents in two years, the ship fell and sank off New Jersey in 1933, killing 73 of the 76 people on board.

The Macon was commissioned a month and a half later, under the command of one of Akron accident survivors - Navy Captain Herbert Wiley, based in California.

The aircraft "anchored" on the USS Macon via an outside "swing ladder".

This second-class aircraft helped realize the idea of ​​operating, launching and restoring Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk biplane through a 'swing ladder' . Aircraft when operating from airplanes often leave the landing gear, "anchor" and lift the ladder and from there take off, making pilots cautious.

In February 1935, the ship hit a storm off Point Sur, California. While fending off, they gradually lost control of the aircraft and straight into the sea.

Even so, the aircraft fell so slowly that the crew could wear protective vests. One member jumped out when he was too high and one tried to return to the ship to get his belongings killed, and another 74 were saved.

Inside the aircraft while under construction.

Solid-state train program cannot be retained. The sinking of the USS Macon ended the US Navy's use of long-range aerial surveillance aircraft for the fleet.

Bruce Terrel, NOAA's archaeologist and historian, said that although the Macon did not last long, it showed how the US Navy once recognized and coped with US threats in the Pacific, also like how to spy and protect the fleet. While Macon is considered to be the highest technology expression, marine aircraft with wider capabilities are developed, radar systems and new technologies are also being developed.