Airship Falls Into The Ocean

Black Box Down

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, Aviation, Leisure

4.9 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2020

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The massive USS Akron airship breaks apart and collapses into the ocean. In the 1930s, blimps and airships are common means of travel. The USS Akron, a US Naval airship, was one of the largest and more advanced aircrafts of its time. What led to the destruction of this behemoth? Find out in this episode of Black Box Down. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BlackBoxDownPod. https://twitter.com/blackboxdownpod https://www.instagram.com/blackboxdownpod/ Sponsored by NAMI (nami.org or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	April 4, 1933. It's just after midnight off the coast of New Jersey. The USS
0:08.2	Akron, a helium-filled U.S. Navy airship, is flying above the Atlantic Ocean,
0:12.7	assisting in the calibration of radio direction finder stations. On board are
0:16.9	76 men, including Navy, rear admiral William Moffitt. The Akron has been
0:21.3	flying through severe weather for over two hours when it is hit by an
0:24.0	updraft followed immediately by a strong down draft. The Akron struggles to
0:28.1	maintain control but hits the ocean and breaks apart. Was this accident
0:32.1	avoidable? And how did this incident shape the military's view of aircraft? Find
0:36.2	out on this episode of Black Box Down. Hey everyone welcome to this episode of
0:42.1	Black Box Down. I'm Gus and I'm joined once again by Chris. How's it going Chris?
0:46.3	Hi. So I know I every week I feel like I say this is an usual one but this
0:51.5	one is with this week we're doing something a little out of the ordinary.
0:54.4	We're covering a military incident about an airship so it's not even a
0:59.7	plane. A blimp? Yeah well that's actually a really good question. There's a
1:03.9	difference between a blimp and an airship. So a blimp has its shape because of the
1:08.5	amount of gas inside of it kind of like a balloon right? Yeah. An airship has a
1:12.6	rigid frame that acts like a skeleton and gives it shape. Oh. So yeah this was an
1:17.2	airship. He's had like a solid metal frame inside of it and then that's what's
1:20.8	filled with the helium that allows it to travel. So like the Hindenburg is it
1:25.0	is that an airship or a blimp? That was an airship. Okay so it's like similar to
1:29.9	the Hindenburg. So this is what they call lighter than air travel because you're
1:33.9	using either helium or in the Hindenburg case like you mentioned the hydrogen
	...

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