USS Akron
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USS Akron was a helium-filled rigid airship of the U.S. Navy, the lead ship of her class, which operated between September 1931 and April 1933. She was the world's first purpose-built flying aircraft
Akron approaching the mooring mast at NAS Sunnyvale
Akron under construction in the Goodyear Airdock at Akron, Ohio, in November 1930: Note the three-dimensional, deep rings.
Sample of the duralumin from which the frame of USS Akron was built
The maiden voyage of Akron on 2 November 1931, showing her four starboard propellers; The engines' water-reclaiming devices appear as white strips above each propeller. The emergency rear control cabin is visible in the lower fin.
Duralumin
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Duralumin is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of Düren, dur, and aluminium. Its use as a trade name is obsolete. Today th
Fire-damaged Duralumin cross brace from the Zeppelin airship Hindenburg (DLZ129) salvaged from its crash site at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937
Corrosion of duralumin
The first mass-production aircraft to make extensive use of duralumin, the armored Junkers J.I sesquiplane of World War I