Akron Accident San Diego May 11th 1932

En route to Sunnyvale, California, Akron reached Camp Kearny in San Diego, California, on the morning of May 11 and attempted to moor. Since neither the trained ground handlers nor the specialized mooring equipment needed by an airship of Akron’s size were present, the landing at Camp Kearny was fraught with danger. By the time the crew started the evaluation, the heat of the sun’s rays had warmed the lifting helium gas, and the expenditure of fuel (40 short tons (36 t)) during the transcontinental trip had further lightened the airship making Akron all but uncontrollable. The mooring cable was cut to avert a catastrophic nose-stand by the errant airship and Akron headed up. Most of the mooring crew—predominantly “boot“ seamen from the Naval Training Station San Diego—let go of their lines. One man was carried 15 ft (4.6 m) into the air before he let go and suffered a broken arm while three others were carried up even farther. Two of them—Aviation Carpenter’s Mate 3rd Class Robert H. Edsall and Apprentice Se