FIRST FLIGHT FOR US NAVY DIRIGIBLE ZR-2
London, England (JFK+50) Dateline: June 24, 1921, The British-built American Navy dirigible ZR-2 (R-38 under British control) "took to the air for the first time last night."
According to the New York Tribune, the test flight lasted 6.5 hours with 48 passengers on board. The Air Ministry "pronounced" the flight "completely satisfactory."
An American crew will fly the ZR-2 to the United States during the summer. Commander L. H. Maxfield*, heading the crew, was one of the passengers on the test flight.
*Louis Henry Maxfield was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, studied at Boston Tech & died in the crash of the ZR-2 near Hull, England on August 24, 1921. 44 of the 49 man crew perished.
SOURCES
"Louis H. Maxfield, CDR, USN, " www.usnamemorialhall.org/
"Navy Dirigible Carries 48 on Her First Flight," The New York Tribune, June 25, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
