Goodyear RS-1

The Goodyear RS-1 was the first semi-rigid airship built in the United States. The dirigible was designed by chief aeronautical engineer and inventor, Herman Theodore Kraft of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for the United States Army Air Service in the late 1920s. Goodyear built only one airship of this type.

Design and development
The construction contract for the RS-1 was awarded to the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation by the US Army at a cost of $475,000. Main components of the RS-1 were assembled in 1924 at the Goodyear hangar at Wingfoot Lake in Suffield, Ohio. The airship was designed by Goodyear engineer and inventor, Herman Theodore Kraft who consulted with noted Italian semi-rigid airship designer, Colonel Umberto Nobile. Components for the dirigible were shipped to Scott Field, Illinois for assembly in the base's 810 foot airship hangar in early 1925. The first flight of the RS-1 was postponed due to an error made by a rigger during erection and eventually took place on January 8, 1926, lasting just over an hour with a crew of eight men. The dirigible was 282 feet (85.9 m) long and had a gas volume of 720000 cuft and was initially powered by four 300 horsepower, 12 cylinder Liberty engines. In 1927, the Liberty engines were replaced with lighter 500 horsepower, 2A-1500 Packard engines. A 35 ft enclosed control car was suspended from the keel at the nose. The control car included sleeping accommodations, a radio compartment and a small galley. Equipment included a bombing cockpit and the ability to carry 3500 lb of bombs, as well as machine gun mounts on each side at the forward end of the car. The primary purpose of the RS-1 was to study and evaluate the performance and capabilities of the semi-rigid type of airship. Following its maiden flight in January 1926, The RS-1 made several more flights until November 1928, when it was ordered grounded after an inspection revealed deterioration of the envelope. The airship remained in its hangar at Scott Field and due to the poor economic conditions on the cusp of the Great Depression, a replacement envelope was ultimately never ordered and the RS-1 never flew again. The airship was dismantled and its components, including the control car, keel, engine gondolas, control surfaces, cables and various metal parts were sold to a scrap dealer for $900.

Operators

 * United States Army Air Service
 * United States Army Air Service