USS Shenandoah airship moored to its tender the newly-converted USS Patoka during tests in 1924. The Shenandoah was the first rigid airship used by the US Navy. It first flew in September 1923, and flew on several missions before it was torn apart in a storm and crashed in September 1925. It was 207 metres long and 25 metres across. It was buoyed up by helium gas, and propelled by petrol engines. It carried a crew of 25, and was armed with Lewis machine guns. Photograph published in 'The March of Commerce' (1927), volume 4 of 'The Pageant of America: A Pictorial History of the United States'. This was a 15-volume series that commemorated 150 years since the founding of the USA in 1776.