1935 USS Macon Crashes

1935 USS Macon Crashes airmail cover with 12^th February Long Beach slogan postmark. ‘Macon Long Beach’ & ‘Macon Crashes’ cachets.

The USS Macon was an airship built by the US Navy to serve as a 'flying aircraft carrier' and carried both single and double seated fighter and scouting aircraft. Launched on 11^th March 1933 she was in service for only two years after crashing off the coast of California in 1935 after sustaining damage in a storm. At 785 feet in length she was one of the largest flying objects in the world and still holds the world record for the largest helium based airship.