ZR-3 mooring test (silent)

USS Los Angeles (ZR-3), the Navy’s longest-lived airship, has been called a “Maid of All Work.“ This short silent film records early tests of the low or “stub“ mooring mast in the effort to simplify handling. The tail weight, wrapped with heavy chains, can be seen dragging along the ground, tended by sailors, least it foul. The “jury wheel“ mounted under the lower engine car is seen carrying the stern load along a tamped-earth path. The viewer will also see the reinforcing beams attached to help spread the load on the main frame. (These were not meant to fly, but photos show the girders were not always removed for local flights.) As one can also see in our video “Rigid Airship Ground Handling,“ these tests was part of the evolution toward the ZRS program’s mooring circle track system.