AH-WR-0804

USS Macon

Rigid Airship · United States · Lost 1935 · San Francisco & the Northern California Coast

The Navy's last rigid airship went down off Point Sur in 1935 and now rests, with its biplane fighters, deep in Monterey Bay.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

USS Macon was a helium-filled rigid airship that carried a squadron of small Sparrowhawk biplanes launched and recovered in flight. Damaged by a storm off Point Sur on February 12, 1935, she lost her tail fin, vented helium, and settled tail-first into the Pacific. Most of the crew survived. The wreck was rediscovered in 1990 nearly 1,500 feet down and has since been surveyed by NOAA and partner institutions.

Vessel

Built: 1933
Registry: ZRS-5
Builder: Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation
Yard: Akron, Ohio
Material: Not established
Length: 785 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Eight internal-combustion engines driving propellers; helium-filled
Owners: United States Navy

Loss

Date: February 12, 1935
Cause: Storm
Location: Off Point Sur, California
Water: Pacific Ocean, Monterey Bay
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 83
Lives lost: 2
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 1500 ft
Condition: Debris field with four Curtiss Sparrowhawk biplanes documented by ROV survey
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1990
Protection: Within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Position

Coordinates: 36.29° N 122.00° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Point Sur, California
Region: San Francisco & the Northern California Coast

MBARI/NOAA located and repeatedly surveyed the airship debris field in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary off Point Sur; this specific coordinate is drawn from a secondary GPS listing rather than directly from the NOAA survey report.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)

NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Loss date, cause, casualties, discovery, depth.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Discovery date, survey history, site description.
USS Macon, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
wreck position
Shipwreck World, USS Macon (ZRS-5) wreck location & GPS coordinates
wreck position