Shenandoah Returns

The Shenandoah returned to Lakehurst after a journey of 9,000 miles to Camp Lewis, Wash., and back in nearly 19 days. Passes over the Rocky Mountains into Texas gave Commander Zachary Taylor Lansdowne and his crew a few anxious hours. The ship was heavily loaded for a non-stop return trip, her water ballast was all gone, adverse winds were buffeting her in the cold mountain air. Only the throwing overboard of 2,800 pounds of bomb hatch and the unfailing response of the powerful motors carried her over 7,200 feet of Rocky Mountain. One error of judgment, one mechanical failure, and she might have been a wreck in a mountain chasm. Loss of her bearings brought the giant over Mexico and ruined all plans of a non-stop flight; it was only after 180,000 feet of helium and more gasoline had been taken on at Fort Worth, Tex., that the dirigible settled down to a peaceful jaunt over Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ohio.