WesWorld

July 1st, 1927
The trial of Charles Ruthenberg began in Federal Court in New York today. Head of the Communist Part of the United States, Ruthenberg is charged with conspiracy in the funding of the October 29th Terror Attacks in New York, Chicago, and Washington DC. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment. His defense attorneys say the evidence is fraudulent and that the government is simply trying to silence the CPUSA and like minded persons by trying to link them to the bombings.

July 4th, 1927
Captain Zachary Lansdowne was promoted to Commanding Officer of the Lakehurst Naval Air Station today, replacing Captain E.S. Jackson. Lansdowne had previously been commander of the airship Shenandoah and is considered America’s most experienced airship aviator. Command of the Shenandoah has been passed to Commander Charles E. Rosendahl.

July 13th 1927
The fate of Charles Ruthenberg is in the hands of the jury. The trial has lasted nearly two weeks and observers have mixed opinions on the eventual outcome. The federal government presented evidence that it claims proves Ruthenberg arraigned funding for the terrorist attacks through his position as head of the American Communist Party. His defense says the evidence is false and part of a plot to crush supporters of labor reform and civil liberties. They claim that members of the Ku Klux Klan actually launched the attacks, aided by members of the government and industry.

July 20th, 1927
The jury in the Ruthenberg trial is still deliberating a full week after the end of testimony. This is seen as a good sign for Mr. Ruthenberg since juries that deliberate this long are usually deadlocked.

July 25th, 1927
There was a turn of events today in the trial of Charles Ruthenberg. After nearly two weeks of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty! Most observers had expected a hung jury after such a long period of deliberations. Mr. Ruthenberg made a statement as he left the federal courthouse in Manhattan after the verdict was announced. “This jury has seen through the government’s lies and propaganda to the terrible truth! The horrible crimes committed on October 29th were not a Communist or Anarchist conspiracy, but rather a plot by extremists on the right to ultimately enslave the American working man and women and feed off of our basest fears of those who think or look different from us. We won’t stop until we’ve brought the truth to light and those responsible to justice!”
Attorney General Sargent called the verdict surprising. When asked if any further charges might be filed, he declined to comment.

July 27th, 1927
Governor Smith’s office issued an unusual statement today saying that new information had come to light about the October 29th attacks. While the statement did not provide any more information, it did announce that the Governor will be holding a press conference on Monday the 1st of August and that United States Attorney General Sargent will also attend.

August 1st, 1927
Stunning news from Albany! Governor Smith announced that evidence has come to light that supports claims that the attacks on October 29th were not carried out by Communist or Anarchist groups after all. Smith said that undercover agents that had infiltrated a small organization known as the “Black Legion” had found evidence that that organization staged the attacks in an effort to discredit Communist and Socialist groups in the country. The Legion is reportedly linked to the Ku Klux Klan and is centered in the Midwest but apparently has members nationwide. Convicted bombers Martin Lubinsky and Ernest Karrelson were supposedly hired by members of the Legion to carry out the attacks in New York since both were known radical Communists and would help implicate other Communists and leftist groups. Other Legion members either carried out the attacks in Chicago and Washington D.C. or hired other leftist radicals to be their pawns in the plot.
Attorney General Sargent announced that arrests were already taking place in and around Detroit, New York, Chicago, and Baltimore. When asked if he thought that the government should apologize to the many Communists arrested over the past few months, Sargent said emphatically “Hell no! From what we’ve learned these past few months it seems that while Communists were not responsible for the attacks their plans for America were just as nefarious as those on the other end of the political extreme. If anything it means we have to expand our efforts to root out extremists whether left or right!” Asked if he thought others may be involved, Sargent said that the investigation is continuing but that all information seemed to indicate that the Legion were the only ones involved.

August 5th, 1927
William Shepard, leader of the Black Legion, was arraigned in Federal Court in Chicago today. He and seven other members of the Legion are accused of being the true masterminds of the October 29th attacks and are facing several hundred murder charges and almost certain death sentences if convicted. Their trials are not expected to begin before November. Commissioner Hoover announced that further arrests may take place and said that the recent turn of events makes organizations like the Klan as much a threat to America as the Communists. He called on the American people to remain vigilant and suggested that an organized citizens’ patrol may be a way to help combat the various threats to our way of life, not just from political extremists, but also from the criminal element which is growing more and more brazen in its acts, especially with regards to circumventing prohibition laws and profiting from illegal alcohol sales.

August 18th, 1927
The massive Akron Airdock was officially completed today in a small ceremony. The pair of Atlantian airships being built inside it are to be completed by the spring of 1928. After much speculation, the Atlantian government has finally announced that their names will be Atlantes and Maeotis . Most workers at the Airdock had begun to call them “Stan” and “Ollie” after the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.

August 26, 1927
An amazing and frightening event occurred Thursday at Lakehurst NAS. The airship Los Angeles preformed one of the most incredible aerobatic maneuvers ever attempted by an airship, and all while it was moored to its mast! A sudden wind shift lifted the ship’s stern sky wards until it was pointing almost perpendicular to the ground, then it swung around one hundred and eighty degrees and settled back into a normal position. No major damage was reported in the incident which was fortunately caught on film and reproduced here in a series of still photos.

Admiral Moffett issued a statement saying that the incident proved the structural strength of the Navy’s airships, but also showed that changes to mooring procedures needed to be made to prevent such an incident from happening again. Lakehurst’s commander, Captain Lansdowne, has in the past called for the creation of a shorter mooring mast to replace the existing 160 foot tall tower, especially since his former command, the Shenandoah , was torn from it during a storm in 1924. Such a short mast may even be mobile, allowing the docked airship to be towed into the hanger after landing. The current technique for moving a ship into the huge hanger requires over 200 men holding ropes and physically walking the ship in. A mobile mast could cut that number by up to two thirds.

September 12th, 1927
The aircraft carrier Lake Erie has been damaged in a storm while steaming from Pearl Harbor to Pago Pago in American Samoa. The forward flight deck was peeled back after the ship encountered heavy seas. The bridge located under the flight deck was also damaged when its windows were blown out by a wave. Damage and minor flooding of the hanger was also reported as waves broke over the fantail and damaged structural supports holding up the landing deck. The carrier and her escorts have safely arrived in Pago Pago and Naval officials say the ship was never in any danger of sinking. However, they say that some changes may be required to improve seaworthiness and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Not to sound ignorant...although in this case I guess I am...but is the Los Angeles pinwheel a historical event, then?

Nice to see the USA cracking down on other fringe groups now. Certainly did not see any of those developments coming.

It happened exactly as shown on August 25th 1927. A cold front came through and shifted then wind 180'. The crew on board tried to keep the tail down but the wind caught the tail planes and up she went. It lead to the development of the short mobile mast. I modiified the photos only to lengthen the Los Angeles and line up the horizon lines.

As for the curve ball in the news...MUHAHAHA!!!

Wasn't that the incident where three men hung onto the mooring line? Two fell off but one hung on. Or is that a different incident?

I think that was the Hindenburg...
... could be wrong...

I was thinking of the Akron at Camp Kearny, California, on the morning of May 11, 1932.

I remember when I first saw these pics thinking "no wonder airships didn't quite make it into mainstream use.

Can you emagine the ride in bridge in this particular incident?!

People pay a lot of money for stuff like that now.

If the problem with wind related problems could have been solved, then perhaps the airship might have continued as the queens of the air, and the airborne aircraft carriers that some envisioned. But the weather is a tricky thing, and something that big is really expensive to loose in a freak storm. An airplane is much cheaper when you think in those terms.

Good and interesting news. Thanks for posting.

How much damage is done to Lake Erie according to our rules (%)? How long will repairs last?

Damage is in the 80% range, according to the infrastructure rules, moderate damage. The worst damage is to the flight deck. I'm going to make modification to all three ships after the comments about the design's seakeeping problems after I posted the design. All three are scheduled for the drydock in 1928.

Any word on the CV7-class carriers?

Probably around 1930 or so.