Coshocton airship, a historical surprise for scholars

When we think of airships, we usually remember the Hindenburg disaster. It was filled with dangerous flammable hydrogen because the U. S. Government had banned the export of helium to Nazi Germany. That dirigible caught on fire and exploded while landing at the navel base in Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937. Today’s airships carry helium.

And maybe you remember reading about the 57th flight of an even earlier airship, the Shenandoah. It departed Lakehurst on a promotional flight which included 40 cities and state fairs. While passing through an area of severe thunderstorms and turbulence over Ohio early in the morning of Sept. 3, 1925, the airship was caught in a violent updraft that carried it beyond the pressure limits of its helium bags. It was torn apart and crashed in several pieces near Caldwell.

But 30 years earlier than that tragedy, in 1904 to be exact, Augustus Roy Knabenshute, (born on July 15, 1875, in Lancaster) successfully piloted a dirigible at the St. Louis World’s Fair. The Wright Company hired him in 1910 to manage their exhibition team and in 1913, and he built the first passenger dirigible in America according to www.nationalaviation.org.

Just three years later, Coshocton City launched its own dirigible built in the upper third floor of the Eureka Laundry. Surprised? I was. There is a photograph of the Eureka Laundry building with at least 50 employees standing or sitting beneath the words, “ RUGS MADE FROM OLD CARPETS” printed on the corner entrance.

In October 1907 Coshocton’s airship circled the fairgrounds four times according to the Coshocton Tribune. Following is a paraphrase of that story.

At last Coshocton has a successful airship that acquitted itself like a veteran during its first real trial flight. While Coshocton’s airship seems to be just as airworthy while on a number of points there are marked improvements.

The dirigible remained in the air for 33 minutes, rising to an elevation of 200 feet and at that altitude, entirely unrestrained by guy ropes from the ground, the pilot, Frank Fuhr was away on a trip to the clouds. So it may be proclaimed that Coshocton has an airship that will actually fly with the best of them, Knabenshue not excepted.

It is estimated that during the trials, the airship sailed about eight miles, completely circling the eighty acre enclosure of the fair grounds. Like any new enterprise, the inventors developed many experimental stages and for a week or more promoters had been working to bring the craft to its completion.

Several attempts to inflate the big gas bag were not entirely successful due to the four o’clock wind that had risen so much it was difficult to manage the great gas bag and avoid danger of wrecking it. Finally it was decided to try again later in the evening however, the ship was brought out from its shelter allowing time for photographers to take pictures.

At seven o’clock there was dead calm and the airship was again brought out for the fifteen hundred people scattered about the fair grounds to witness the flight. Dew began to fall rapidly and this time it was found that the pilot was a few pounds too heavy for the buoyancy of the balloon. After a number of attempts the exhibition was about to be abandoned when Mr. Clemens of the airship company said to Frank Fuhr, who is also one of the promoters and who is 20 pounds lighter, that it was up to him to pilot the airship.

Though Fuhr had not been on the ship before, he was nerve to the core.

He climbed onto rope shelf suspended beneath the machine, and started the engine. The next moment the craft shot at an angle of 30 degrees for the clouds as graceful as a huge bird.

For a moment the big crown of spectators stood spellbound and then the air was rent with tremendous cheers for the magnificent airship and the nervy aeronaut who dared to sail the clouds in an untried craft.

Evidently Fuhr enjoyed the Coshocton experience because at a later date, “The Washington Tribune” in www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov, printed this headline, “Airship Travels 40 miles: Riding a hurricane in rain and darkness, Captain Frank Ruhr made the longest trip in an airship in America yesterday, October 4, 1907, when he piloted an airship 40 miles from the Newark, Ohio fair grounds to near the Homes County line.

The following background does not mention Coshocton’s airship.

General information derived from www.beattysbuilders.com states, “Airships, in the first part of the 20th century ruled the skies. The United States owned four and only one, the USS Los Angeles which was built in Germany by the Zeppelin Company survived to see retirement. The Los Angeles, was given to the United States after several Zeppelins, which were to be turned over to the Allies after World War I, were intentionally destroyed before that could happen.

Carole Etchells Cross is a member of the Coshocton County Genealogy Society, which meets from 7:30 to 9 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month in the Coshocton Public Library basement. For information, visit www.coshoctongenealogy.org.