Richard K. Smith was curious about the big rigid airships of the 1920s and 1930s. He wondered why they had disappeared from the scene of aeronautics. Two of them, the Akron and the Macon, had actually hangared airplanes. Why had such an airplane-carrying airship not been accepted? His inability to find answers to his questions in existing airship literature prompted his extensive research on the subject. As a result, this book is primarily an examination of the rigid airship's place in naval operations in the period 1919-1940, with specific focus on the flying aircraft carrier's development and performance during 1931-1935.

The promise --Toward a farsighted development -- The men on the flying trapeze -- ZRS4 : "Our Hearts, Our Hope" -- Too much, too soon -- Training and the Harrigan Report -- The beginning of the end -- ZRS5 : off to the wars -- The crucial year -- Wiley takes command -- The end of an era -- The years of confusion -- The performance.