First US Navy Airship Tender: USS Patoka & Shenandoah, 10x8 Photo For Sale

First US Navy Airship Tender: USS Patoka & Shenandoah
10x8 Photo
Official Navy Print, NPC Caption Stamp VersoDESCRIPTIONAn official U.S. Navy photograph of the airship USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) moored to the mast of USS Patoka (AO-9), the fleet oiler the Navy converted in 1924 into the only sea going tender it ever built for a rigid airship, a role Patoka would go on to fill for three different airships, Shenandoah, Los Angeles, and Akron, across nearly a decade.Shot from the air, the image looks down on the pairing, with Shenandoah's envelope and engine cars suspended above Patoka's stern, where a 125-foot mooring mast and support rigging were built specifically to hold a rigid airship at sea.The pairing shown here could only have happened during Shenandoah's brief 1924 to 1925 partnership with Patoka, before the airship was lost in a storm over Ohio, and the mooring experiment itself, first proven successful in August 1924 in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, let the Navy moor, refuel, and resupply an airship away from a land base for the first time.Patoka's height with the mast in place, 177 feet, later became a real world benchmark.When Texas engineers designed the Rainbow Bridge across the Neches River more than a decade afterward, they set its clearance specifically so the Navy's tallest ship could sail beneath it, even though Patoka herself never actually made the trip.This print was produced by the Navy's own Naval Photographic Center directly from the period negative, negative number 19-N-9670, captioned "USS PATOKA (AO9) WITH SHENANDOAH AT MAST" and marked "Released for Publication," using the ship's correct pre-1939 hull designation for the period the photo depicts.Images were scanned at 600dpi so every detail on the print and stamp is visible before you buy. Every effort is made toward fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you're unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I'll make it right.Orders placed before Noon CDT ship same day via Ground Advantage with tracking, so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25 in cost. All shipments receive rigid, professional packaging, sealed and protected in acid free sleeves. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONThis photograph measures approximately 10 x 8 inches, consistent with the other prints in this Naval Photographic Center group. The image itself is bright and sharp with strong contrast between the airship and the sky, with no tears, creases, or fading. A handful of small surface marks and spots are visible near the ship's bow along the lower left edge, and there is light wear along the print's edges consistent with an official archival print that has been handled and stored over the years. The verso caption stamp is clean, complete, and fully legible, with an additional period handwritten notation near the top that is difficult to make out fully. Overall the print displays crisply and would frame beautifully.

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