Why?; Why has America No Rigid Airships" A study of the characteristics of large ocean-crossing rigid airships, leading up to the question, Why does not American use all three--the dirigible, the airplane, and the steamship,--to provide this country with the best possible transportation system

143, [1] pages. Bibliography. Color Frontis. Endpaper map. Illustrations (some in color). DJ has wear and tear. This work is dedicated to Admiral William A. Moffett and other early pioneers of aviation. Paul Weeks Litchfield, (born July 26, 1875—died March 18, 1959), American industrialist who was president (1926-40) and chairman of the board (1930-58) of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Litchfield graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1896 in chemical engineering. In 1900 he became superintendent at the Akron plant of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and ascended rapidly, becoming president in 1926 and chairman in 1930. Litchfield established a research and development department that produced the first practical airplane tire, hydraulic brakes for airplanes, and a bullet-sealing fuel tank for airplanes. He began an aeronautics department in 1910 and got into lighter-than-air products. It produced observation balloons, zeppelins, and dirigibles, and set size and altitude records. The book was published towards the end of 1945, just after WW2 had ended, and P. W. Litchfield, Chairman of the Board of Goodyear Tire and Rubber felt firmly that rigid airships had a place in postwar passenger and freight transportation.…