The year 1929 saw the creation of the U.S. Navy airship ZMC-2, the first metal dirigible (aluminum alloy) of its kind: "Heretofore, the trend in dirigible construction has been toward larger and longer ships; the egg-shaped ZMC-2 can withstand the buffeting of the winds much better than her larger and more unwieldy sister ships." Built by the Aircraft Development Corporation (Detroit), ZMC-2 was in use by the U.S. Navy until her retirement, in 1941.
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