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Contact Info
Home Town Greenville, Ohio
Last Address Arlington National Cemetery
Date of Passing Sep 03, 1925
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
LCDR Zachary LANSDOWNE Naval Aviator No. 105
Awarded the Navy Cross during peacetime Killed in the crash of the Shenandoah ZR-1
Lieutenant Commander Zachary Lansdowne, USN (December 1, 1888 - September 3, 1925) was a United States Navy officer and early Naval Aviator who contributed to the development of the Navy's first lighter-than-air craft. He died in command of the airship USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), which crashed in Ohio on September 3, 1925.
Born in Greenville, Ohio, Lansdowne was appointed to the United States Naval Academy September 2, 1905 and commissioned Ensign June 5, 1911. He subsequently served on the destroyer USS McCall (DD-28), and in the Ohio Naval Militia. After completing his aviation training, he became Naval Aviator 105.
Lansdowne was assigned to duty with the Royal Naval Air Service during and after World War I, to study dirigibles. He was awarded the Navy Cross --For distinguished service...as one of the crew of the British airship R-34, which in July 1919, made the first successful nonstop passage from England to the United States.-- He married Margaret Kennedy Ross (September 30, 1902-June 9, 1982) on December 7, 1921 in Washington D.C. She was later remarried John Caswell Jr. on February 27, 1927. {Caswell died on December 23, 1954 in Washington D.C.} On February 11, 1924 Landsdowne took command of the rigid lighter-than-air ship, USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), and was killed when she crashed at Ava, Ohio, September 3, 1925. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
The crash of the Shenandoah was the trigger for Army Colonel Billy Mitchell to heavily criticize the leadership of both the Army and the Navy, leading directly to his court-martial for insubordination and the end of his military career.
Other Comments:
NAMESAKE:
The USS Lansdowne (DD-486), a Gleaves-class destroyer, and Lansdowne Airport in Youngstown, Ohio were named in his honor.
Other Memories In June 1911, following two years' service aboard the battleship Virginia, he was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. During the next five years Lansdowne served in the destroyer McCall and had recruiting and Naval Militia duty in Ohio. He then received aeronautical instruction at Pensacola, Florida, and Akron, Ohio. In September 1917, Lieutenant Lansdowne was sent to England for training in the operation of dirigibles. He spent the rest of the First World War, and the first months of 1919, at the Navy Department and at air stations in France.
