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Contact Info
Home Town St. Paul
Date of Passing Aug 24, 1921
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
CDR Louis Henry Maxfield Naval Aviator No. 17 Killed in Airship ZR-2
At Hull England 1921
24 August 1921 - The British airship R38 (ZR-2) due to be delivered to the United States Navy as the ZR-2, broke in two on a test flight near Hull, England, half falling to the ground in flames. 44 died, including British Air Commodore E.M. Maitland, Leader of Airships, and 16 Americans. Maxfield Field at NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey, named 6 January 1944 in honor of Commander Louis H. Maxfield, Naval Aviator No. 17, who lost his life in the R38 crash.
Trial flights were difficult. The control cables were so slack that they slipped their sprockets at forty knots. After the third test flight, on July 17, 1921, London?s naval attache reported, with the concurrence of America?s Comdr. Lewis H. Maxfield, that some of the ship?s girders (which were designed for high-altitude flight) had suffered ?minor buckling.? He also said that ?press reports re damage are exaggerated.? In fact, the ship?s designers knew that its structure could easily handle all stresses when it was stationary, but they lacked the Germans? know-how about dynamic stresses. They could only guess how it would hold up when it was in motion and being buffeted by fierce winds, and their guesswork turned out to be tragically wrong.
On August 23 the R-38 left Howden on another test flight. After spending the night over the Channel, it attempted a high-speed rudder drill. During a sharp turn the girders cracked. Within seconds the fuel and hydrogen in the forward section exploded and burned. The crash of the R-38 was the worst aviation disaster in history to that time. Of forty-nine men aboard, five survived. Among the casualties were sixteen Americans.
Other Comments:
AWARDS:
Comdr. Louis H. Maxfield, U.S.N., who was in charge of the U.S. Rigid Air Detachment in training at Howden, and who was to be the Commanding Officer of the ill-fated airship on the flight to America, was born in 1883 at St. Paul, Minnesota. He entered the Naval Aviation service in 1914, and was promoted to Temporary Commander in 1918. During the War he was in command of the U.S. Naval Station at Painbaeuf, France, and served with distinction. During a flight in the French airship "Capitaine Caussin" he dived overboard from a great height and rescued an enlisted man who had fallen overboard. Comdr. Maxfield was decorated by the Italian Red Cross with a silver medal for distinguished work during the Messina earthquake, with the French Naval Life-saving Medal (Silver), was an Officer of the Legion of Honour, and was decorated by the U.S. Government with the Navy Cross and the Victory Medal.
Maxfield and crew
Date
Sep 1, 1921
Last Updated: Sep 8, 2010
Comments
America's Dead
No less a loss than our own is that sustained by America in the disaster. Like us, she has lost some of the very best of her airship officers and men, and to her we offer our heartfelt sympathy.
Comdr. Louis H. Maxfield, U.S.N., who was in charge of the U.S. Rigid Air Detachment in training at Howden, and who was to be the Commanding Officer of the ill-fated airship on the flight to America, was born in 1883 at St. Paul, Minnesota. He entered the Naval Aviation service in 1914, and was promoted to Temporary Commander in 1918. During the War he was in command of the U.S. Naval Station at Painbaeuf, France, and served with distinction. During a flight in the French airship "Capitaine Caussin" he dived overboard from a great height and rescued an enlisted man who had fallen overboard. Comdr. Maxfield was decorated by the Italian Red Cross with a silver medal for distinguished work during the Messina earthquake, with the French Naval Life-saving Medal (Silver), was an Officer of the Legion of Honour, and was decorated by the U.S. Government with the Navy Cross and the Victory Medal.
Lieut.-Comdr. Emery W. Coil, U.S.N., was Comdr. Maxfield's second in command, and was to have been the Executive Officer of " R.38 " on her flight to America. Born at Westboro', Mass., in 1888, he entered the Naval Air Service in 1918, and was promoted to Lieut.-Comdr. in 1919.
He was commanding officer of the U.S. Navy non-rigid " C.5 " on her flight from Rockaway, N.Y., to St. John's, Newfoundland- He was the possessor of the Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, the Mexican Service Medal and the Victory Medal.
Lieut.-Comdr. Valentine N. Bieg, U.S.N., who was to have been Engineer Ofncer of " R.38," was born in 1889 at Alexandria, Virginia. He entered the Naval Aviation Service in is) 18 as Lieutenant, and was promoted to Lieutenant- Commander in March 1920. He served with distinction during the War, and possessed the Victory Medal with Star.
Silver Citation Star: The Silver Citation Star to the World War I Victory Medal was authorized by the United States Congress on February 4, 1919. A silver star was authorized to be worn on the ribbon of the Victory Medal for any member of the U.S. Army who had been cited for gallantry in action between 1917 and 1920. In 1932, the Silver Citation Star was redesigned and renamed the Silver Star and, upon application to the United States War Department, any holder of the Silver Citation Star could have it converted to a Silver Star Medal.
