Sitting in the middle of the New Jersey Pinelands as 1922 began, one of the world’s largest buildings, Hangar No. 1 at Lakehurst, sat empty and unused. The site had been slated to become the center for the U.S. airship program, but a series of events had raised doubts.

Following World War, I the major nations of the world fought for airship supremacy. The U.S., lagging behind, did not have any rigid airships, so was forced to buy them from Europe.