Editing USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) (section)

===Early naval service===
[[File:Damage ZR-1 h92612.jpg|thumb|left|''Shenandoah''{{'}}s damaged bow following the storm in January 1924]]
''Shenandoah'' made her maiden flight on 4 September 1923. The airship was christened on 10 October 1923 by [[Marion Bartlett Thurber]], wife of the Secretary of the Navy, and commissioned on the same day. She named the airship after her home in the [[Shenandoah Valley]] of Virginia, and the word "shenandoah" was said to be a Native American word meaning "daughter of stars".<ref name="disaster">"America's Forgotten Airship Disaster", p. 21</ref>

''Shenandoah'' was designed for fleet reconnaissance work of the type carried out by German naval airships in World War I. Her pre-commissioning trials included long-range flights during September and early October 1923, to test her airworthiness in rain, fog and poor visibility. On 27 October, ''Shenandoah'' celebrated Navy Day with a flight down the Shenandoah Valley and returned to Lakehurst that night by way of Washington and Baltimore, where crowds gathered to see the new airship in the beams of searchlights.

At this time, [[Rear admiral|Rear Admiral]] [[William A. Moffett]], Chief of the [[Bureau of Aeronautics]] and staunch advocate of the airship, was discussing the possibility of using ''Shenandoah'' to explore the Arctic. He felt such a program would produce valuable weather data as well as experience in cold-weather operations. With its endurance and ability to fly at low speeds, the airship was thought to be well suited to such work and [[President of the United States|President]] [[Calvin Coolidge]] approved Moffett's proposal. On 16 January 1924, the upper tail fin of the ''Shenandoah'' was damaged during a high gale while moored to the mast at Lakehurst. The sudden rolling of the airship tore her away from the mast, ripping out her mooring winches, deflating the first helium cell and puncturing the second.<ref name="p66"/> The airship was blown across the field and disappeared  into the darkness. Zeppelin test pilot and commander Anton Heinen, who was aboard when the incident occurred, rode out the storm for several hours and landed the airship safely the next morning, while being blown backwards.<ref>''Flight'' 1924, p. 102</ref> Extensive repairs to the ''Shenandoah'' took nearly 4 months, and the Arctic expedition was scrapped.

''Shenandoah''{{'}}s repairs were completed in May, and in mid-1924 was working up its engines and radio equipment to prepare for fleet duty. In August 1924, the airship joined the Scouting Fleet and took part in tactical exercises. ''Shenandoah'' succeeded in discovering the "enemy" force as planned but lost contact with it in foul weather. Technical difficulties and lack of support facilities in the fleet forced the ship to depart the operating area ahead of time to return to Lakehurst. Although this marred the exercises as far as airship reconnaissance went, it emphasized the need for advanced bases and maintenance ships if lighter-than-air craft were to take any part in operations of this kind.