The USS Macon (ZRS-5) was a rigid airship built and operated by the United States Navy for scouting and served as a “flying aircraft carrier”, designed to carry biplane parasite aircraft, five single-seat Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk for scouting or two-seat Fleet N2Y-1 for training.
In service for less than two years, in 1935 the Macon was damaged in a storm and lost off California’s Big Sur coast, though most of the crew were saved. The wreckage is listed as the USS Macon Airship Remains on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
