The Akron was a helium-filled dirigible built for the Navy in 1930, it and sister ship Macon were a new generation of dirigibles with many improvements and developments in construction. Designed as an aerial aircraft carrier, it was to carry five aircraft contained within the envelope and launched from a trapeze.
The lifting gas was helium, a huge improvement over the inflammable hydrogen used earlier. The inert gas was carried in 12 independent "bags", allowing the engines to be mounted inside the envelope. using shafts to drive the propellers which were mounted on streamlined pods.
Hard to imagine the scale, the 785 foot long frame consisted of 132 foot diameter structural Howe-truss rings that were self supporting, rather than ribs and wires of the Zeppelin design. The 10 main rings were 74 feet apart, with 3 lighter frames between each pair. The envelope was also a new material, rubber impregnated cotton, a huge improvement over the Zeppelin's cow intestine-based skin.
With all the modern developments, this ship seemed like a practical way forward for the lighter than air craft. It first flew in September 1931, unfortunately on April 4th 1933 it went down off the coast on New Jersey in a thunderstorm, killing 73 of the 76 on board.
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