U.S. Army Airship TC-2 Cruising Above Tree Canopy (Circa 1923)

A distant aerial view of the U.S. Army non-rigid dirigible TC-2 cruising high above a large deciduous tree silhouette. — U.S. Army Airship TC-2 Cruising Above Tree Canopy (Circa 1923) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

Donald A. Hall Sr. documented early lighter-than-air military aeronautics with this atmospheric photograph of the U.S. Army non-rigid dirigible TC-2 cruising in calm skies above a silhouette of tree branches. Built by Goodyear for the Army Air Service, the TC-2 measured 196 feet in length with a volume of over 200,000 cubic feet. Because the airship was destroyed in an accidental ordnance detonation in October 1924, this negative firmly anchors Hall's documentation to his early 1923–1924 research period.