The Navy's experiment in helium-fueled espionage died in the icy waters off Big Sur 70 years ago.

Now a historical footnote, the crash of the USS Macon five miles from Point Sur was a huge story during an era in American history when dirigibles captured the public's imagination until they started falling out of the skies with regularity. The Macon was a helium-filled airship, nearly as long as three football fields. It could carry a crew of 100 and launch five Sparrowhawk spy planes from a hangar in its belly.