Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has donated a lifeboat from its first lighter-than-air craft to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
The lifeboat originally accompanied the airship Akron, which was built in 1911. The Akron, not to be confused with the Goodyear-produced Navy airship U.S.S. Akron, was lost at sea in 1912. The boat was the only significant piece of the ship that was recovered.
Goodyear has donated a number of items to the Smithsonian over the years, including a gondola from its first public relations blimp, Pilgrim, in 1933.
The Akron, Ohio-based tiremaker currently operates three blimps.
