Akron's tail broke loose and struck the ground while she was leaving her hangar, preventing participation in Fleet Problem XIII and keeping her out of service until April. A contemporary Popular Science article described Lieutenant C. M. Bolster's 186-ton docking beam, which secured the tail while locomotives turned the airship and pulled it into the hangar. The article credited the system with reducing the handling party to ninety men and permitting docking in winds up to twenty-five miles per hour, against a previous limit of eight. One locomotive positioned the tail beam and another towed the mast and airship into the hangar. Reports of additional locomotives suggest provision for several airships or spare equipment, though their exact allocation remains uncertain. Their appearance suggests battery-electric power, but that identification is an inference.
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Railway machinery made giant airships manageable ashore
Lakehurst's rail-mounted docking beam controlled Akron's tail during hangar movements, reducing manpower and permitting operations in stronger winds.