The Medusa was the earliest CIR airship. Pretty much a Clothes Horse if it were an airship, this agressively simple-looking blimp was made shortly after a NE airship was captured for the first time. A mere civilian airship, it's got niche uses, of which the main is salvaging uninhabitable cities in the interior (climate change made them unbearably hot in summer). The main reason for it's use is simple: not only can it carry heavy loads, but it can land in tight spaces in spite of it's ramshackle look and even be anchored for loading. In many ways, it's seen as akin to an utility helicopter.
While later airships outmoded it, the Medusa, together with the Clothes Horse, strongly enhanced the CIR's ability to attract inland settlements into their fold by improving connections with them.