NAS blimp bases, (Navy Air Stations Blimps bases), were United States Navyblimp bases built to protect coastal waters during World War II. Navy Blimps could stay in the air and patrol coastal waters much longer than airplanes. The bases were also called Naval Lighter-than-Air Bases. The blimps (non-rigid airships) were built by Goodyear Aircraft Company of Akron, Ohio. The blimps were powered by two aircraft radial air-cooled engines, the crew worked and on long patrols lived in a car under the envelope. The Navy's anti-submarine warfare operation operated in both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. To protect the blimps from strong winds and thunderstorms on the ground most bases had one or more larger airship hangars. Due to the shortage of steel during the war, many hangars were built out of wood.[1][2][3]
Blimps
World War I :
World War I's first airship was the DN-1 which later came to be considered the A class Blimp. The B-class blimp, for which 20 were built for patrols during World War I. The C-class blimp, 10 were built near the end of World War I. Six D-class blimps were built in the 1920s, the last was retired in 1924. Only one E-class blimp was built in 1918 and retired in 1924. One F-class blimp was built in 1918 and retired in 1923.[4]
World War 2:
The most common World War 2 coastal defense blimp used was the US Navy K-class blimp, with 133 built. The start of World War II blimps use bgan on September 23, 1935, when the US Navy purchased the airship Defender from Goodyear. Defender was Goodyear's largest advertising and passenger airships. Defender was delivered to NAS Lakehurst on October 5, 1935. Defender was used for crew training and give the Navy designation G-1, the first G-class blimp. Defender was lost in a midair collision with the smaller L-2 on June 8, 1942, during a night flight. Seven G-class blimps were built. The L-class blimp were smaller blimps use mostly for training, with 10 built. Five L-class blimp were civil blimps of Goodyear fleet: Resolute, Enterprise, Reliance, Rainbow, and Ranger. M-class blimps was the largest anti-submarine warfare blimp, four were built for use in Latin America bases. In addition to anti-submarine warfare, the blimps did assist with Search and rescue missions.[4] US Navy blimps did over 37,000 patrols during World War II. Long patrols could be up to 26 hours in the air. The K-class blimp had a crew of 10 and had radar and Magnetic anomaly detector for sub hunting. Not used often but each blimp had up to four depth charges, naval mines or acoustic torpedoes and a .50-caliber machine gun[5]
Post World War II:
The N-class blimp was not retired till 1962, with 18 built. The M-class blimp was retired in 1956.
United States blimp bases
Bases were built on both the East Coast and West Coast of the United States.[6]
Naval Air Station Weeksville, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, constructed in 1941. Also known as the TCOM Manufacturing. Also a production and test facility for airships and aerostats. Two hangars, one was lost in fire in August, 1995. Hangar No. 1 remains and is still used.
(Scott Field in St. Clair County, Illinois, had a US Army Lighter-than-Air Base fromn 1921–1937 for training, including J-class blimps. In 1937, the Army Air Corps ended its airship program and transferred all its LTA material to the Navy, only two blimps were used by the Navy: TC-13 and TC-14)[7][8]
Navy blimp K-110 with Patrol Squadron ZP-42, escorting a convoy of merchant ships on Brazilian coast during World War 2US Nav LTA (blimp) display at the National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum, at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, has a permanent Lighter-than-Air (LTA) exhibit, with display on the history of US Navy Lighter-than-Air Aircraft. The L-8 airship control car is on display at the museum.[24][25] Airship L-8 crashed after its crew, for some unknown reason, departed the airship on 16 August 1942 off the coast of San Francisco, California. Two N-class blimp control cars are on display at the Museum. The K-47 Control car on static display at the Museum.[26]
The Tillamook Air Museum is the only NAS blimp hangar open to the public daily. Hangar B is used as an indoor aircraft and World War 2 Museum. NAS Tillamook was home Squadron ZP-33, which had eight K-Class airships. Tillamook Air Museum opened in 1994 in Tillamook, Oregon. The hangar is over 7 acres and is made of over 3.2 million board feet of Pacific Northwest lumber.[27]
A view of six US Navy blimps in one of the two hangars located at NAS Santa Ana
Hangar No. 2 (South Hangar) at the former Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, California measures 1,072 feet (327 m) long by 292 feet (89 m) wide by 192 feet (59 m) tall. It and its sister structure (partially visible to the right) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Moffett Field 1963, Hangar One with doors open at both ends
^ This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs, This story was written by U. S. 4th Fleet Public (15 March 2018). "U.S. 4th Fleet Established 75 Years Ago". US Navy. Retrieved 6 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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