10,000 Plane Program, 156–57
access hatch, 75
accidents: in carrier exercises, 222; casualties from, 189; at Lakehurst, 198, 246–47; in public opinion, 203; in wartime losses, 201
acoustic torpedoes, 197
Aegis cruiser, 265
aerial transport, Zeppelins as, 1, 129–41
aerodynamics/aerology: in British design, 17; in damage to Macon, 123–24; and radar, 228; school of, at Lakehurst, 257; in Shenandoah tragedy, 49; studied in ZPG-2s, 254–56; in training, 20, 24, 62, 70, 213; and weather, 34, 65
Aerographers’ school, 211
Aerological Building, Lakehurst Air Station, 16, 41
aeronautics: commercial, 127–42; German/American cooperation in, 55; Lakehurst in, 38; LTA craft in, 1; political support for, 78; postwar advances in, 203; public interest in, 29
Aeronautics, Bureau of (BuAer): budget of, 60–61; design competition by, 209; free balloons approved by, 25; and Los Angeles, 61; program of rigid airship development, 87; in war preparations, 144
aerostatics: in postwar training, 213; in training, 24–26, 61–62, 65, 70
AEW (Airborne Early Warning), 227–31, 238, 268
AEW squadrons, 238
ailerons, 213
air circus, 39–42
air defenses in the Cold War, 228, 265
Air Force: AEW airship used by, 228; Blue Devil II of, 268; in new LTA potential, 265–66
air raids, Zeppelins in, 1–2
airborne control center, 229, 265
aircraft carriers, 75, 118–20, 203, 220–22
aircraft listening device, 162
Aircraft Maintenance Department, 254
airplane industry, 125
airplanes: accommodating at Lakehurst, 212–13; carrying of, in design, 87; comparable endurance of, 72, 121, 128; competition with for funding, 203, 237–38; in Demonstration Day, 39, 41–42; hangars for, 89, 90; in postwar ASW, 245–46; in scouting, 92, 99, 118–19, 147; threat of, 99, 103. See also hook-on flying
Airship Industries Skyship-600 car, 266
airship officers meeting, 1957, 237–38
Airship Patrol Group One, 162
Airship Squadrons. See ZP squadrons
Airship Training Center (Lakehurst), 211, 212
Airship Training Center (West Coast), 177
Airship Training School, 70, 112
Akron (ZRS-4): christening of, 93; construction of, 88; contract for, 127; design of, 89–90; downing of, 105–6; in Five Year Airship Program, 87; flight to NYC with Los Angeles, 95; gas cells of, 91; in hook-on flying, 82, 92–93, 99; hull of, 89–91; mechanics on, 89; as a Navy scout, 96–97, 102–3; in public relations, 95; at Rigid Airship Training and Experimental Squadron, 105; search missions of, 118; strength of, 51; trial flights of, 93–94
Allen, E. P., 48
Allied Naval Armistice Commission, 52
Allied shipping, war against, 155, 165–66
Allies: airship technology of, 1; ASW activities by, 177, 179; convoys of, protected, 6–7; ships lost, 187; Zeppelins acquired by, 2
Allison Engineering Company, 89
alongside method of refueling, 223
Altamaha, 221
aluminum: alloys, 2, 20, 41, 89; construction with, 21–22; in control cars, 185, 195; in hull coating, 27; of Los Angeles, sold, 72; in masts, 226; mess dishes made from, 72
Aluminum Company of America, 2, 21
American Blimp Corporation, 267
American International Zeppelin Transport Company, 127
American Military Commission, 52
American shipping, attacks on, 4, 165–66
American-German relations: and commercial airships, 127; and ZR-3, 55
ammunition, testing of, 9–10
antennas: for AEW, 228; at air stations, 16; for Macon, 121; of ZPG-3W, 230–31
antiaircraft gunnery practice, 48
antiship missile defense, 265
antisubmarine capabilities post Cold War, 266–67
Antisubmarine Defense Force, Commander, 243
antisubmarine platform, 126
antisubmarine squadron VS-751, 257
appropriations: in 1920, 20; after World War I, 3; for air stations, 161–62; in end of Lakehurst, 252; in LTA program, 202, 236; for rigid airship development, 87
Arctic expedition, 239
armament: in ASW routine, 180; for M-type ships, 195; for patrol ships, 160; for ZP2N-1, 215; for ZSG-4, 224
Armed Forces Day open house, 257
Army blimps in ASW, 176
Arnstein, Karl, 87
Assembly and Repair Department hangar, 172
ASW (antisubmarine warfare): capability of, 173; in convoy escort, 166, 168–69; countermeasures to, 197; design in, 171; experience in, 171; factors in, 183; K-type patrol aircraft in, 155; lack of experience in, 154; MAD in, 183–84, 186–87; in new LTA program potential, 266; objectives of, 182; operational statistics for, 187, 189; postwar tactics and equipment in, 227; preparations for, 151; routines in, 179–81; U-boats deterred by, 177, 179, 186; in White House study, 248; in World War I, 4–6
Atlantic Coast: defense of, 157, 174; LTA operations confined to, 211; plans for defense of, 159
Atlantic Fleet: cutbacks in, 200; end of airships in, 211–12, 241–43, 248; proximity of to Lakehurst, 11; in war preparations, 160–61, 162; in World War II, 174–75, 177
Atlantic Squadron, 152
atrophy as an end to LTA, 237
Auchincloss, James C., 251, 252
autopilot, 213
auxiliary servicing facilities in war plans, 160
aviation, naval: budgets for, 207, 252; creation of, 4; postwar, 203, 204, 213
Aviation Supply Office, 262
Aviation Week, 233
aviators, training of, 4, 61–62, 65–67, 213
bag method refueling, 224
Baldwin Locomotive Works, 9
ballast: champagne as, 55; experiments with, 121; fuel tanks as, 49; men as, 75; in night flying, 65; in outfitting, 27; system of, 71–72; in three-keel arrangement, 89; water as, 29–30, 75, 214
balloons, in training, 25, 62, 65–67; kite, 26, 41, 62, 65–67, 110
Bankland Oil Refinery, 176
Battle of the Atlantic: airships in, 151, 179, 203; Britain in, 160–61; early losses in, 165; escalation of, 171. See also ASW (antisubmarine warfare)
Berlin crisis, 256–57
Bethlehem Steel and Bridge Company, 13
blackouts, 165
blimps: armaments for, 160; Army, 176; in hook-on flying, 81–82; J-type, 38–39; in LTA program, 4; in modern naval warfare, 203; Naval policy on, 151, 207; in naval warfare, 7; in the postwar period, 203; in training, 62, 65–68, 67–68; in war preparations, 150–51. See also under type number
Blue Devil II intelligence gathering airship, 268
Bolster, Calvin, 95
bombs/bombing: in ASW routine, 181; experiments in, 152, 160; in K-types, 185, 186–87, 224; in M-types, 195; for patrol ships, 160; of submarines, 170–72; from Zeppelins, 1; in ZSG-3 ASW ships, 220
Brady, Daniel, 258
Brazilian theater, 176, 187, 200
breathing pipe for U-boats, 197
bridges. See control cars
Britain, blockade of, 155–56
British vessels, repaired in Navy yards, 161
Browning aircraft machine guns, 160
B-type airship, 4
BuAer (Aeronautics, Bureau of). See Aeronautics, Bureau of
budgets: in end of Lakehurst, 252; in end of LTA program, 266, 267; for Los Angeles, 60, 61; for naval aviation in 1948, 207; in program development, 203; skepticism in, 236; and training, 62. See also expenditures
BUNO, 216–17
BUWEPS (Bureau of Naval Weapons), 257, 262
CAC (combat aircrew), 180
Camp Lewis, 44
Caribbean Sea exercises, 116, 123
Caribbean Sea Frontier, 176, 177, 187, 189
Carlsen Field, Trinidad, 176
carrier aviation, 75, 118–20, 203, 220–22
Case, Clifford P., 251, 252, 257
casualties, 49, 177, 189–90, 198, 201
Change Order No. 2, 91
chart rooms in ZRS-4 and -5, 89
Chemical Warfare Service, 9–10
Churchill, Winston, 156, 175–76, 177
CinCUS (Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet), 43, 176
civil use of airships, 58, 267
civilian industries, 262
civilians: employees at Lakehurst, 29, 112, 141, 211, 245, 252–53, 254; visiting Lakehurst, 41–42
Clarke, Vincent A., 91
Clarke, William H., 124
Clinker R&D project, 254–56, 257
cloud-gas testing, 10
clover leaf in ASW, 186–87
CNATE (Chief of Naval Airship Training and Experimental Command), 195, 204, 209
coastal air bases in World War II, 176–77
coastal defense: in Battle of the Atlantic, 165–66; K-2 blimps in, 150; in new LTA program potential, 267; nonrigid airships in, 153; plans for, 153, 158, 159; in war preparations, 162; by Zeppelins, 2
combat information center, 212, 229
Commerce, Department of, 125
commercial activity, current, 263
commercial aeronautics, 127–42
commercial airships: failure of, 203; by Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, 87; and the Navy, 125, 127; Zeppelins as, 1, 132
communications: on Akron, 105; improved on Macon, 121; in the mooring mast, 30, 32; postwar improvements in, 227; with scout planes, 118–19; in training, 24; U-boats disrupting, 156
competition in balloon flying, 65
Congress: airbases authorized by, 161; airships authorized by, 3, 156–57, 176; criticism of airships in, 38; investigation by into airship viability, 252; in LTA’s first decade, 83
Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association, 262
Conover, Wilmer M., 124
construction: of air bases in World War II, 176; postwar, at Lakehurst, 212–14; West Coast, 176–77; of ZR-1, 20–23
Contiguous Barrier Squadron (ZW-1), 237
control cars: in Akron and Macon, 51, 89; in ASW, 184–85; in K-ships, 182, 184–85, 220; of Los Angeles, 147; in M-type ships, 195, 209; for passengers, 53; preservation of, 261–62; of Shenandoah, 27–28; storage of, 256, 262; in training, 160; two-deck, 209
control rooms in ZRS-4 and -5, 90, 91
convoy escort: deterring submarine attacks, 6–7, 177, 187, 189, 243; K-type blimps in, 150; procedure, 166; relearning for World War II, 154; routines in, 179, 182, 185–86; system initiated, 161, 165–66
courts of inquiry: for Akron crash, 106; for Macon disaster, 125; for Shenandoah disaster, 49, 50
crew complement: for K-types, 220, 224; of Los Angeles, 95; of ZP2N-1, 215; of ZPG-2W, 229; of ZPG-3W, 230–31; of ZS2G-1, 224; of ZSG-4, 224; of ZW-1, 230
crews, selection and training of, 22–26
crew’s mess in ZRS-4 and -5, 90
cruise missiles, 265
cruising range: of J-4, 68; refueling in, 223; type of gas in, 29, 32
cruising speed: of K-type blimps, 150, 160; postwar progress in, 213–14; of ZP2N-1, 215; of ZPG-3W, 230; of ZPN-1, 215; of ZS2G-1, 224
C-type airship, 7
Curtiss F9C, 92, 118, 120, 121
Dacron envelopes, 247
damage: to Los Angeles from docking, 77; to Macon, 123–24
DCNO (Deputy Chief of Naval Operations), 194, 233
decommissioning: of Fleet Airship Wings, 200, 204; of Glynco training unit, 241; of Lakehurst LTA, 256–62; of last squadrons, 254; of Los Angeles, 104–5, 113–14; of squadrons ZP-1 and -2, 241; of Weeksville ASW squadrons, 237; of ZSG-3, 204, 241; of ZX-11, 237
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, 267
Defender, 150
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, 266
“Defense of North Atlantic Coastal Frontier,” 157
deflation, 66, 252–53, 256, 259–61
demobilization, 203
Demonstration Day, 39–42
Denby, Edwin, 29
design: of airships, 4, 7; in ASW, 171; of Goodyear Zeppelins, 81; of ground equipment, 75; of hangars, 12–13; of the Zeppelin, 3; of ZR-1, 20–22; of ZRS-4 and -5, 87, 88–90
destruction tests, 146–47
detection ability, 265
detection equipment: electronic, 227; MAD, 169–72, 183–84, 186–87, 192; of ZPG-2, 216. See also equipment; radar
direction-finding equipment, 119, 168
dismantling of all airships ordered, 262
Distant Early Warning (DEW) System, 212, 228
DN1 (Dirigible, Nonrigid 1), 4
docking operations: of 25 August 1927, 75–78; on aircraft carriers, 75; complexity of, 226; training in, 70–71; upgraded for Akron, 95; wind conditions in, 70, 75–76, 246
docking rails and system, 12, 13, 88, 172
DOD (Department of Defense) report on airships, 245–46
Dönitz, Karl, 155, 165–66, 187
Douglas Leigh Sky Advertising Corporation, 207
Dresel, Alger H., 91, 103, 118–19
drug interdiction in new LTA program potential, 267
duration of flights, 44, 72, 214. See also endurance
early warning mission, 265
Eastern Sea Frontier, 179, 184
Eastern seaboard attacks in World War II, 165–66, 177, 179
Eckener, Hugo, 53, 55, 125, 128, 129, 131
economic impact of Lakehurst, 251–53
Eddystone Ammunition Corporation, 9
Edison, Charles, 147
Eisenhower, 266
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 228
electronics: for AEW, 228; of the N-type, 216, 229, 230–31; in postwar training, 213; in submarine detection, 227; for ZP2N-1, 215
Elizabeth City Naval Air Station, 166
empennage: X-type, 209; Y-type, 224
Employment, Board of, 58
endurance: of airplanes, 72, 121, 128; of the K-type, 224; of the N-type, 216, 229, 230–31; postwar advances in, 227
engagement ability, 265
engineering: of the doors, 13; of the K-type ship, 171; of the N-type ship, 209; for speed and lift, 268; of the Zeppelin, 3; of ZR-1, 20–21; of ZR-3, 60
engines: in ASW routine, 180; design of, 7; inboard, 222; internal mounting of, 89; on Los Angeles, 61; for the N-type, 209, 230; storage of, 259
Enlisted Airship Training School, 161
enlisted men: on-ship quarters for, 44; training of, 62, 66, 70; in wartime preparations, 161
envelopes: of the B-type, 4; of the C-type, 7; deflation and storage of, 256, 259–60; failure of in accident at Lakehurst, 247; of the J-type, 68; of the K-type, 150, 220, 224; of the M-type, 176, 195, 230; of the N-type, 209, 215; pressure of, 181, 186, 213; salvaged, 262
Eppes, M. H., 216–17, 237, 242–43, 254
Eppes report, 242–43
equipment: in ASW, 179, 227; direction finding, 119, 168; ground, 75, 127; for LTAs, 171; salvaged, 262; for security patrols, 162; storage of, 259–60. See also detection equipment
escort missions, 201, 221, 266. See also convoy escort
Evans, Franck T., 16
evasive action practice, 121
expeditionary masts, 192
expenditures: for Lakehurst Air Station, 16; on LTA in World War II, 202. See also budgets
experimental flights in operational statistics, 187
experimental projects: Akron in, 105; flying wind tunnel, 254–55; K-2 in, 160; landing gear removal, 121; Los Angeles in, 79–83, 113, 144; Macon in, 121; radio homing device, 120; Shenandoah in, 43–44; in war preparations, 153, 160
Experimental Station (Lakehurst), 212
Falkland Islands War, 265
Federal Aviation Agency, 257
final flight, 259
firing ranges at air stations, 9–10
First World War. See World War I
fishing rights enforcement in new LTA program, 267
Five Year Aircraft Program, 87, 112
Fleet Air Wings, Atlantic Fleet, Commander, 242
Fleet Airship Wings, 200, 204, 209, 222, 254
Fleet Airships, Atlantic, 154
Fleet Airships Atlantic, 1943 inventory of, 189
Fleet Problem exercises, 91, 121, 124
flight crews: of Akron, 105; in ASW, 177; for K-ships, 224; last, 257–59; physical tolerance of, 231; routines of, 71–73; on Shenandoah, 44; in wartime patrols, 179–84; for ZP2K-1, 220; for the ZPG-2W, 229
flight duration, 44, 72, 209, 214. See also endurance
Flight magazine, 147
flight operations, 213–14
flight routines, 71–72
flight time: for transcontinental flights, 45; in World War II, 200; for ZP-3, 249; for ZPG-2 BUNO, 216
flight training. See training
flight-control system of the ZSG-4, 224
fog, effects of, 72
food: on ASW patrols, 185; in the Battle of the Atlantic, 165, 176; on Los Angeles, 53, 72–73
Ford Motor Company, 208
Fort Worth, 44
free balloons: casualties, 189; in naval air demonstration, 41; postwar training in, 213; in training, 4, 25–26, 61, 62, 65, 70, 213
fuel economy/efficiency, 209, 213–14, 216, 265
fuel tanks: as ballast, 49; droppable, 220; in K-types, 185; monitored, 72; removed from Los Angeles, 147
Fulton, Garland: King-Fulton Report on the Lighter-Than-Air Situation, 147, 149
future of LTA, 265–68
G-1: collision of, 177; delivery of, 110; purchase of, 150; in war preparations, 153, 160, 161, 162
gas cells: of Akron, 91; and altitude, 44; fabric for, 22; in flight routines, 71; heating and cooling of, 43; installation of, in ZR-1, 28; on Los Angeles, 60, 147; redesign of, 47–48
gas warfare, 9–10
gasbag fabric, 2
General Board of the Navy, 2
German Aerial Transportation Company, 129
German aviation, restrictions on, 129
German engineers, 87
German military, 1–2
German officers at Lakehurst, 55–56
Germans/Germany: on American LTA progress, 46; in commercial air transport, 129; countermeasures by to ASW, 197; reintroduction of airships by, 267; war declared by, 165
Glynco Naval Air Station, 176, 205, 209, 233, 241
Goodyear Aircraft Corporation: in ASW, 176; design of N-type, 209; postwar, 207, 233; proposals by for revival of LTA, 268; in war preparations, 160, 162
Goodyear Airship Industries, 263
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, 4, 81, 87
Goodyear-Zeppelin Airdock, 88
Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, 87, 127, 150
Gorton, A. W., 82
Graf Zeppelin: Atlantic crossings of, 125; christening of, 142; flights of, 133; Navy officers on board, 127; transoceanic crossing of, 129–33, 140
ground handling: of Akron, 95; in ASW routine, 180; equipment, 75, 127; Los Angeles in, 74–75; mechanization of, 225–26; primitive, 29; routines of, 70–71; at Sunnyvale, 114; system of, 80–81; training in, 24, 61, 66, 67; weather in, 234; in World War II casualties, 201
ground school, 23–26, 62, 161, 213
Gulf Sea Frontier, 174, 175, 187
Hahn, J. J., 44
Hampton Roads Naval Air Station, 38
Hancock, Lewis, 48
hangars: for airplanes, 89, 90; on Akron, 92; design of, 12–13; at Lakehurst, 10–15, 263; at Sunnyvale, 88
hatchways, 89
Havill, C. H., 38
heavy lifting in new LTA program potential, 267, 268
Helicopter Utility Squadron 2 (HU-2), 211
helicopters, 184
helium: conservation of, 43, 68; decision to use, 28–29; exhausted for storage, 260; for Los Angeles, 56; lost through valves, 44; need for, 142; plant, at Lakehurst, 211; repurified, 147; shortage of, 46; storage, 213; in transoceanic service, 133; valved to reduce lightness, 214; and weather, 75
high-mast system, 75
high-technology warships, 265
hook-on flying: Akron in, 92–93, 99; Los Angeles in, 81–82, 99; Macon in, 82; practicing of, 105
hose method refueling, 223
House Armed Services subcommittee, 265
housing at Lakehurst, 15, 161–62, 172
Houston, 120–21
Howden Detatchment, 17–18
HTA aviation, 21, 93, 213, 234, 265
Hughes, Howard, 207
hulls: of Akron, 89–91; in British design, 17; construction of, 22; design of, 20–21; dismantling of, 147–48; of Shenandoah, 44, 45, 49; strength of, 89; of ZR-1, 27
Hunt, Jack R., 217
hunting groups, 182
hybrid platforms, 268
ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), 228
inboard engines, 222
Industrial Office for BUWEPS, 262
in-flight communications, 118–19
in-flight environment, 216
in-flight refueling, 220–24
in-flight watches, 185
inner patrols in war plans, 153
Inspection and Survey report on Los Angeles, 144
inspection force, 88
instruments, 213
internal engines, 89
international commerce, 83
International Geophysical Year drifting station, 239
inventory of airships: in 1940 (October), 160; in 1943 (January), 177; in 1943 (year’s end), 189; in 1944 (March), 197; in 1948, 205; in 1957, 233; at end of World War II, 201; at Lakehurst, 162
Japanese submarines, 176–77
Joint Army and Navy Airship Board, 2, 3, 12
joint Army-Navy exercises, 162
J-type: J-1, 25, 38–39, 41, 68; J-3, 106; J-4, 68, 110, 151, 153, 160
K-1, 110, 150–51, 153, 160, 171
Kennedy, John F., 256
Kentworthy, Jesse, 154
Key West Naval Air Station, 216, 241
killer groups, 182
Killian, James R., 228
Kincaid, Earle H., 26
King, Ernest J., 108, 113, 118, 147, 149, 160–61
King-Fulton Report on the Lighter-Than-Air Situation, 147, 149
kite balloons, 26, 41, 62, 65–67, 110
K-type blimps: 1943 inventory of, 189; in ASW, 171, 184; bombing by, 185, 186–87, 224; control cars of, 184–85; postwar, 220–25; in surveillance, 182, 184; in U-boat defense, 155–56; in war preparations, 150–51, 153, 160, 161; in World War II, 166, 168–72, 173, 190, 198
Lakehurst Development Association, 252
Lakehurst Naval Air Station: accidents at, 198, 246–47; as aeronautics center, 38; Airship Test and Development Unit, 246; and Akron, 94–95; alternative uses proposed, 250–51; as ammunition test site, 9–10; closing ceremony, 257–58; as commercial airship terminal, 135–42; establishment of, 3, 9, 10–16; expansion of, 161–62, 173; German airships using, 127; and Graf Zeppelin, 130; hangars at, 12–15, 263; hydrogen plant at, 15; landing fields at, 13, 15, 43, 172, 263; in local community, 245; LTA termination order, 253–54; in MAD development, 169; Operations and Repair, 238, 252, 253; operations reduced at, 110, 112, 245–47; politics at, 81; postwar, 205, 207, 211–13; reduction-in-force directive to, 245; reinvention of, 257; reserve squadrons at, 241; training at, 205, 212–13; in war preparations, 153, 157, 160, 161; in World War II, 166, 177, 198
landing fields: at Akron, 4; at Lakehurst air station, 13, 15, 43, 172, 263
landing gear, 121, 209, 220, 261
landing mats, 212–13
landing operation of Hindenburg, 141–42
landing strips at Lakehurst air station, 213
Langley, 91
Lansdowne, Zachary, 38, 42, 43–44, 47–48, 49
law enforcement, 267–68
lazy eights in ASW, 187
Leigh, Douglas, 207
Lend-Lease Act, 160–61
Lexington (CV-2), 75
life jackets, 181
Lighter-Than-Air Design Section, 144, 147, 149
living conditions: on Los Angeles, 53, 72–73; on Shenandoah, 44; in ZRS-4 and -5, 90
Lockheed Martin: Skunk Works P-791, 268
long-range patrols, 118, 147, 150, 153
Lord Construction Company, 13
Los Angeles (ZR-3): as aircraft carrier, 48; Anacostia landing of, 56; christening of, 56; for civil purposes, 127; decommissioning of, 104–5, 113–14; delivery of, 46; in demonstrations, 58, 60; engineering problems with, 60–61; in experimental projects, 79–83, 113, 144; flight to NYC with Akron, 95; flights of, 74–78; in hook-on flying, 81–82; living conditions on, 72–73; in mobile mast trial, 80; as model commercial airship, 58; nose-standing of, 75–78; in publicity, 48, 74–78; publicity flights of, 51; scrapping of, 144, 146–47; in training, 68; transatlantic flight of, 53–55; trapeze experiments on, 92; in war games, 91–92
low-mast system, 79–81
low-speed aerodynamics, 255
LTA (lighter-than-air) program: beginnings of, 51; criticisms of, 18; economies in, 56, 60; expansion plans, 161; in the Korean crisis, 205; long-term plan to end, 237–39; Naval policy on, 146, 151; political support for, 78; priority of in war preparations, 160; resurgence of in 1957, 233; support for, 233–34; in World War II, 200, 201
L-type blimps: in ASW, 176, 177; postwar, 206, 208, 212; in war preparations, 151, 153, 160, 161, 162
Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, 52, 87, 129
LZ-127. See Graf Zeppelin
Macon (ZRS-5): alterations of, 108; christening of, 106; contract for, 127; crew of, 105; design of, 89–90; downing of, 123–25; experiments on, 121; in the Five Year Airship Program, 87; hook-on system for, 82; mechanics on, 89; navigation of, 121; operational schedule of, 118; in scouting, 118–19; strength of, 51; structural failure of, 123–24; in tactical exercises, 116, 118–21; test flights of, 108, 110; in training, 121; transcontinental flights of, 114, 116
MAD (Mark I magnetic airborne detector), 169–72, 183–84, 186–87, 192
magazines for ordnance, 162
mail packages, dropping of, 120–21
Makassar Strait, 221
Manual of Tactical Employment, 154
manual operation in envelope pressure, 181
Marines at Lakehurst, 29, 75, 211
mass production, 162
mast trials of Shenandoah, 34–36
mast watches, 75
masts. See mooring masts
maximum endurance flight, 216–17
Mayback Motor Company, 89
McCord, Frank C., 103, 105, 106
McCrary, Frank R., 22, 25, 34, 38
McNamara, Robert, 257
mechanization of ground handling, 75, 225
Media, 176
Mediterranean, 192
Meister, F. W. von, 142
merchant airship bills, 129
merchant marine of the air, 125
merchantmen, 165
metal airships, 68
MGM Airship, 208
mid-air collision, K-64 and K-7, 189
military environment, post–Cold War, 266–67
military value of LTA, 7, 49, 116, 118, 142
Miller, Harold B., 121
Mills, George H., 153
mine spotting, 192
mining companies, 268
missile detection, 266
missions: early warning, 265; escort, 201, 221, 226; length of, 184; for Los Angeles, 81; night, 187; reconnaissance, 2, 4, 268; search, 118
Mitchell, William, 49
mobile masts, 80, 95, 173, 225–26
mobile winches, 226
mobilization for World War II, 152
modernization policy, 220
Moffett, William A.: airship program requested by, 87; Arctic flight predicted by, 32, 37–38; death of, 105–6; interest in publicity of, 29; in World War II, 177
Moffett Field Naval Air Station, 176–77; postwar, 208
mooring circles, 70, 81, 172, 214
mooring masts: absence of, 13; aluminum in, 226; communications in the, 30, 32; dismantling of, 262; in end of LTA, 256; high and short, 75; low-mast system, 79–81; operational flexibility of, 16, 32; planning of, 16; postwar, 225–26; prototypes, 79–80; rail-mounted, 70, 95; for Shenandoah, 29–32; for transcontinental flights, 44, 48; trials of, 32, 34–36; Type-V, 226
mooring mechanisms, 43
M-type ships, 176, 177, 194–95, 209, 211, 212
mustard gas experiments, 10
MZ-3A in Deepwater Horizon oil spill, 267
NADU (Naval Air Development Unit), 216, 239
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, 74
National Air Races, 82
National Security Council, 228
Naval Air Force, Atlantic Fleet, Commander, 242–43
Naval Air Reserve Training Unit, 205
naval air stations: for AEW, 228; establishment of, 9–19; in war plans, 159–60, 161–62; in World War II, 172–77, 194. See also under air station name
Naval Air Test Facility, 254, 257
Naval Aircraft Factory, 21
Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory, 16
Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, 262
Naval Aviation Reserve Base at Opa-Locka, 105
Naval Operations, Chief of, 152–53, 161, 237
naval scouts: Akron as, 96–97, 102–3; Macon as, 118–19; Shenandoah as, 42–43, 48; Zeppelins as, 2. See also scouting
navigation: in ASW, 181; improvements in, 121; in operational doctrine, 118; and scout planes, 118; in training, 24, 62, 213
Navigation, Bureau of, 22, 68, 161
Navy, Secretary of: on Akron’s crash, 106; British airship approved by, 4; on Lakehurst closing, 251–52; and Los Angeles, 113; LTA program approved by, 157, 159, 178; on Shenandoah’s transcontinental flight, 46
NDRC (National Defense Research Committee), 169
near-surface flying in MAD, 171–72
negotiations for Zeppelins, 52, 129
Neutrality Patrol, 152
New Jersey Courier, 252
New London’s Submarine Squadron Two, 153
New Orleans, 121
Niblack, 161
nonrigid airships. See blimps
Noress (Norway), 168
Norfleet, Joseph P., 16
Norfolk-Hattaras Air Base, 159
North Atlantic convoy routes, 6, 161
Northrop-Grumman Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle, 268
N-type ships, 207, 209–20, 214, 222, 229, 230
nuclear age, AEW in, 227–28
observation car, 121
Ocean County, New Jersey, 252
Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, 257
offshore patrols, 161, 176, 248
oil supply lines, 165
one-engine operation, 209
ONR (Naval Research, Office of), 239
Opa-Locka Naval Air Station, 116
open cockpits, 68
operating strength, 242
Operation Whole Gale, 248–50
operational costs of ZPG-2W, 229
operational doctrine, 16, 60, 68, 93, 118–19
operational experience, 7
operational flexibility: air stations in, 160, 234, 237, 254; of mooring masts, 16, 32
operational statistics for ASW, 187, 189
Operations and Repair (Lakehurst), 238, 252, 254
Operations Department (Lakehurst), 212
Ordnance, Bureau of, 212
outer cover, 27
Overhaul and Repair Department, 211
Pacific Coast, ASW on, 187
Pacific Zeppelin Transport Corporation, 127
parachute rigger school, 211, 257
passengers on Hindenburg, 136, 141
Patoka, 43, 48, 58, 60, 74, 102
Patrol Airship Concept Evaluation, 265
Patrol Force, 160–61
patrol planes in ASW, 184, 187
patrol ships, 153, 160, 162, 171–72. See also K-type blimps; ZNPs
patrols: equipment for, 162; flight crew in wartime, 179–84; keel arrangement in, 89; long-range, 118, 147, 150, 153; Neutrality Patrol, 152; offshore, 161, 176, 248; for U-boats, 4. See also ASW (antisubmarine warfare)
Pearl Harbor attack, 162
personnel: in ASW limitations, 171–72; demobilized, 203; errors by in World War II casualties, 201; at Lakehurst, 95–96; postwar cuts in, 204; reduced at Lakehurst, 112; shortage of for LTA craft, 153
Personnel, Bureau of, 205
petroleum companies, 268
Phalanx machine gun, 265
Piasecki Heli-Stat, 268
pilots: in airship control, 62, 213–14; in ASW routine, 153–54, 180–81, 186; in bombing, 160; in free ballooning, 65; in hook-on operations, 83, 93, 99, 110; in refueling, 223; training of, 61–62, 68, 151, 153, 194, 205, 213, 242
pilot’s compartment, N-type, 209
Pirie, Robert B., 233
polar expedition, 32, 34, 37–38
pollution in new LTA program potential, 267
Poppele, Jack, 37
postwar technology, 225–27
power house for Lakehurst NAS, 13
power-transmission system, 209
Pratt & Whitney engines, 150, 180, 195
preservation of airships, 104–5, 254, 256
press: airships in, 92; at closing ceremony, 258; on the end of LTA, 250–52; LTA program criticized by, 18; on Shenandoah’s transcontinental flight, 46; on Zeppelins, 1
proof-of-concept trials, 266
public relations: Akron in, 95; in Hindenburg’s first flight, 138; in launching of ZR-1, 29; in transoceanic air transport, 128
publicity: adverse, 78; cruises for, 48; Los Angeles in, 74–78; on Shenandoah, 29, 37–38, 49, 51
quarters: at Lakehurst, 15, 161–62, 172; on Los Angeles, 53; of Macon, 108; in ZRS-4 and -5, 90
radar: for AEW, 228; airborne, 169, 265; in ASW, 183–84; interference, 212; jamming of, 197; for LTAs, 171; in the N-type, 209; postwar advances in, 227; for ZP2N-1, 215; of ZPG-3W, 231
radio: at air stations, 16; in ASW, 181; in convoy escort, 186; of Macon, 108; and scout planes, 118–19
radio compass stations, 16, 74
radio room, 90
radio-direction finding device, 119
radius of operation, 43
Reagan Administration, 265
rearmament for World War II, 152
reballasting, 220
reconnaissance, 2, 4, 97, 102, 147, 268
refueling, in-flight, 220–24
relics of airships in museums, 262–64
rescue gear developed, 121
research and development, 238; at end of program, 243; at NAS Key West, 216; ZPG-2s spared for, 254
research platform use, 254–56, 257, 267
reserve training unit, 241
resupply missions, 267
reversibility of engines, 89
Richmond Naval Air Station, 174; hangar space increased at, 176; in World War II, 175
rigid airships: command of, 72; commercial, 127; development of, 4, 7, 87; disappearance of, 203; end of Navy program in, 149; gunnery practice with, 48; in international commerce, 83; political support for, 78; postwar Naval policy on, 207; strength requirements of, 51; uses of, 6. See also under ship name
Rockaway Naval Air Station, 28
Roma, 28
Roosevelt, Franklin D.: at Casablanca with Churchill, 177; national emergency declared by, 161; on preparedness, 165; as Secretary of the Navy, 12; in tactical exercises, 120–21; in war preparations, 149, 152
Rosendahl, Charles E., 23, 48; career of, 51; commanding Los Angeles, 73–77, 81, 83; on ending of LTA, 252, 257; on Graf Zeppelin, 129; on hook-on planes, 103; in last flight crew, 259; in LTA development, 81; on Shenandoah’s fall, 49; training of, 26; in war preparations, 152
routines: in ASW (antisubmarine warfare), 179–81; in convoy escort, 186; in-flight, 71–73, 74
salvage action, 262
Santa Ana Naval Air Station, 174
Saratoga, 75
Schofield, Frank H., 103
Science Advisory Committee (White House), 248
scouting: airplanes in, 92, 99, 118–19, 147; Macon in, 118–19; Shenandoah in, 42–43, 48; simulated, 121; training in, 124. See also naval scouts
Scouting Force, 42–43, 96–97, 102–3
sea anchor, tests of, 48
Sea Frontier commander, 168
sea patrols, inexperience of, 165
seawater ballast, 214
Second World War. See World War II
security patrols, 162
sensor evaluation, 266
Sentinel 1000, 266
Settle, T. G. W., 55, 75–76, 88
Shannon, Bob, 259
Shenandoah (ZR-1): breakaway flight of, 34–37; christening of, 29; crash of, 49; in Demonstration Day, 39–42; first flights of, 29; mast trials of, 32, 34–36; midwest flight of, 48–49, 51; redesign of, 20–22, 47–48; repairs to, 38, 46; scouting, 42–43, 48; as training ship, 42; transcontinental flight of, 43–46. See also ZR-1
shore stations, 203
shoreside infrastructure, 202
short mooring masts, 75
skepticism and scorn for airships, 263
Skunk Works P-791, 268
sky basket device, 121
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 262
Snow Goose, 239
Sound Surveillance System, 248
South Weymouth Air Base, 159, 173, 216
special assistance errands, 184
special mission applications, 267–68
speed: and heavy lift, 268; of Macon, 108; of ZPG-2W, 228
Sperry Autopilot, 213
St. Louis National Museum of Transport, 262
Stark, attack on, 265
Stark, Harold R., 161
static lift, 213–14, 220, 228, 265
static lightness, 214
steel supply, 174
Steele, George W., 53
STOL (short takeoff and landing) studies, 254, 257
storage process, 256
strain gauges, 89
streamlining, 209
Stricken Aircraft Reclamation and Disposal Program, 262
stub mast prototype, 79
Stultz, R. F., 259
Submarine Squadron Two, 153
submarines: bombing of, 170–72; defending against, 155–56; in war on the West Coast, 176–77. See also ASW (antisubmarine warfare); U-boats
Sunnyvale Naval Air Station, 114, 159
surveillance, 182, 265, 266, 268
Swanson, Claude A., 106
tactical exercises, 102–3, 118–21, 236
tactical range, refueling in, 223
tactical value of airships, 92
tactics: in ASW, 171–72, 179, 227; F9Cs in, 121; search, 91, 119; of U-boats, 156
takeoff, mechanics of, 213
Taylor, Elizabeth, 208
TC-13, 160
TC-14, 160
Technological Capabilities Panel, 228
test sites for ammunition, 9–10
test/trial flights: of Akron, 93–94; of Graf Zeppelin, 53; of Macon, 110; of XM-1, 209; of ZPG-2, 216
three-keel arrangement, 89
timber, in wartime construction, 174
topography of Lakehurst air station, 11
torpedo recovery, 168
touch-and-go landings, 257
Towers, John H., 146
training: in aerodynamics, 20, 62, 70, 213; aerostatics in, 24–26, 61–62, 65, 70, 213; in ASW success, 179; of aviators, 4, 61–62, 65–67, 213; balloons in, 7, 25–26, 61, 62, 65–67, 213; blimps in, 67–68; of crews, 23–26; end of, 242; in the end of LTA, 238; of enlisted men, 70; in gas warfare, 10; German officers in, 56; in ground handling, 70–71; ground school, 23–26, 62, 161, 213; Los Angeles in, 58, 60, 113, 144; L-type nonrigids in, 151; Macon in, 121; meteorology in, 20, 65, 213; in navigation, 24, 62, 213; postwar, 205, 211, 213; in wartime preparations, 161
training flights: Los Angeles in, 58; in operational statistics, 187; postwar, 205; routine of, 65–66; in war preparations, 153
transatlantic flight: of BUNO 141561, 217; commercial, 125, 127–28; in Graf Zeppelin, 129–33; of Hindenburg (Germany), 135–38, 140–41; of Los Angeles, 53–55; public relations in, 128
transcontinental flight: of Akron, 102–3; of Macon, 114–18, 123–24; in postwar transfers, 205; of Shenandoah, 43–46
transmissions, 89
trapeze: experiments on, 92; of Macon, 108; on ZRS-4 and -5, 90
trapping circles, 186
Trinidad-Guiana area, 176
twin engines, 7
Type-V mast, 226
U-boats: ASW deterring, 177, 179, 186; breathing pipes for, 197; concentrations of, 175–76; crewmen of, 183; defending against, 153–54, 155–56, 166, 168–69, 186; locating and trapping of, 186–87; loss rate of, 187; patrols for, 4; speed of, 186; sunk in 1945, 198; in the trade war, 165–66. See also submarines
undocking operations, 70–71, 95, 180
United States, 213
utility of airships, 42, 92, 262
valving system of Shenandoah, 47–48
VNCO (Vice Chief of Naval Operations), 194
Voice of America broadcasts from Lakehurst, 212
VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) studies, 254, 257
vulnerability: advantages outweighing, 233–34; of airships, 92, 103; in operational doctrine, 118; and scout planes, 118–19; of the U.S. to surprise attack, 228; of the Zeppelin, 3
VX-1 development squadron, 241
walk-out, 71
War Assets Administration, 207
war at sea: de facto, 161; preparations for, 150; urgency of, 175–76
war preparations: air stations in, 159–60, 161–62; nonrigid ships in, 147–54
wardrooms, 90
wartime appropriations, 3
wartime security at Lakehurst, 162
water as ballast, 75, 121, 142
water-recovery system, 56, 60, 71–72
weapon system, ZPG-2 as, 216
weather: and aerology, 34, 65; in downing of Akron, 105, 106; in flying time, 65; for Hindenburg’s return flight, 136; at Lakehurst NAS, 11
Weekend Warriors, 211
Weeksville Naval Air Facility, 159, 173, 205, 237
weight distribution, 212
West Coast airship bases, 87, 176–77, 241
West Coast squadrons, 176, 205
Western Sea Frontier, 176, 200
Westinghouse/Airship Industries, 266
Weyerbacher, Ralph D., 13, 26, 38
Wiley, Herbert V., 26, 73, 83, 105, 119–20, 124
Williams, Alford J., 39–41, 256–57
Williams, Harrison, 251
wind conditions: in Demonstration Day, 39, 41; in docking and undocking, 75–76, 246; in ground handling, 71; in Los Angeles’s transatlantic flight, 53; in mast trials, 34–35; in operational flexibility, 234
wind tunnel experiments, 254–56, 257
world record for sustained, unrefueled flight, 217
World War I: ammunition test sites for, 9–10; Zeppelins in, 1–4
World War II: in 1942, 165–77; in 1943, 177–89, 179; ASW in, 166, 167–68; coastal air bases in, 176–77; final months of, 198, 200; naval air stations in, 172–77; preparations for, 144, 146–47, 149–57, 159–62; spending in, 202
Wright Cyclone engine, 230
Wright R-1300-2 engine, 209
X-type empennage, 209
Yards and Docks, Bureau of, 12, 172
YEZ-2A program, 265–66
Young, Howard L., 99
Y-type empennage, 224
Zeppelin, Ferdinand von, Count, 1, 129
Zeppelin Company. See Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH, 267
Zeppelin LZ-127. See Graf Zeppelin
Zeppelin LZ-129. See Hindenburg
Zeppelin NT airship, 267
Zeppelins: as aerial transport, 1, 129–41; design of, 1–2, 20, 52; destroyed by crews, 52; invention of, 1; military uses of, 1–2; as model for ZR-1, 20; threat of, 1
ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik, 263
ZNPs: armaments for, 160; in the Caribbean Sea, 176; in convoy escort, 186; delivery of, 162; lost to enemy action, 190; in visual observation, 184
ZP squadrons: decommissioned, 254; at Lakehurst, 211; in Operation Whole Gale, 248–50; postwar, 204, 211; in program shutdown, 237, 238, 241; in World War II, 162, 168–69, 171, 173, 192
ZP2K, 212
ZP2N-1 (ZPG-2), 215–17
ZPG-2: in aerodynamic studies, 254–56; in the Arctic expedition, 239; design improvements in, 215–17; eliminated, 238; final flight of, 259; flight record by, 233; placed in war-reserve storage, 254
ZPG-3W, 230–32, 237, 238, 246–47, 254, 268
ZPK-type ships, 212
ZPN-1, 215
ZR-1: construction of, 27; design and construction of, 20–23, 27, 47, 48; launching of, 29. See also Shenandoah
ZR-2, 17–18
ZR-3. See Los Angeles
ZRCV, 144
ZRS-4. See Akron (ZRS-4)
ZRS-5. See Macon (ZRS-5)