Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 38,023
- Mar 26, 2007
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Navy Blimp Lands on Carrier 10-24-44
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vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Very cool!
Nice shots! Thanks for sharing.
I understand that the Hornet, on the way to attack Tokyo in 1942, received an important spare while underway from a blimp...the blimp that later returned from a patrol without it's crew. Curious huh?
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
The Navy blimp, L-8 delivered 300 pounds of supplies to the Hornet, off the California, coast on 11 April. The weird events were the two crewmen disappeared, leaving the L-8 adrift, happened on 16 August.
It was a very odd situation, as the L-8 reported an oil slick and was going in to investigate. Nearby fishermen saw the L-8 aproach to an altitude of about 300 feet and circle, but they never saw anyone fall out. The fishermen suspected the L-8 was going to drop depth charges into the oil slick, but instead, the L-8 rose up into the clouds and disappeared. This was at 7:50 a.m. And within the hour, it was dragging through the neighborhoods of Daly City, crewless.
It was a very odd situation, as the L-8 reported an oil slick and was going in to investigate. Nearby fishermen saw the L-8 aproach to an altitude of about 300 feet and circle, but they never saw anyone fall out. The fishermen suspected the L-8 was going to drop depth charges into the oil slick, but instead, the L-8 rose up into the clouds and disappeared. This was at 7:50 a.m. And within the hour, it was dragging through the neighborhoods of Daly City, crewless.
Yeah...weird huh? I hope you didn't think I meant on the same flight. Anyway, the gondola to that blimp is still extant. IIRC Goodyear recently donated it to...
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
I think the Gondola went to the NASM, didn't it?
Thanks guys. Interesting mystery - I'd not heard of this before. I found this link online:
Crash of the L-8
The blimp in the photo is one of the later K-ships. I do know that K-29 landed on the carrier USS Altamaha (CVE-18 ) on 4 February 1944, which one author claimed was the first landing of a non rigid on a carrier, but the British S.S.Z.59 landed on HMS Furious in 1918.
File:SSZ airship aboard HMS Furious 1918 IWM Q 20640.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Come to think of it, the top photo could be K-29 landing on the carrier in February 1944. The date included on the back of the photo could be the date at which the image was issued by Associated Press post censorship clearance; the caption does state that it was carried out at an undisclosed location. Some images here:
CVE-18 with blimp
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-04.jpg
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-05.jpg
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-06.jpg
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-07.jpg
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-08.jpg
from here: http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK.html
A bit of info about refueling duties from carriers, although it states the first test took place in January 1944;
http://www.airship-association.org/cms/node/208
Crash of the L-8
The blimp in the photo is one of the later K-ships. I do know that K-29 landed on the carrier USS Altamaha (CVE-18 ) on 4 February 1944, which one author claimed was the first landing of a non rigid on a carrier, but the British S.S.Z.59 landed on HMS Furious in 1918.
File:SSZ airship aboard HMS Furious 1918 IWM Q 20640.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Come to think of it, the top photo could be K-29 landing on the carrier in February 1944. The date included on the back of the photo could be the date at which the image was issued by Associated Press post censorship clearance; the caption does state that it was carried out at an undisclosed location. Some images here:
CVE-18 with blimp
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-04.jpg
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-05.jpg
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-06.jpg
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-07.jpg
http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK-08.jpg
from here: http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Photos/ZPNK.html
A bit of info about refueling duties from carriers, although it states the first test took place in January 1944;
http://www.airship-association.org/cms/node/208
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GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
The photo posted above is definately not the L-8 (in civilian life, the L-8 was the Goodyear Ranger) landing on the Hornet.
I wish I knew where my book is that covers the wartime blimps, but here's a link that has some good info regarding L-8 (and has photos)
Crash of the L-8
I wish I knew where my book is that covers the wartime blimps, but here's a link that has some good info regarding L-8 (and has photos)
Crash of the L-8
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
I must have missed your link, it is a good bit of info though, isn't it?
An interesting bit of info behind Goodyear's airship division at the start of the U.S. going to war: Zepplin owned 1/3 of the company...
An interesting bit of info behind Goodyear's airship division at the start of the U.S. going to war: Zepplin owned 1/3 of the company...
Really? Wow
Another interesting snippet along similar lines was that before the outbreak of WW1, the British Army ordered Parseval airships from Germany and requested that Vickers build them under licence. One German built example arrived in Britain before war broke out and was designated HMA No.4 (or P.4) and Vickers completed three others, No.s 5, 6 and 7. Mind you, Peter Strasser of the German naval airship division had an intense dislike for the Parseval ships, as did the German army. Neither of the German forces could see the value behind non rigids.
