Blimps provided an effective way to combat enemy submarine attacks against convoys because they could remain airborne much longer that conventional aircraft. On only one occasion did a K-class airship engage an enemy submarine, the crew of a German U-boat shooting it down with a deck gun. Museum staff located the control car in a …
Procured from Goodyear to support the expansion of Naval Aviation’s airship fleet, the L-8 delivered vital parts to USS Hornet (CV 8) after the carrier departed California carrying the Doolittle Raiders and their aircraft for their famous raid on Tokyo. The L-8’s most famous flight inspired the nickname Ghost Ship, the blimp with the control …
The museum displays the cockpit section of the ZPG-2 Snow Bird, which on March 15, 1957, established a long-distance unrefueled flight record when it landed at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, after traveling a distance of 9,448 miles. During the flight, it spent 264.2 hours straight in the air. President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented …