Defying Gravity (photo)

[Tim Rogers]

[John Warren]

Very interesting photo, 1930? Thanks Tim

[SteveTN]

Google the Tustin Blimp Hangers to get a better idea of scale.

[Charlie B in N.J.]

Lakehurst Naval Air Station is a few miles from my home. Hindenburg crash site. You cannot believe the volume of those hangars. Insane. On occasion a cloud or mist forms inside near the roof.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Do you know which one of the Navy blimps this was? The old Moffett Field Naval Air Station alongside Sunnyvale Califunny also has one of those blimp hangers. Under certain conditions, it has been known to rain inside the hanger! Growing up in the area, we used to hear about the USS Akron and the USS Macon, but I think there were a couple others as well. They were based in Moffett Field off and on for about a decade, beginning in the very early '30s. At the outbreak of WWII, they were used to patrol the Western coast watching for Japanese ships and/or submarines. Offhand, I forget which one it was, but one of the airships crashed off the coast of Monterey shortly after the outbreak, and the airships (blimps) were soon replaced by a fleet of airplanes. Some people still insist that the airship was shot down by a Japanese submarine. (I won't speculate on that.)

[HPetrino]

Interesting stuff Wayne. It was the USS Macon (ZRS-5) you're thinking of. She went down in February 1935 off Point Sur, CA. I heard those "shot down by a submarine" stories when I was a kid too. I think the real story was that she got into trouble in a storm, jettisoned too much ballast and they lost control. Anyhow, that's what I've read.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Thank you Henry P! Sometimes my recollection is off a bit (sometimes a bit too much!). I do appreciate corrections.