172:, Chicago, Illinois, site where the B-1 had been assembled. Two more flights were made May 29, 1917. Leaving at midnight May 29, 1917 on B-1s fourth flight, Upson decided that since the B-1 was performing well he would rather not land at the small White City facility. Instead they would fly directly to the incomplete hangar at Wingfootlake. The B-1 was forced to land at Medina, Ohio due to an oil failure. Even with the forced landing the B-1 set a new record for distance flown. Both Goodyear and Goodrich used the White City Hangar to erect B-type airships. When the hangar at Wingfoot Lake near Akron Ohio became available in June 1917 Goodyear moved its activities there.
277:
117:
A February 12, 1917 meeting with the Chief of the Bureau of
Construction and Repair, and representatives of Goodyear, Goodrich, Connecticut Aircraft Company, Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation, and U.S. Rubber Company, it was agreed that the order for 16 dirigibles was beyond the capability of any one company. The conference resulted in a committee to coordinate on sharing raw materials, information and experience. Ultimately
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escorted by airships. The value depended not so much on their ability to detect a submarine previous to its attack . . . but on the certainty of their locating the submarine after a torpedo attack, with the resultant destruction of the submarine by depth charges from either the airship or surface escort."
261:
Though the B-Class airships were deployed late in the war their operations influenced
Lighter-than-Air policy in the period between the wars. "the airship's greatest value to the allies during the past war was in convoy work. Indeed, it was common knowledge that a submarine would not attack a convoy
180:
An entire organization had to be created to operate the B-Class airships. In 1917 There were few Naval
Aviators qualified to pilot airships and few facilities for operations. There was no organization for operating the airships. Pilots had to be trained, so the Navy contracted with Goodyear to train
116:
had returned from Europe having inspected
British designs, and using reports from attachés on British airship operations, the Navy was prepared to seek bids for blimps from American manufacturers. On 4 February 1917 the Secretary of the Navy directed that 16 nonrigid airships of Class B be procured.
229:
The 16 original B-types operated extensively from the East coast bases starting in
October 1917, mostly on training missions, but also patrol operations. Several B-Class airships were lost. At least one was involved in a search and rescue operation for a downed Navy float plane. B-types also
257:
Many of the "B"s were stricken soon after the
Armistice. The Navy Table (there are two dates, May and September 1919, lists the B-Class airships to remain in service. They were B-1, B-3, B-8, B-17, B-18 and B-19). Two, B-3 and B-15, survived until 1924.
233:
One
Chatham-based B-type was involved in spotting a U-boat and called in seaplanes to attempt an attack. The B-type airships operated some 13,500 hours covering some 300,000 square miles and trained over 160 Naval Aviators in airship operations.
253:
It is believed that the B-type airships were painted olive drab. Other sources have them being painted with aluminum powdered dope. One suffered a chemical reaction in the rubber coating and turned pink, it was nicknamed "The Pink Lady."
249:
They were given new Bureau
Numbers (A-5464, A-5465 and A-5467) The new airships had pusher engines ( B-1 through B16 had tractor engines). Goodyear also built one new car which appears to have been the B-20 (BuNo A-5257).
494:
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engines. One ship, B-20 was equipped with a special control car. All B-Class airships were delivered to the Navy between August 1917 (B-1) and
September 1918 (B-20).
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962:
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The first flight of a B class blimp was made by the engineers who built it, Ralph Upson and Lt
Preston, on May 24, 1917 at the
967:
436:
612:, Washington D.C.: Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare) and the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, pgs. 9-10.
484:, Washington D.C.: Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare) and the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, pgs. 6-7.
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B-1, the first of the class. B-1 is easily identified by the dual lower fins, later B-types had only a single fin.
495:"Navy History and Heritage Command Aircraft History Card Listing A-52 Through A-999/Bureau Numbers A-201 to A-299"
181:
Naval Aviators as airship pilots at Wingfootlake, Ohio. The Navy set up airship stations along the East Coast, at
714:
Lord Ventry and Kolesink, Eugene M., Airship Saga, 1982, Blandford Books Ltd., Poole, Dorset, England,
660:
Lord Ventry and Kolesink, Eugene M., Airship Saga, 1982, Blandford Books Ltd., Poole, Dorset, England,
591:
Shock, James R., American Airship Bases and Facilities, 1996, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
574:
Shock, James R., American Airship Bases and Facilities, 1996, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
190:
182:
731:
Notes on the Operation of Nonrigid Airships, 1920, Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.
694:
Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
677:
Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
643:
Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
621:
Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
544:
Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
524:
Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
507:
Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida,
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for its gondolas. The Curtiss-built gondolas used by Goodyear and Goodrich used modified
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Ventry, Arthur Frederick Daubeney Eveleigh-de Moleyns; Koleśnik, Eugène M. (1982).
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were patrol airships operated by the United States Navy during and shortly after
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565:, New York: St Martin's Press, 1961, Library of Congress 64-12336, p. 147.
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Kite Balloons to Airships . . . the Navy's Lighter-than-Air Experience
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Kite Balloons to Airships . . . the Navy's Lighter-than-Air Experience
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In mid-1918 or early-1919 three gondolas were rebuilt by Goodyear as
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Kite Balloons to Airships... the Navy's Lighter-than-Air Experience
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fiasco. The result was the very successful B-type airships. Dr.
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was asked to develop a theory of airship design, Lt.
129:assembled the gondolas for all of those 14 ships.
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772:. Poole, Dorset, England: Blandford Press Ltd.
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763:. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office.
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104:. The Navy had learned a great deal from the
810:. Edgewater Florida: Atlantis Productions.
791:. Edgewater Florida: Atlantis Productions.
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393:List of airships of the United States Navy
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360:927 mi (1,492 km, 806 nmi)
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230:operated from San Diego and Coco Solo.
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466:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
354:35 mph (56 km/h, 30 kn)
348:47 mph (76 km/h, 41 kn)
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789:American Airship Bases and Facilities
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323:84,000 cu ft (2,380 m)
296:Specifications (Curtiss-built B-type)
311:163 ft 0 in (49.70 m)
958:1910s United States patrol aircraft
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963:Airships of the United States Navy
317:31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
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209:. Bases were also established at
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418:, New York: Orion Books, 1990,
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137:for its two envelopes and with
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740:Althoff, William F.. (1990).
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968:Aircraft first flown in 1917
808:U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962
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7:
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176:Organization for Operations
10:
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759:Grossnick, Roy A. (1986).
121:manufactured 9 envelopes,
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858:non-rigid airship classes
744:. New York: Orion Books.
170:White City Amusement Park
62:White City Amusement Park
32:
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806:Shock, James R. (2001).
787:Shock, James R. (1996).
563:The History of Airships
302:General characteristics
153:blimps were powered by
608:Grossnik, Roy A. 1986
480:Grossnik, Roy A. 1986
183:Chatham, Massachusetts
64:hangar in Chicago, IL
211:San Diego, California
145:fuselages powered by
414:Althoff, William F,
333:V-8 , 100 hp (37 kW)
195:Cape May, New Jersey
187:Montauk, Long Island
151:Connecticut Aircraft
131:Connecticut Aircraft
366:26 hours 30 minutes
225:Operational history
290:United States Navy
207:Pensacola, Florida
77:Primary user
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133:contracted with
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193:in NY City,
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164:First flight
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143:Curtiss JN-4
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86:Number built
668:, page 138.
426:, pgs. 4-5.
339:Performance
331:Curtiss OXX
327:Powerplant:
147:Curtiss OXX
135:U.S. Rubber
125:made 5 and
102:World War I
952:Categories
722:, page 139
599:, page 107
582:, page 106
453:2010-12-22
399:References
364:Endurance:
155:Hall-Scott
702:, page 19
685:, page 18
651:, page 21
629:, page 14
552:, page 15
515:, page 17
381:Lewis gun
379:1 × .303
315:Diameter:
269:Operators
215:Coco Solo
934:see also
742:SkyShips
462:cite web
416:SkyShips
387:See also
372:Armament
203:Key West
123:Goodrich
119:Goodyear
80:US Navy
69:Retired
52:Various
19:B class
321:Volume:
309:Length:
217:in the
127:Curtiss
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358:Range:
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213:, and
201:, and
447:(PDF)
440:(PDF)
38:Role
812:ISBN
793:ISBN
774:ISBN
746:ISBN
716:ISBN
696:ISBN
679:ISBN
662:ISBN
645:ISBN
623:ISBN
593:ISBN
576:ISBN
546:ISBN
526:ISBN
509:ISBN
468:link
420:ISBN
329:1 ×
239:B-17
205:and
106:DN-1
96:The
938:K-1
856:USN
247:-19
243:-18
90:20
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868:A
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
