Up Ship - Naval Lighter Than Air

[PhrogPhlyer]

This day in Naval Aviation, 20 April 1917, Pensacola FL.
First flight of a US Navy blimp, the DN-1, later referred to as a Class A ship.
Pilots were LCDR Frank M. McCrary USN and LT Stanley V. Parker assisted by PO Jimmy Shade.

Unfortunately the DN-1 was a complete failure. It lacked lift, just barely made 35 mph and the transmission overheated, melting the bearings.

 

[ea6bflyr]

This day in Naval Aviation, 20 April 1917, Pensacola FL.
First flight of a US Navy blimp, the DN-1, later referred to as a Class A ship.
Pilots were LCDR Frank M. McCrary USN and LT Stanley V. Parker assisted by PO Jimmy Shade.

Unfortunately the DN-1 was a complete failure. It lacked lift, just barely made 35 mph and the transmission overheated, melting the bearings.

The blimp hangar barge is pretty interesting. I wonder how long those stuck around before the US Navy abandoned them.

edit: Found out it only lasted until 1920.

Five stories tall, Hangar Barge Number One was one of the most unique vessels to ever enter the U.S. naval fleet. Built to house the Navy’s first airship, the DN-1, the hangar lasted only 5 years. Launched in 1915 at the American Bridge Company’s shipyard on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, towed down the Mississippi and along the Caribbean coast until it reached its Pensacola NAS home, it was scrapped in 1920 as unsuitable for either airship or airplane use.

Aerial Age Weekly Magazine described it as follows:
The hangar is of steel, 60 by 140 feet, and it draws eighteen inches of water. The hull, six feet deep, is divided into eight watertight compartments. The steel frame is as massive as the girders of a railroad bridge. The hood, or superstructure, is so designed that it can be taken down and packed on the deck.

Built by the American Bridge Company, Marine Division at their Ohio River shipyard near Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the barge traveled over 1,000 miles to reach its home in the Wet Basin at Pensacola NAS. Built in 1852 to support the wooden ships of Navy’s Caribbean Squadron, it provided a berth for Hangar Barge Number One until it was pushed ashore to be used as a land based dirigible and airport hangar.[/TD]

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

The floating hangar design was used by many including Count Zeppelin to minimize cross wind interaction when entering or exiting the hangar.

Here's a bit more info on the Pensacola shed.

Floating Hangar By Roy Mize, Mountain View, CA

​ 1916 Hangar Barge Number One – Final Assembly in Wet Basin Five stories tall, Hangar Barge Number One was one of the most unique vessels to ever enter the U.S. naval fleet. Built to house the Navy’s first airship, the DN-1, the hangar lasted only 5 years. Launched in 1915 at the American Bridge Company’s shipyard on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, towed down the Mississippi and along the Caribbean coast until it reached its Pensacola NAS home, it was scrapped in 1920 as unsuitable for either airship or airplane use. The DN-1, D for dirigible, N for Navy, and 1 as the first of its kind, was listed as a school-ship, a training dirigible for pilots of a future fleet. When delivered, it never met its potential and the Navy deflated its gasbag and sold it to the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company dirigible division. Its hangar never received a hull number and never officially received a name. Naval correspondence listed it as an “Unclassified District Craft” and described it as simply Hangar Barge Number One. Aerial Age Weekly Magazine described it as follows: The hangar is of steel, 60 by 140 feet, and it draws eighteen inches of water. The hull, six feet deep, is divided into eight watertight compartments. The steel frame is as massive as the girders of a railroad bridge. The hood, or superstructure, is so designed that it can be taken down and packed on the deck. Built by the American Bridge Company, Marine Division at their Ohio River shipyard near Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the barge traveled over 1,000 miles to reach its home in the Wet Basin at Pensacola NAS. Built in 1852 to support the wooden ships of Navy’s Caribbean Squadron, it provided a berth for Hangar Barge Number One until it was pushed ashore to be used as a land based dirigible and airport hangar. 1917 DN-1 Final Assembly in Hangar Barge Number One 1917 Dirigible DN-1 Approaching Hangar on April 20, 1917 Aerial View – 1917 Hangar Barge Number One in Wet Basin 1918 Hangar Barge Number One Ready to be Put Ashore Aerial View – 1918 Hangar Barge on Land next to New Airship Hangar

 

[JTS11]

The blimp hangar barge is pretty interesting. I wonder how long those stuck around before the US Navy abandoned them.

edit: Found out it only lasted until 1920.

Where are there still existing blimp hangars? Lakehurst and one on the West Coast off the top of my head (can't remember where though on West Coast)? Thx in advance.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

NAS Santa Ana/MCAS Tustin (one hangar remains), and NAS Moffet.
This article lists most of the remaining shed throughout the world.

Airship Hangars Around The World

From the late 19th century to the period between the World Wars, hundreds of airship hangars were built in Western Europe and the USA to house the massive lighter-than-air craft. Today, only a hand…

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