Up Ship - Naval Lighter Than Air

[Flash]

Interesting that the balloon pilot wings are available at the NEX.
Makes me wonder when the last designation was awarded.

They ceased being an authorized uniform item in 1978 but Wiki says they were awarded on a case by case basis afterwards without any citation. I distinctly remember a Naval Aviation News or like publication that had an article maybe 20 or more years ago about an NROTC unit in the southwest (University of New Mexico maybe?) that sort of semi-officially had some sort of ballooning program because they were near some big ballooning spot, my memory is pretty hazy about it and I may be getting the details wrong. As part of the program I think some of the instructors got the half wings, not sure how official that was though.

Holy crap, I found an article about the Navy Hot Air Balloon Team in Naval Aviation News from 1998! And I was right, at the time it was flown by the University of New Mexico's NROTC unit. Nothing about the half wings though, that may have been in another article....maybe. There is a Facebook page for the team too, can't look at it now though.

 

[Griz882]

Nothing about the half wings though

Actually there is…the pdf is messed up a bit but if you read the text hidden under the picture description (showing a female midshipman) you can read the words “authorized to wear the half wings of dirigible pilots…”Congratulations on saving that one particular penguin!

 

[Flash]

Actually there is…the pdf is messed up a bit but if you read the text hidden under the picture description (showing a female midshipman) you can read the words “authorized to wear the half wings of dirigible pilots…”Congratulations on saving that one particular penguin!

Huh, good catch. Still wonder how official they were though.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

“authorized to wear the half wings of dirigible pilots…”

I'll bet that gets a few double takes. Reminds me of when I used to wear WWI German Zeppelin Commander wings to the wardroom afloat. Drove the grunt officers nuts.

 

[jointhelocalizer]

Safety third!

I literally heard this at a SSD when I was at the FRS.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

We don't need no stinkin' tail hook!

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

Size matters.

USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) moored to USS Patoka (AO-9), circa 1924.


And again in 1931.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

Formation flying has always been a hallmark of Naval Aviation.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Long ago I had a sim instructor in Meridian who started his career with half a wing.

I remember a Corpus sim IP who was a blimp dude too, back in my day

 

[ea6bflyr]

Formation flying has always been a hallmark of Naval Aviation.

View attachment 42632View attachment 42631

A Fleet of blimps.

 

[wink]

Familiar to many of you, ChainBridge in Fairfax County was the site of the first Union Army deployment of its Balloon Corps. Inflated in Washington, the hydrogen gas balloon was then walked to and then across chain bridge to the battlefield at Lewinsville, VA, making it the first American use of an aircraft in battle.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

Zeppelin may have gotten the first idea for his airship in 1863 while he participated in the US Civil War as an observer and active fighter. A few years later, he mentions for the first time in his diary the idea of constructing a new type of airship. Zeppelin had his first flying experience as an observer during the Civil War. The photo shows the filling of a balloon of the short-lived Union Army Balloon Corps with the help of mobile hydrogen generators.

Count Zeppelin is seen here, second from right.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

NAS North Island in 1924. A lot quieter than I remember.
The ZR-1, USS Shenandoah, reparations Zeppelin, and last with a detached gondola.

 

[Gatordev]

NAS North Island in 1924. A lot quieter than I remember.

I bet even back then, it took at least an hour to get off the island at the end of the day.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

I bet even back then, it took at least an hour to get off the island at the end of the day.

Waiting for the ferry is such a pain.

Ordinally, North Island was divided Nth/Sth between the Nave and the Army.
For the surface ship minded, this extremely detailed map includes all the anchorages and moorings available in 1923.