World War II and LTA Blimps
With the onset
of war, Moffett
Field was suddenly
transformed from
a base for training
Air Corps cadets
to the Naval Airship
Training Command
responsible for
teaching personnel
how to operate
blimps.
Within months
as many as 20
blimps were on
duty at the base.
"The Santa
Clara Valley is
ideal for our
lighter-than-air
ships," said
Rear Admiral John
Greenslade, commandant
of the Naval district
in charge of the
program. "Atmospheric
conditions, terrain,
proximity to other
naval bases and
nearness to desired
areas for patrol
as well a many
other conditions
make it the only
place in the San
Francisco Bay
Area where a base
should be placed."
The non-rigid
airships as well
as hot air balloons
were regular sights
at the base. The
shadows cast by
the silvery airships
were a far cry
in size from the
blackouts remembered
from the days
when the Macon
passed overhead,
but the blimps
quickly proved
their value.
The great advantage
to the airships
was their ability
to hover, drift
and spot enemy
craft and, like
the Macon, they
could maintain
flight for long
periods of time.
Each blimp, built
at a cost of $300,000,
was 246 feet in
length with a
capacity of 375,000
cubic feet. The
ships were powered
by two motors
and carried from
seven to nine
crewmen. Each
also was armed
with depth bombs
and other weapons.
Unlike the massive
dirigibles, the
blimps were not
equipped with
Sparrowhawks.
They were however,
stocked with live
carrier pigeons,
which were used
to dispatch messages
from on high.
At the "lighter-than-air
school,"
sailors learned
everything from
how to rig and
pilot blimps to
how to maintain
them. Part of
the sailors' training
also was the care
and feeding of
the carrier pigeons.
In additions
to training pilots,
the LTA squadrons
at Moffett Field
were responsible
for patrolling
the Pacific coastline.
After the bombing
of Pearl Harbor,
the fear of a
West Coast invasion
was high. Air
raid drills and
blackouts were
as common as false
sightings of enemy
ships off shore.
The patrols of
Moffett based
crews played a
critical role
in easing the
fears of a jittery
public.
Moffett's record
for ship and mine
detection was
flawless if not
altogether eventful.
After the initial
fear passed, the
blimp pilots found
a benefit of their
patrols other
than searching
for ships that
didn't exist.
While scanning
the Pacific Ocean,
the blimp crews
would spot schools
of fish and report
their locations
to fishing fleets
in San Francisco
and Monterey.
The activity became
so popular that
in January 1944,
Moffett began
holding official
classes for pilots
and crew on how
to identify and
recognize various
schools of fish.
These sightings
were said to have
saved fishermen
much time and
money.
During this time,
Moffett Field
had become the
nation's only
air base devoted
exclusively to
lighter-than-air
aircraft.
The training for
pilots was particularly
intense. Before
they could receive
their official
designation as
a Naval Aviator
(airship), aviation
cadets had to
first qualify
as pilot of free
balloons, similar
to the hot air
balloons of today.
The massive interior
of Hangar 1,
198 feet high,
proved a valuable
area for this
kind of training
in any kind of
weather.
But even this
monsterous structure
was not sufficient
to handle the
demand for storage
and training.
In 1942, two more
hangars were added
to the base. Hangar
Two was constructed
in a rapid 372
days. Hangar Three
went up in 208.
Because of a wartime
shortage of steel,
they were primarily
made of wood and
concrete.
That same year
Moffett Field
became not only
the place where
blimp pilots were
trained, but also
where blimps were
built. Moffett's
newly established
Assembly and Repair
Department had
the job of building
training airships,
L-type and regular
K-type. This would
prove to be the
peak of LTA production
in U.S. history.
In mid-1942,
the Navy designated
Moffett a joint
LTA and HTA (heavier
than air) facility.
At first the designation
had little impact.
But during the
following two
years, the HTA
program grew as
the LTA program
began to decline.
In January 1944,
the last airship
arrived at Moffett
for assembly.
Two months later,
Moffett graduated
its last training
class for pilots
and crew. And
in August 1947,
a blimp went down
off the Cape of
Mendocino. No
lives were lost,
but it would be
the last flight
for the LTA program
at Moffett.
That same month,
the last blimp
at Moffett Field
was deflated.
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