H-class blimp
| H class | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Observation airship |
| Manufacturer | Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation |
| Introduction | 1921 |
| Retired | 1923 |
| Primary users | United States Navy United States Army |
| Number built | 2 |
The H class blimp was an observation airship built for the U.S. Navy in the early 1920s. The original "H" Class design of 1919 was for a twin engined airship of approximately 80,000 cubic feet volume. Commander Lewis Maxfield (who was to have commanded the ZR-2, better known as the R38, and died in its crash) suggested that a small airship which could be used either as a tethered kite balloon, or be towed by a ship until releasing its cable, would be able to scout on its own.[1] The concept was an airship similar to the later Army Motorized Kite Balloons.
Operational history
After test flights at Wingfoot Lake, H-1 was shipped to Rockaway in May 1921. During the summer of 1921, H-1 completed six flights and, on its seventh, a hard landing pitched the crew out of the control car. H-1 free ballooned as far as Scardale, New York where a farmer was able to grab the rip cord and tie the blimp down. During the night it was deflated. The deflated H-1 was shipped back to Rockaway in time to be destroyed in the hangar fire of August 31, 1921.[2]
A second H-type was acquired on a Navy contract but supplied directly to the U.S. Army which operated it as the OB-1. OB-1 varied in several ways from the H-1.[3] The shift from hydrogen to helium lift gas in 1923 seriously degraded the OB-1's performance. The OB-1 was damaged on 6 October 1923 and never re-inflated as the forthcoming TA type airship would meet the training role. OB-1 was declared surplus at the end of 1923.[4]
Operators
United States
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Length: 94 ft 10 in (28.91 m)
- Diameter: 32 ft 8 in (9.96 m)
- Height: 40 ft 10 in (12.45 m)
- Volume: 43,030 ft3 (1,218 m3)
- Useful lift: 1,146 lb (520 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lawrence L-4, 60 hp (45 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 50 mph (80 km/h)
- Range: 400 miles (640 km)
- Endurance: 7 hours
- Service ceiling: 6,000 ft (1,830 m)
References
- ↑ Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida, ISBN 0-9639743-8-6, page 35
- ↑ Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida, ISBN 0-9639743-8-6, page 35
- ↑ Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida, ISBN 0-9639743-8-6, page 36
- ↑ Shock, James R., U.S. Army Airships, 1908-1942, 2002, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida, ISBN 0-9639743-9-4, page 60
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See also
- Related lists
