WWII LTA Bases

During World War II, the Nazi and Japanese submarine threat was countered by U.S. Navy patrols using fixed-wing aircraft (PBY and PB4Y) and lighter-than-air (LTA) aircraft (blimps). This map shows the locations of the LTA bases. The patrol regions included the coasts of the United States, the Atlantic coast of South America, the Panama Canal Zone, and the western end of the Mediterranean Sea.

Click the markers for a popup information window. Many of these markers have links to additional information.

Help using Google Maps

The Full Screen control in the upper righthand corner of the Google Maps display expands the display to cover the entire computer screen. This full-screen feature is not available on Apple IOS devices like the iPad.

You can exit out of full screen by pressing the Escape key or clicking the control in the upper righthand corner of the display.

Map Satellite Labels

The Map/Satellite control in the upper lefthand corner of the screen lets you choose either the normal map view or the satellite view. The satellite view allows you to see the actual military facility when you zoom in. You can choose to turn Labels on or off. The labels are the names of places, businesses, cities, etc. that appear on the map. You can turn off the labels if they obstruct your view.

Map Satellite Terrain

When you select the Map view, you can turn on terrain features by clicking or touching the Terrain box. This will show things like mountain ranges, similar to looking at a relief map.

+ -

You can zoom in and out in a few ways. The lower righthand corner of the Google Maps display has a plus sign and a minus sign that controls zooming. If you're using a mouse with a scroll wheel, the wheel controls zooming. If you're using an IOS device like an iPhone or iPad, double-tapping the display zooms in but tapping does not zoom out.

Most touch screen devices will zoom by pinching the display with two fingers.

The bases are listed in the table below. The names of the bases and places are what we think their names were at the time or what the Navy used. Some places have different names today.

LTA Bases
BasePlaceUsed by
Amapa FieldAmapa, BrazilZP-41
Apalachicola Army AirfieldApalachicola, FloridaZP-15 ZP-21
Aérodrome de Cuers-PierrefeuToulon, FranceZP-14
Barranquilla AirportBarranquilla, ColumbiaZP-23
Bizerte AirfieldEs-Senia, AlgeriaZP-14
Cagliari Elmas AirportSardinia, ItalyZP-14
Camp CookeLompoc, CaliforniaZP-31
Cannes – Mandelieu AirportCannes, FranceZP-14
Caravelas AirportCaravelas, BrazilZP-42
CayugaHavana Province, CubaZP-21
Cocorote Airport (1935-1952)Fortaleza, BrazilZP-41 ZP-42
Eglin FieldValparaiso, FloridaZP-15
Ensenada AirportEnsenada, Baja California, MexicoZP-31
Fernando de Noronha AirportFernando de Noronha, BrazilZP-42
Fort H. G. WrightFishers Island, New YorkZP-12
GibraltaGibraltaZP-14
Goodyear Training FieldWingfoot Lake, OhioNA
Ibura AirportRecife, BrazilZP-42
Isla de PinosIsla de Pinos, Cuba
La Chorrera Army AirfieldLa Chorrera, PanamaZP-21 ZP-23
Lagens FieldAzoresZP-41
La Senia AirportEs-Senia, AlgeriaZP-14
Lido Beach AirfieldVenice, ItalyZP-14
Littorio AirportRome, ItalyZP-14 ZP-15
RAF Ta KaliMaltaZP-14
Marechal Cunha Machado International AirportSão Luís, BrazilZP-41 ZP-42
Moffett Federal AirfieldSunnyvale, CaliforniaZP-31 ZP-32
NAS BrunswickBrunswick, MaineZP-11
NAS Patuxent RiverSt. Mary's County, MarylandZP-24
Naval Air Auxiliary Station EurekaEureka, CaliforniaZP-32 ZP-33
Naval Air Auxiliary Station WatsonvilleWatsonville, CaliforniaZP-32
Naval Air Facility MaceioMaceio, BrazilZP-41
Naval Air Facility MaceioMaceio, BrazilZP-41 ZP-42
Naval Air Facility San JulianPinar del Río Province, CubaZP-21 ZP-41
Naval Air Station Banana RiverCocoa Beach, FloridaZP-21 ZP-41
Naval Air Station Cape MayCape May, New JerseyZP-12
Naval Air Station Elizabeth CityElizabeth City, North CarolinaZP-14
Naval Air Station GlyncoBrunswick, GeorgiaZP-12 ZP‑15 ZP‑21
Naval Air Station HitchcockHitchcock, TexasZP-22 ZP-23 ZP-24
Naval Air Station HoumaHouma, LousianaZP-21 ZP‑22 ZP‑23
Naval Air Station Key WestBoca Chica Key, Key West, FloridaZP-21 ZX-11
Naval Air Station LakehurstTrenton, New JerseyZP-12 ZP‑41 ZP‑42 ZP‑52
Naval Air Station Port LyauteyKenitra, MoroccoZP-14
Naval Air Station RichmondRichmond, FloridaZP-21 ZP-42
Naval Air Station San JuanMiramar, Puerto RicoZP-21 ZP‑41 ZP‑51
Naval Air Station Santa AnaTustin, CaliforniaZP-1 ZP-31 ZP-32
Naval Air Station SheltonShelton, WashingtonZP-33
Naval Air Station South WeymouthSouth Weymouth, MassachussettsZJ-1 ZP-11 ZP-12
Naval Air Station TillamookTillamook, OregonZP-32 ZP-33
Naval Air Station Tongue PointAstoria, OregonZP-33
Naval Air Station TrinidadChaguanas, TrinidadZP-41 ZP-51
Naval Air Station WeeksvilleWeeksville, North CarolinaZP-1 ZP-12 ZP‑14 ZP‑24
Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Atkinson FieldEssequibo, British GuianaZP-51
Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Bar HarborBar Harbor, MaineZP-11
Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Del MarDel Mar, CaliforniaZP-31
Naval Auxiliary Air Station, North BendNorth Bend, OregonZP-33
Naval Mine Warfare Test StationSolomons, MarylandZJ-1 ZP-12
Naval Station Guantanamo BayGuantanamo Bay, CubaZP-21 ZP‑41 ZP‑51
Naval Support Activity CharlestonNorth Charleston, South CarolinaZP-15
Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren DivisionDahlgren, Virginia
Pisa International AirportPisa, ItalyZP-14
Quillayute Naval Auxiliary Air StationClallam County, WashingtonZP-33
Roosevelt Roads Naval StationCeiba, Puerto RicoZP-3?
San Benito AirportBrownsville, TexasZP-31
Santa Cruz Air Force Base Santa Crux, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilZP-42
Santa Fe AirportSanta Fe, CubaZP-21
Santo Amaro do Ipitanga Airpor Salvador, BrazilZP42
Vernam FieldKingston, JamaicaZP-23
Zandery AirportZanderij, Suriname
LTA Squadron Designations
ZJAirship Utility Squadron
ZPAirship Patrol Squadron
ZWAirship Airborne Early Warning Squadron
ZXAirship Development Squadron
Airships built
G-class blimps7
K-class blimps133
L-class blimps10
M-class blimps4
Goodyear blimps

The following list of airship assignments has lots of holes. If you can help fill in the squadron assignments, please let us know.

Airship assignments
SquadronAirships
ZJ-1G‑7 G‑8 K‑28
ZP-1 (ZP‑31)
ZP-2 (ZP‑12)
ZP-3
ZP-4
ZP-11G‑7 K‑3 K‑4 K‑5 K‑6 K‑8 K‑9 K‑10 K‑11 K‑12 K‑14 K‑15 K‑19 K‑25 K‑27 K‑34 K‑38 K‑42 K‑50 K‑69 K‑82 K‑92 K‑100 K‑125 L‑1
ZP-12K‑16 K‑58 K‑64
ZP-14K‑8 K‑9 K‑10 K‑89 K‑123 K‑101 K‑109 K‑112 K‑114 K‑123 K‑130 K‑134
ZP-15
ZP-21K‑18 K‑19 K‑52 K‑74 M‑2 M‑3 M‑4
ZP-22
ZP-23K‑62
ZP-24
ZP-30
ZP-31K‑22
ZP-32K‑20 K‑21 K‑22 K‑75 K‑107 L‑4 L‑6 L‑8 TC‑13 TC‑14
ZP-33K‑31 K‑87 K‑97
ZP‑41 (ZP‑52)K-52 K‑84 K‑88 K‑90
ZP-42K-36 K‑52 K‑73 K‑84 K‑88 K‑90 K‑98 K‑106 K‑108 K‑110 K‑114 K‑117 K‑118 K‑125 K‑128 K‑131 K‑132
ZP-51K‑16 K‑17 K‑24 K‑32 K‑68 K‑74 K‑94 K‑100 K‑108 K‑124
ZP‑52 (ZP‑41)
ZW-1
ZW-11
ZX-11ZPG-1 ZPG-2 ZPG-2W

Check out Don Kaiser's Airship Squadron pages for lots of photos.

Some of the information on this page was obtained from American Airship Bases & Facilities by James R. Shock

Photos

ZP-14 crashed blimp at Port Lyautey.
ZP-14 crashed blimp at Port Lyautey after a French officer drove onto the field and severed the mooring line. Photo 1944 or 1945 by BM2/c Ed Wood.

Kite Balloons to Airships

Published in 1987 by the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare) and the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, Washington, D.C

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11