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.
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.
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.
| Base | Place | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| Amapa Field | Amapa, Brazil | ZP-41 |
| Apalachicola Army Airfield | Apalachicola, Florida | ZP-15 ZP-21 |
| Aérodrome de Cuers-Pierrefeu | Toulon, France | ZP-14 |
| Barranquilla Airport | Barranquilla, Columbia | ZP-23 |
| Bizerte Airfield | Es-Senia, Algeria | ZP-14 |
| Cagliari Elmas Airport | Sardinia, Italy | ZP-14 |
| Camp Cooke | Lompoc, California | ZP-31 |
| Cannes – Mandelieu Airport | Cannes, France | ZP-14 |
| Caravelas Airport | Caravelas, Brazil | ZP-42 |
| Cayuga | Havana Province, Cuba | ZP-21 |
| Cocorote Airport (1935-1952) | Fortaleza, Brazil | ZP-41 ZP-42 |
| Eglin Field | Valparaiso, Florida | ZP-15 |
| Ensenada Airport | Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico | ZP-31 |
| Fernando de Noronha Airport | Fernando de Noronha, Brazil | ZP-42 |
| Fort H. G. Wright | Fishers Island, New York | ZP-12 |
| Gibralta | Gibralta | ZP-14 |
| Goodyear Training Field | Wingfoot Lake, Ohio | NA |
| Ibura Airport | Recife, Brazil | ZP-42 |
| Isla de Pinos | Isla de Pinos, Cuba | |
| La Chorrera Army Airfield | La Chorrera, Panama | ZP-21 ZP-23 |
| Lagens Field | Azores | ZP-41 |
| La Senia Airport | Es-Senia, Algeria | ZP-14 |
| Lido Beach Airfield | Venice, Italy | ZP-14 |
| Littorio Airport | Rome, Italy | ZP-14 ZP-15 |
| RAF Ta Kali | Malta | ZP-14 |
| Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport | São Luís, Brazil | ZP-41 ZP-42 |
| Moffett Federal Airfield | Sunnyvale, California | ZP-31 ZP-32 |
| NAS Brunswick | Brunswick, Maine | ZP-11 |
| NAS Patuxent River | St. Mary's County, Maryland | ZP-24 |
| Naval Air Auxiliary Station Eureka | Eureka, California | ZP-32 ZP-33 |
| Naval Air Auxiliary Station Watsonville | Watsonville, California | ZP-32 |
| Naval Air Facility Maceio | Maceio, Brazil | ZP-41 |
| Naval Air Facility Maceio | Maceio, Brazil | ZP-41 ZP-42 |
| Naval Air Facility San Julian | Pinar del Río Province, Cuba | ZP-21 ZP-41 |
| Naval Air Station Banana River | Cocoa Beach, Florida | ZP-21 ZP-41 |
| Naval Air Station Cape May | Cape May, New Jersey | ZP-12 |
| Naval Air Station Elizabeth City | Elizabeth City, North Carolina | ZP-14 |
| Naval Air Station Glynco | Brunswick, Georgia | ZP-12 ZP‑15 ZP‑21 |
| Naval Air Station Hitchcock | Hitchcock, Texas | ZP-22 ZP-23 ZP-24 |
| Naval Air Station Houma | Houma, Lousiana | ZP-21 ZP‑22 ZP‑23 |
| Naval Air Station Key West | Boca Chica Key, Key West, Florida | ZP-21 ZX-11 |
| Naval Air Station Lakehurst | Trenton, New Jersey | ZP-12 ZP‑41 ZP‑42 ZP‑52 |
| Naval Air Station Port Lyautey | Kenitra, Morocco | ZP-14 |
| Naval Air Station Richmond | Richmond, Florida | ZP-21 ZP-42 |
| Naval Air Station San Juan | Miramar, Puerto Rico | ZP-21 ZP‑41 ZP‑51 |
| Naval Air Station Santa Ana | Tustin, California | ZP-1 ZP-31 ZP-32 |
| Naval Air Station Shelton | Shelton, Washington | ZP-33 |
| Naval Air Station South Weymouth | South Weymouth, Massachussetts | ZJ-1 ZP-11 ZP-12 |
| Naval Air Station Tillamook | Tillamook, Oregon | ZP-32 ZP-33 |
| Naval Air Station Tongue Point | Astoria, Oregon | ZP-33 |
| Naval Air Station Trinidad | Chaguanas, Trinidad | ZP-41 ZP-51 |
| Naval Air Station Weeksville | Weeksville, North Carolina | ZP-1 ZP-12 ZP‑14 ZP‑24 |
| Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Atkinson Field | Essequibo, British Guiana | ZP-51 |
| Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Bar Harbor | Bar Harbor, Maine | ZP-11 |
| Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Del Mar | Del Mar, California | ZP-31 |
| Naval Auxiliary Air Station, North Bend | North Bend, Oregon | ZP-33 |
| Naval Mine Warfare Test Station | Solomons, Maryland | ZJ-1 ZP-12 |
| Naval Station Guantanamo Bay | Guantanamo Bay, Cuba | ZP-21 ZP‑41 ZP‑51 |
| Naval Support Activity Charleston | North Charleston, South Carolina | ZP-15 |
| Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division | Dahlgren, Virginia | |
| Pisa International Airport | Pisa, Italy | ZP-14 |
| Quillayute Naval Auxiliary Air Station | Clallam County, Washington | ZP-33 |
| Roosevelt Roads Naval Station | Ceiba, Puerto Rico | ZP-3? |
| San Benito Airport | Brownsville, Texas | ZP-31 |
| Santa Cruz Air Force Base | Santa Crux, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ZP-42 |
| Santa Fe Airport | Santa Fe, Cuba | ZP-21 |
| Santo Amaro do Ipitanga Airpor | Salvador, Brazil | ZP42 |
| Vernam Field | Kingston, Jamaica | ZP-23 |
| Zandery Airport | Zanderij, Suriname |
| ZJ | Airship Utility Squadron |
| ZP | Airship Patrol Squadron |
| ZW | Airship Airborne Early Warning Squadron |
| ZX | Airship Development Squadron |
| G-class blimps | 7 |
| K-class blimps | 133 |
| L-class blimps | 10 |
| M-class blimps | 4 |
The following list of airship assignments has lots of holes. If you can help fill in the squadron assignments, please let us know.
| Squadron | Airships |
|---|---|
| ZJ-1 | G‑7 G‑8 K‑28 |
| ZP-1 (ZP‑31) | |
| ZP-2 (ZP‑12) | |
| ZP-3 | |
| ZP-4 | |
| ZP-11 | G‑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-12 | K‑16 K‑58 K‑64 |
| ZP-14 | K‑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-21 | K‑18 K‑19 K‑52 K‑74 M‑2 M‑3 M‑4 |
| ZP-22 | |
| ZP-23 | K‑62 |
| ZP-24 | |
| ZP-30 | |
| ZP-31 | K‑22 |
| ZP-32 | K‑20 K‑21 K‑22 K‑75 K‑107 L‑4 L‑6 L‑8 TC‑13 TC‑14 |
| ZP-33 | K‑31 K‑87 K‑97 |
| ZP‑41 (ZP‑52) | K-52 K‑84 K‑88 K‑90 |
| ZP-42 | K-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-51 | K‑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-11 | ZPG-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
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