During World War II, the Nazi and Japanese submarine threat was countered by U.S. Navy and RAF patrols using fixed-wing aircraft
and blimps. The fixed-wing aircraft were the PBY Catalina,
PB4Y Privateer, and the
British Short Sunderland.
This page focuses on the blimps used by the U.S. Navy. The Navy referred to them as lighter-than-air (LTA) aircraft.
PBY CatalinaPBY-4 PrivateerRAF Short SunderlandM-class blimp
The map below 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 that gives its name and location.
Below the map are more detailed descriptions of these LTA bases.
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.
Amapa FieldAmapa Field Amapa, Brazil
Active: 1943-1945
A base for two blimps and three patrol bombers that had buildings for crews and mess facilities. One 5000-foot grass runway. This later became Oiapoque Airport.
Blimps at Amapa Field in 1943
Apalachicola Army AirfieldApalachicola Army Airfield
aka: Apalachicola Regional Airport Apalachicola, Florida, US
Active: 1939-1947
From U.S. Navy LTA monograph: Numerous auxiliary stations and HTA air stations in the continental U.S. had LTA detachments assigned. This list includes: Apalachicola, Banana River... Atkinson FieldAtkinson Field
aka: Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Atkinson Field
aka: Cheddi Jagan International Airport
aka: Atkinson Air Force Base Essequibo, British Guiana
Active: 1941-1949
The airfield served to protect against German U-boats, it was part of the Southern Route for ferrying aircraft to the European theater, and to protect the area's bauxite mines from attack. Bauxite is the raw material for aluminum that was needed for the war effort.
Atkinson Field 1941
Atkinson Field, 1946
Aérodrome de Cuers-PierrefeuAérodrome de Cuers-Pierrefeu Toulon, France
Active: 1943-1945
The name Cayuga is from the construction company that built the airfield. The airfirld was used by the 15th and 23rd Antisubmarine Squadrons as well as ZP-21. Cocorote Airport (1935-1952)Cocorote Airport (1935-1952) Fortaleza, Brazil
Active: 1944-1946
This is not a misplaced marker in the ocean. There's land here. Zoom in to see. Goodyear Training FieldGoodyear Training Field Wingfoot Lake, Ohio, US
Active: 1944-1945
Used two portable stick mooring masts. It was a sub-base of Albrook Field and later Howard Field which used for dispersal and overflow units as part of the defense of the Panama Canal. La Senia AirportLa Senia Airport
aka: Ahmed Ben Bella Airport
aka: Es-Senia - Ben Bella Airport Es-Senia, Algeria
Active: 1942-1944
MandingaMandinga , Mandinga, Panama
Active: 1944-1944
Used by: ZP-41
Used a portable mooring mast. In operation from February to September. This base is mentioned in a few documents, including "Panama At War: Blimps, Crash Boats, Peashooters, and Herman the German" Marechal Cunha Machado International AirportMarechal Cunha Machado International Airport
aka: Tirirical Airport São Luís, Brazil
Active: 1943-1945
While NAS North Sydney was intended to operate dirigible airships, these never arrived before the war ended NAS Patuxent RiverNAS Patuxent River St. Mary's County, Maryland, US
Active: 1943-9999
NAS Rockaway was immediately east of Fort Tilden. It was a large base, with 1,200 enlisted men and 105 oficers. Naval Air Auxiliary Station EurekaNaval Air Auxiliary Station Eureka
aka: Eureka Municipal Airport Eureka, California, US
Active: 1943-1945
Naval Air Auxiliary Station WatsonvilleNaval Air Auxiliary Station Watsonville
aka: Watsonville Municipal Airport Watsonville, California, US
Active: 1943-1945
Naval Air Facility MaceioNaval Air Facility Maceio
aka: Zumbi dos Palmares International Airport
aka: Campo dos Palmares Airport Maceio, Brazil
Active: 1943-1945
A 1943 aerial view looking west at the ramp of CGAS Cape May.
Naval Air Station Elizabeth CityNaval Air Station Elizabeth City
aka: Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City Elizabeth City, North Carolina, US
Active: 1940-1957
NAS Key West is where the ZJ-1 Squadron was formed on February 10, 1944. Detachment One of ZJ-1 operated several K-class and G-class blimps out of Naval Air Station (NAS) South Weymouth, Massachusetts. Sub-detachments also operated from Elizabeth Field on Fisher's Island, New York; the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia; and the Naval Mine Warfare Test Station, Solomons, Maryland. ZJ-1 recovered torpedos for Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island.
Aerial view of NAS Key West in the 1940s
Naval Air Station LakehurstNaval Air Station Lakehurst
aka: Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
aka: Fort Dix Trenton, New Jersey, US
Six blimps stored in one of the two massive hangars at NAS Santa Ana
MCAS Tustin hangar No. 2
Naval Air Station South WeymouthNaval Air Station South Weymouth
aka: South Weymouth Naval Air Station South Weymouth, Massachussetts, US
Active: 1941-1997
Naval Air Station TrinidadNaval Air Station Trinidad
aka: Carlsen Army Airfield
aka: Carlsen Air Force Base
aka: Edinburgh Field Chaguanas, Trinidad
Active: 1941-1949
Naval Auxiliary Air Station SheltonNaval Auxiliary Air Station Shelton
aka: Sanderson Field (after 1966)
aka: Mason County Airport (before 1941) Shelton, Washington, US
Active: 1943-1955
The first blimp (coming from NAS Tillamook) landed at NAAS Shelton in November 1944.
NAAS Shelton, WA blimp 1945, Mason County Historical Museum
NAAS Shelton, WA showing blimp on runway, 1945. That's probably the docking mast in the circular clearing to the right., Mason County Historical Museum
Naval Auxiliary Air Station, North BendNaval Auxiliary Air Station, North Bend
aka: Southwest Oregon Regional Airport
aka: North Bend Municipal Airport North Bend, Oregon, US
Active: 1943-1947
Superfund site. The Kite Balloons to Airships document mentions Dahlgren, Virginia as one of the auxiliary sites for U.S. Navy blimps. Pisa International AirportPisa International Airport
aka: Pisa-San Giusto Airport Pisa, Italy
Active: 1943-1945
P-47 Thunderbolts were flown from this field. From Don Kaiser: German POWs were being held in a fenced-in area near Pisa. When a ZP-14 blimp dumped some excess fuel, the local civilians were very happy because they thought the Americans were spraying for mosquitos but the German POWs were very frightened because they thought they were being attacked. They began digging foxholes.
US Navy airship K-101 of Airship Patrol Squadron ZP-14 at Pisa, Italy,
Quillayute Naval Auxiliary Air StationQuillayute Naval Auxiliary Air Station
aka: Quillayute Airport Clallam County, Washington, US
Active: 1942-1945
There was a mobile mooring mast at the RAF Takali airfield for use by ZP-14 airships according to the U.S. Navy. There were two ZP-14 blimps operating out of Takali. The first one had some problem with the purity of the helium and was replaced by a second one. The map marker is approximate, but should be close to the actual location, as well as close to today's Malta Aviation Museum.
U.S. Navy blimp over the old capital city, Mdina, near RAF Takali. That's a Supermarine Spitfire on the ground., Malta Aviation Museum
U.S. Navy blimp moored at RAF Takali, Malta Aviation Museum
School children tour the gondola, Malta Aviation Museum
Roosevelt Roads Naval StationRoosevelt Roads Naval Station Ceiba, Puerto Rico, US
Active: 1943-2004
This base was acquired by the U.S. as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement with the UK. Zandery AirportZandery Airport Zanderij, Witsanti, Suriname
Active: 1941-1946
The image below shows the G, K, L, and M class airships.
Goodyear blimpsM-class blimp with much larger control car
In the table below, all dimensions (length and diameter) are in feet. The rightmost column is the number built.
There were more K-class airships built than all others.
Type
Len
Dia
Built
Crew
G-class
186.6
42.0
7
3
K-class
253.0
57.0
133
10
L-class
147.5
39.8
10
2
M-class
302.0
69.5
4
14
N-class
343.0
76.0
1
21
Squadrons
LTA Squadron Designations
ZJ
Airship Utility Squadron
ZP
Airship Patrol Squadron
ZW
Airship Airborne Early Warning Squadron
ZX
Airship Development Squadron
Airship assignments
The following list of airship assignments has lots of holes. If you can help fill in the squadron assignments, please let us know.
Some of the information on this page was obtained from American Airship Bases & Facilities by James R. Shock
U.S. Navy Blimps in South America
Photos
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.K-89 drops a life to a flyer of an overturned Curtiss Observation Plane somewhere in the Atlantic
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. We've re-edited this publication so it's easier to read, especially if you're reading on
a small screen.
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