List of airships of the United States Navy identifies the

airships An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding ai ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

by type, identification, and class. __TOC__

Rigid airships (ZR)

Fabric-clad rigid airships

The fabric-clad rigid airships were given commissions, the same as warships. * - served 1923-25, lost 3 September 1925 due to structural failure while in line squalls, 14 killed * (ZR-2) - British-built as ''R38'', lost 24 August 1921 before US Navy acceptance (and before official use of the ZR-2 designation) due to severe control inputs at low altitude and high speed far in excess of structural strength, 44 killed including 16 USN personnel * - German-built as ''LZ 126'', served 1924-39 (decommissioned 1932, and dismantled 1940) * - aircraft carrier served 1931-33, lost 4 April 1933 in a storm, 73 killed * - aircraft carrier served 1933-35, lost 12 February 1935 due to structural failure, 2 killed ( ZRCV), proposed successor to the ''Akron'' class, not built

Other airships

All other airships were registered as aircraft.

Metal rigid airships

* ZMC-2, a metalclad-airship built by the Aircraft Development Corp - 1929-41 (scrapped)

Semi-rigid airships

* O-1 Airship

Blimps (non-rigid airships)

* A class blimp (experimental) * B class blimp (patrol & training) * C class blimp (patrol) * D class blimp (patrol) * E class blimp (trainer) * F class blimp (trainer) * G class blimp (trainer & utility airship) (ZNN-GGrossnick, Roy A., "Kite Balloons to Airships. . . the Navy's Lighter-than-air Experience", Washington, Government Printing Office, 1986
/ref>) (ZGT) * H class blimp (observation) * J class blimp (trainer) * K-1 blimp (experimental) * K class blimp (anti-submarine patrol) (ZNP-K) **(ZSG-2, ZSG-3, ZSG-4, ZP5K) * L class blimp (trainer) (ZNN-L) * M class blimp (anti-submarine patrol) (ZNP-M) * N class blimp (anti-submarine patrol & AEW) (ZPN-1, ZPG-1) **(ZPG-2, ZPG-2W) **(ZPG-3W), largest blimp ever built * TC class blimp - transferred from US Army * MZ-3A (experimental) first Navy airship in 40 years

Gallery

Image:USS Shenandoah NAS San Diego.jpg, USS ''Shenandoah'' (ZR-1) Image:Zr2aloft.jpg, R38 / ZR-2 Image:ZR3 USS Los Angeles an Kriegsschiff.jpg, USS ''Los Angeles'' (ZR-3) Image:ZRS-4 landing h42156.jpg, USS ''Akron'' (ZRS-4)

Footnotes

References

* Allen, Hugh, "The Story of the Airship (non-rigid), Akron, Ohio, 1943 * Althoff, William F., "Sky Ships" New York, Orion Books, 1990, * Grossnick, Roy A., "Kite Balloons to Airships. . . the Navy's Lighter-than-air Experience", Washington, Government Printing Office, 1986 * Higham, Robin, "The British Rigid Airship, 1908–1931: A Study in Weapons Policy," London, G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd. * Mowthorpe, Ces, "Battle Bags," Phoenix Mill, Far Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, Allan Sutton Publishing, 1995 * Shock, James R., "U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, Edgewater, Florida, Atlantis Productions, 2001, * Vaeth, J. Gordon, "Blimps & U-Boats", Annapolis, Maryland, US Naval Institute Press, 1992, * Ventry, Lord & Kolesnik, Eugen M., "Airship Saga," Poole, Dorset, Britain, Blandford Press, 1982, {{US Navy navbox United States Navy Airships

Airships of the United States Navy Airships of the United States Navy