American Defenders of Land, Sea & Sky
Economic Crisis at Home Between World Wars (1919-1941)
We built and housed dirigibles in enormous hangars.
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American Defenders of Land, Sea & Sky Economic Crisis at Home Between World Wars (1919-1941) |
We built and housed dirigibles in enormous hangars. |
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Lakehurst Naval Air Station Germany invented huge hydrogen-filled balloons called "dirigibles" for use in World War I. In 1921, the United States started its own dirigible program. An enormous hangar almost 1000 feet long and 200 feet high was constructed! Inside, Naval engineers built America's first dirigible, the Shenandoah. Lighter-than-air craft were also being used for commercial passenger travel and, by 1928, the Lakehurst facility was an international airport. But when Germany's largest passenger airship, Hindenburg, exploded in flames while landing here in 1937, the United States cancelled the Navy's dirigible program. Because blimps had a better safety record, the Navy used them to protect our ships from enemy submarine attacks during World War II. The hangar looks different now that training activities take place in it. |
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