The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Isadore Stessel - US Navy Blimp K-74 (7/18/1943) - Oct. 20th, 2004

www.goldcoast-railroad.org ^ | March-April, 1997 | YNC Anthony Attwood - Naval Aviation News

[colorado tanker]

Whaaat?? Those guys attacked a U-Boat with nothing between them and the Boat but a gas bag?? They didn't refuse the mission because they didn't have armor plating and an escort, like those woosies in Iraq?? And the President sent them into combat without body armor?? Shocking, positively shocking.

[Grzegorz 246]

[SAMWolf]

We had to put something in to see if you'd catch it. ;-)

[SAMWolf]

But it's a good worthwhile hurt, isn't it.

Thank you Samwise and Hobbit Lass for your support of our troops.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks CT.

U-Boats Offshore and Operation Drumbeat are also pretty good books on how unprepared and stubborn about changing bad policy we were. A lot of seamen paid for that with their lives.

[SAMWolf]

Times have sure changed haven't they?

[SAMWolf]

Afternoon Grzegorz 246

[PAR35]

I thought you were starting a "mistery ship photo" contest like Hazegray used to run. http://www.hazegray.org/mysteries/

[snippy_about_it]

Here is the link to the original pic.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for your kind words. It's good to know we're not boring folks!

[snippy_about_it]

Neat sight. We've often thought of having a "test" of some sort based on past threads. Someday maybe. :-)

[alfa6]

Many years ago I had read about the US Navys metal clad airship. This was not a ridgid frame type airship, think Hindenburg or Macon, but rather a blimp in that it did not have a metal frame. I had putzed around on Google a while back looking for it without any success, tonight however I thought of a different search phrase and woo hoo succes.

Ladies and Gentleman the... ZMC-2

From the NAS Gross Ile web site...http://nasgi.org/zmc2.htm

The ZMC-2 (serial number A8282) was built by the Metalcald Airship Corporation (formerly the Aircraft Development Corporation) in Detroit (Grosse Ile), MI. It was a noteworthy innovation in airship building and, although it was destined for the U.S. Navy, its designation was at variance with the usual nomenclature practice. "MC" stood for "Metal Clad" and the figure "2" indicated the gas content, which was 200,000 cu.ft (5,6663.4 cu.m). The balloon envelope was reinforced with ribs on the inside and conveyed the impression that with this structure the airship belonged to the rigid type, as the envelope was made of many small "Alclad" duralumin sheets of 0.08 in (2 mm) thickness, joined together. Yet, like the "Blimps", ZMC-2 was a non rigid airship in which the pressure to maintain the shape of the envelope was accomplished by inflation of two ballonets inside the envelope. The airship was filled with helium and the gas was in direct contact with the envelope, and not contained in special cells. The metal envelope was made gas-tight through a special manufacturing process whereby a machine developed for the purpose automatically sealed the thin aluminium alloy plates with three million rivets. Perhaps its operation can best be described as a kind of stitch sewing with a metal thread being cut continuously.

The ZMC-2's performance we excellent throughout its span of ten years of operation, and it wore out its original engines, which were replaced by new ones. The airship was in the air for the last time on 19 August 1939, the tenth anniversary of its first trail flight. Afterwards various tests were conducted with it on the ground and it was finally broken up in 1941. From Macmillian Color Series "Balloons and Airships"

Regards

alfa6 :>}

[PAR35]

OK. Thanks. It was mislabeled there.

I appear to have been incorrect in calling it the Macon. From the caption in the alternate text, it appears to be the Akron. (Of course, the open text calls it a K ship when it was a Z ship (ZRS 4 and ZRS 5), so I might be correct after all.)

And now that I read their text again, they are about to drive me into a rant. First Dirigible? I can see not counting the Los Angeles, but what do they think the U.S.S. Shenandoah was? And blimps were being built in the US before rigid airships. The K series blimps trace their ancestry to the earlier blimps; the Akron had nothing to do with their development.

On second thought, I'll stick with the Macon, since I clearly know more than whoever put up the photo on that site.

The alternate text: "Stemming from its 1931 introduction of the USS Akron, the first dirigible in the US, Goodyear Aerospace goes on to produce crewed K-ships, which conduct maritime patrols during World War II and escort 89,000 ships without a single loss to enemy submarine "

[Victoria Delsoul]

Evening all. Less than two weeks for re-election.

[PAR35]

Looking at the inside, I'm not sure blimp is the proper classification. It certainly had more structure than an ordinary blimp but less than a rigid airship. And the design is almost the inverse of a semi-rigid.

[Samwise]

Hobbit Lass and I are the ones who are grateful. Have snippy tell you about my most memorable moment of the morning.

[SAMWolf]

HHHHHHMMMMMM. You're giving me an idea. ;-)

[SAMWolf]

So it was the Akron. Good Job. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Cool! Thanks for the info on the metal clads.

[SAMWolf]

On second thought, I'll stick with the Macon, since I clearly know more than whoever put up the photo on that site

LOL! You sure do, they don't seem to have gotten much right.