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9 Gasbags Development of the Navy LTA Program When the United States entered World War I the Navy had barely taken its first steps in the realm of lighter-than-air aviation (LTA). Total inventory included one soon-to-be grounded dirigible, one floating dirigible hangar, one kite balloon, and one free balloon. During the next 19 months, however, interest in this new field increased exponentially, with numerous bases established in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere, and substantial purchases of modern airships. But while American involvement in LTA activities before 1917 had been limited, such was not the case in Europe where major combatants had made significant commitments of money, manpower, and materiel. Several categories of “gasbags” had evolved. The rigid airship, of which the zeppelin was the most famous, was constructed around a lightweight metal skeleton and was the largest example of its type. Nonrigid airships, similar in shape but smaller, lacked internal skeletons. The British eventually nicknamed this variety “blimps.” Both types were also termed dirigibles interchangeably and were powered by one or more motors. Kite balloons were nonrigid gasbags, without motors, roughly cylindrical in shape, with a basket suspended beneath. They were towed at sea or tethered if used on land. Free balloons, spherical in shape, functioned in a similar fashion. By 1917, airships performed many tasks, from scouting and observation to bombardment . Hydrogen-filled airships offered excellent visibility and great staying power, offset by slow speed, high danger of fire, and significant infrastructure requirements. Kite balloons towed behind vessels also served many uses. Observers could spot torpedo wakes, identify U-boats at long distances, and deceive the enemy as to convoys’ true direction. The Unites States was not unaware of these developments. Captain Mark Bristol, head of the prewar Office of Aeronautics, helped fuel initial interest in LTA matters, while pioneering aviators Victor Herbster, Holden Richardson, and Frank McCrary drew up specifications for the Navy’s first airship (DN-1). 262 Stalking the U-Boat A few months later the Department ordered a free balloon and kite balloon from Goodyear. The contract included a provision for training two officers, and soon McCrary and Lt. Louis Maxfield reported to Akron, Ohio, for instruction . Work also proceeded on a more capable airship type known as the B class. The Navy ordered 16 of them in March 1917, procuring examples from several manufacturers. While working on B-class airships, Goodyear erected a hangar and test facilities at Akron and proposed a pilot training program. Instruction began in June. Both Goodyear and the military supplied instructors . Maxfield became OIC, with Warren Child and Frederick Culbert on staff. Maxfield’s pet dog, “Lanny,” photographed in an officer’s hat, offered some comic relief. Work progressed rapidly, and in September, Maxfield reported that the Naval Air Detachment at Akron had 11 qualified LTA pilots and requested that they be designated Naval Aviator (Dirigible).1 At least one event in Europe during these months exerted considerable influence on naval thinking concerning the use of kite balloons and other LTA craft. In June and July 1917, the Royal Navy conducted operations in the North Sea to intercept submarines. On July 11 a group of five destroyers with three kite balloons set out on patrol. An observer lofted above HMS Patriot spotted U-69 at a distance of 28 miles. The destroyer raced ahead at a speed of 25 knots, but while the ship was still six miles distant the enemy submerged, only to surface about four miles away. British vessels opened fire and dropped depth charges; a tremendous underwater explosion followed. Thick brown oil bubbled to the surface, the slick ultimately spreading as far as the eye could see. This action seemed to validate the balloons’ combat possibilities.2 Kenneth Whiting’s extensive tours in France included discussions concerning possible LTA facilities, but the Navy’s direct involvement began in August 1917 when Lt. Zachary Lansdowne and Lt.(jg) Ralph Kiely sailed to England for dirigible training. They attended school at RNAS Cranwell and graduated in November. At the same time, McCrary and Maxfield joined the fledgling aeronautic detachment in Paris and participated in conversations with French authorities. An October 1 conference yielded a tentative agreement to establish several stations (provisionally Paimboeuf, Gujan, Rochefort , and Guipavas), confirmed the following day in a letter from Hutch Cone to the Minister of Marine. Selection of sites mirrored the rationale for seaplane base location, protection of convoy routes to Brest, Bordeaux, and St. Nazaire. Plans for...

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