Forgotten Airship: USS Macon

[@ScoutSniper3124]

My first duty station was VP-31 inside of Hanger 1 at Moffett Field. The hanger was massive, and I could only imagine the size of the airships it was built to hold. Being a young Sailor who "thought outside the box" I once put in a Request Chit "To paint the hanger a Light Golden Brown to disguise it as a Twinkie". The chit was summarily denied with an admonishment never to put in another.

[@John77Doe]

Moffet field sounds familiar. I think I was there. What is the Navy doing at Moffet Field?? 😐😐😐

[@popuptarget7386]

So you were an old school "chit" poster? Well done.

[@monkeygraborange]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! 🤣🤣🤣👍

[@JollyGreenFE]

@@John77Doe The Navy no longer owns Moffett Field. It was handed over to NASA & Google is contracted to run the airfield.

[@John77Doe]

@@JollyGreenFE Ok, so I was there for some NASA project. 😐😐

[@lauralee8130]

My grandfather was the last surviving crewmember of the USS Macon. He was the Helmsman. William H Clarke

[@erfquake1]

He was a very lucky man to have helmed such an incredible ship. Cheers.

[@ToyKingWonder]

Did he tell you stories of getting off the ship?

[@bobcat3954]

My uncle served on both USS Macon and USS Akron

[@lauralee8130]

@@bobcat3954 Grandpa was stationed in Lakehurst too.

[@georgemallory797]

My grandfather was a wh*re chaser and a drunk. He died on his toilet with a case of Natty Light at his feet.

[@team9wildernessmedicinetra889]

The Macon was in Here Comes the Navy with Jimmy Cagney and Pat O’Brien the year before the loss of the Macon. Entertaining and you have to get to the final act to see the Macon. The USS Arizona featured prominently in the movie as well.

[@xray86delta]

I agree! That movie is worth watching just for the historical footage!

[@chirpycrow2061]

Nice! Definitely gonna check that one out to add to my airship library. Thanks for the info on the movie!

[@stevemastnick5034]

Have to check that out. Thanks for the info. Love Zeppelins.

[@magform]

I grew up near, and later worked and lived near Moffett Field. From the Bayshore Freeway (US 101), you really cannot fathom the size of these hangars. The sailors who worked there would tell me that the hangars have their own climate, and even birds that have lived there for years. Later, when I lived in Mountain View, I was able to observe that up to twenty P3 Orion aircraft could be stored in a single hanger. The dirigibles were engineering icons of their time, but so were the hangars that stored them.

[@davefellhoelter1343]

we "had" hangers near the El Torro Base in So Cal, so many people had No Idea what or Why they where looking at them, or how this saga affected Billy Michel and his court-martial for being correct.

[@gregparrott]

I used to pass by that hangar as well, but no longer live in the Bay Area. Does the hangar still exist and is in use? Or was it torn down and replaced with other structures?

[@gregparrott]

@@mbryson2899 Thanks for the reply. Next time I go to the Bay, Santa Cruz, of Monterey, I'll add it to my sight seeing list.

[@adameckard4591]

Me too, remember the drive in theater too.

[@steveskouson9620]

Those 20 P3 Orions would have taken up about 10% of the floor space. I saw a C-5 in there, looked tiny. steve

[@YossiRafelson]

The Point Sur Lightstation tour has a bit about the Macon. After the crash landing, the location of the wreck was though to be lost. One day a customer at a local restaurant recognized a neat bit of metal hanging on the wall behind the bar as a strut from the Macon. A bit of digging turned up that a fisherman had pulled it up years earlier and traded it to the bar for a drink. The fisherman was tracked down and he still knew the location. And that's how the NOAA/Stanford expedition was able to happen.

[@johnholloway691]

My paternal grandfather and two other in-laws were from Lakehurst and worked on the construction of both the USS Akron and Macon. I have an original sepia photo of the Akron taken at Lakehurst, New Jersey, a gift to my father when he was given a tour of its sister ship Macon. Sadly, his tour guide, a family friend, died not long after when the Akron went down off Cape May. An earlier post mentioned their downward hanging flags, which I had never noticed until I used my iPhone magnifier and spotted it at the stern. The photo also shows just how big these ships were. What looks like a little smudge at ground level is actually most of the crew lined up. I commend the History Guy's production standards in not repeating clips just to fill up a video, something a lot of other historically-focused KZbinrs do. Thanks for that.

[@vinnynj78]

Born and raised in southern New Jersey so I have passed the hangar at Lakehurst many times. I was at an airshow as a teenager back in the '90s and someone from the museum had for sale duplicate blueprint rolls for the USS Akron. They are quite large, 12 feet when unrolled. Naturally, I had to buy one and as a history teacher I make sure it is part of my classes whenever I can.

[@jabbertwardy]

Dirigibles are my first historic obsession. So glad to see the Akron and Macon covered on this channel!

[@gotsloco1810]

My dad’s first commanding officer at NAS Beeville, TX 1943 was also on both the Akron, and Macon. He was also at Lakehurst when the Hindenburg burned. Connie Knox. My grandfather redesigned the track system at hangar 1 Moffett Field so it actually worked. The motors are from San Francisco street cars. A project of the Pelton Waterwheel Company. My mother said the Macon just cleared the Oak trees at the corner of Grant and Fremont when landing at NAS Moffett Field.

[@darklordojeda]

That's such a cool story about it barely clearing trees off Grant and Fremont. I grew up in Mountain View.

[@jcsgodmother]

I have an original photo of the Akron.

[@musicauthority7828]

This is the first time I noticed that you you had historical information on Zepellins.

[@lopaka3574]

Onboard the USS Akron when she crashed was Rear Admiral William Moffett, a Medal of Honor recipient and namesake for Moffett Federal Airfield. He is also known as the Architect of Naval Aviation.

[@edwardcaraher9612]

An good book for further information I’d. Ships of the Sky

[@edwardcaraher9612]

Sorry, Ships in the Sky, Holt Publishing, John Toland, 1957

[@AbnEngrDan]

I currently work with airships. Been to Moffett many times - Google is building their very large Airship there in those old Navy hangars. Good stuff, HG!

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Did you say Google? 🤔 Is this some sort of new venture? What is Google's interest in lighter than air?

[@dugroz]

@@WALTERBROADDUS curious too...

[@amstrad00]

@@WALTERBROADDUS It's not actually Google but instead its founder Sergey Brin (who is no longer with Google) who has now founded 'LTA Research' and is developing new 'Lighter Than Air' aircraft. Brin is apparently an airship fan.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@amstrad00 Are these to be rigid airships?🤔

[@amstrad00]

@@WALTERBROADDUS Yup, rigid airships. They've already built at least one.

[@BuzzSargent]

NOAA is one US Government agency that truly earns its keep. From coastal navigation, marine parks, iceberg tracking, and so many other things. Being in Florida I respect the Hurricane Hunters and the National Weather Service, National Hurricane Service also. One great bunch of people that do things that help us every day. Happy Trails

[@glenchapman3899]

Yep I live in Tornado alley, so we really appreciate NOAA's work

[@sullivanspapa1505]

your admitting being in Florida, my thoughts and prayers are with you!

[@BuzzSargent]

@@sullivanspapa1505 Florida is a good State to live in. Love it here ❗🤠

[@jessepollard7132]

ah, another roy Rogers fan.

[@MikeSmith-nx4ct]

Merry 🎄 Christmas History Guy!!!

[@aivehn]

I grew up near Moffett Naval Air Station, before it became NASA's Ames Research Center and the Federal Air Field. As such, I have attended many air shows, and often been inside the huge dirigible hanger. Truly impressive and awe inspiring structures. Thank you for sharing this bit of history that deserves to be remembered! Keep up the great work.

[@pg1171]

I remember reading a book about this as a kid, and I'm now 58. The best I remember, the book was names Sparrowhawk. It was about the aircraft, and the trials that the pilots went through, to get the planes and the airships to be compatible. Not very many of the aircraft were ever built. I understand that the airship that crashed in the Pacific had the remains of at least one Sparrowhawk in the wreckage. Very good book! Thank you for posting this!

[@bradley-eblesisor]

How about doing an episode about building the airship hangers at Moffett field. Such large buildings must have been a technological marvel, for it's time. Thanks, yet again, for your dedication to teaching us! 👏 and 👍

[@RCAvhstape]

And the one at Lakehurst, NJ too, which was where the Shenandoah was built, and where the Hindenburg was headed when she wrecked. That one is 100 years old now.

[@broncobubba3169]

How about Hangar B at the Tillamook Air Museum. It's the largest clear span wooden structure in the world.

[@thomasdupee1440]

Or the Akron air dock where the Macon and Akron were built.

[@johngregg5735]

I was a cub scout in Palo Alto (this was a while ago). Every year the scouts held a 'Scouting Exposition' at Moffett Field. For a 8 year old, it was the coolest building, ever.

[@sirnik84]

I took a road trip up the Oregon coast. When I got to Tillamook I saw the airship hanger at the airport with the words Air Museum painted on it. I had no idea it was there and hadn't planned to stop, but I made a b-line to the museum. I love airships and that hanger was amazing! The museum was fun, but only about 1/4 full. The hanger is so large compared to the collection of aircraft. It would be cool to see a video about the Tillamook Naval Air Station. I'd love to see that museum grow! It was the highlight of the road trip!

[@njpaddler]

N2627 , the Aereon 26 deserves to be remembered. A lifting body / hybrid airship design, it could've been the Next Big Thing. Author John McPhee's "The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed" tells the tale. The tattered prototype that actually flew proving it's concept now lives in a tiny military air museum ten minutes from here. We went recently to gape in awe. It's quite a story. Had they built full-scale ones they'd have carried freight trains worth of cargo at a fraction of the cost and hovered or landed without runways to load & offload. Think about that in disaster relief and wildfire containment, aside from mere cargo transport.

[@TinMan0555]

Great stuff

[@PembySmar]

Thank you so much for your knowledge sharing amongst us all!!!

[@stevedietrich8936]

Thanks THG. Uplifting episode.

[@jackpavlik563]

Oh the humanity. Of your pun…

[@geoffgill5334]

You are the best, thank you for your videos!!

[@ypaulbrown]

Wishing you all the best....thanks for a great episode.....cheers from Central Florida....Paul

[@tango6nf477]

They had the right idea with airships but their size was the biggest weakness. Subsequent smaller airships or "blimps" were very successful in a number of roles including anti submarine patrolling in WW2. The ability to remain aloft for long periods could be very useful today

[@shawnr771]

Years ago, Popular Mechanics had an article about extremely high altitude blimps for recon use. Think 80,000 ft and painted blue. They could loiter for days on end over a battlefield.

[@geoben1810]

@@shawnr771 Yeah and they'd make a great target for any of today's missile that could easily reach them. Now stop playing with your mommy's computer and go play in traffic with your little zombie friends 🤣

[@geoben1810]

@ tango6f Seriously? Like there isn't a missile that could reach them? And the satellites that are capable of reading license plates aren't better? Stop playing with your mommy's computer and go play in traffic with your little zombie friends like the ones Ive already tossed out 👍

[@kiwitrainguy]

No allied convoy was ever lost to German U-boats when it was escorted by US Navy blimps.

[@davidhmacdermott]

My grandfather, Dr. Karl Arnstein, was the chief aeronautical engineer of the Akron and Macon for the Goodyear Company. He was hired away from Graf Zeppelin in 1923 along with a number of Graf Zeppelin designers and settled in Akron. Those ships were on the cutting edge of aircraft technology in their day. But too many tragic crashes doomed rigid airships. The Goodyear blimps you see flying over football stadiums today are the much safer offspring of the rigid airships, and were built in Akron. The US Navy continued to use blimps throughout the 1940s - 1950s for reconnaissance and spotting.

[@xxdfoster]

I just am so satisfied to see a video of the trapeze system I find mind-blowing. Thanks for this !!!!

[@j.s.b.6299]

Thanks

[@sterfry8502]

Awesome episode!!

[@NotABushFan1]

In the 70s there was a McDonalds near the Goodyear Air Hanger that used to have a detailed drawing of the USS Akron. I lived within walking distance of the Aron air port seeing the hanger in the move brought back memories. Thanks

[@jonskowitz]

BTW, The dark stripes down the sides are exhaust water reclaimers so the ships do not become lighter as they burn fuel. This way they do not need to vent helium (an expensive and limited resource) as they operate.

[@Tallness1000]

Oh almighty algorithm, for which with you, bless this guy of history, educated as he be, with views, comments, and shares. For his is the channel of that which should be remembered.

[@stevedittrich4411]

The pilot you show flying F9C BuNo 9058, LT Harold B. "Min" Miller, was a friend of mine. He came up with the idea of removing the landing gear of the MACON'S F9Cs and replacing it with a fuel tank. Of course, this made it dangerous to either ditch at sea, or land at a land base should either of those things be necessary! During the War in the Pacific, now CAPT Miller was ADM Nimitz's public affairs officer, and when Miller retired after the War, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. I first met him in the Fall of 1970 when I was a freshman at Hofstra University, and RADM Miller was the Vice President for University Relations. I was told by another staff member at Hofstra (an LTA "lighter than air" pilot who flew with the first squadron of anti-U boat blimps to cross the Atlantic in 1944) that the Admiral was a former naval aviator, so I introduced myself. We met often to talk about his experiences in the Navy, much to the chagrin of the Admiral's secretary, because when I would ask her if the Admiral was available, he would hear my voice and invite me into his office right away!!! The Admiral retired in 1973 and I believe passed away in 1988. As usual, a great video!

[@CraigLYoung]

Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas 🎅

[@N-Scale]

I loved this one and was a great disply of human imagination.

[@drak347]

This is great - when I first moved to the bay, I’d drive down the 101 and wonder, “what the hell was stored in those?!” After learning it was airships, it’s great to hear one of their stories!

[@captainskippy6622]

Another thrilling video sir. I’m 63 and have seen a lot in my time. I’ve always been interested in aircraft, air travel, and space travel. But two things I truly regret not seeing are these airships and the Pan Am China Clippers. I can only imagine traveling in such luxurious crafts as the Clippers to exotic locations. If you haven’t produced a video on the Clippers please do!

[@DonP_is_lostagain]

Fascinating story. Always loved the way airships looked.

[@lairdcummings9092]

I used to be mildly obsessed about US Naval lighter than air aviation. The Macon and the Shenandoah were favorite studies. My father very nearly lost flight status for flying a Sabre through the dirigible hanger.

[@Whammytap]

Thanks, History Guy! I'm a longtime dirigible buff; I'm delighted to see an episode about one of the few U.S. Navy ships which raised her flag at dusk and lowered her flag at sunrise.

[@stevebailey325]

I grew up in Sunnyvale in the 1970s and Moffatt was still very active. If you ever get a chance you need to see the museum that's on the now decommisipn base. They have a fa beautiful model of the Macon. Its a large cut away model showing the insides with the sparrow hawks sitting in their "hanger". The base is open to everyone and you can drive up to see "Hanger 1" where these ships were housed. Sadly the took all the skin off the Hanger and its all the structures and girders left. I drive and think the "grand old lady" now sits naked and forlorn. So much history there.

[@darklordojeda]

I still don't understand why they don't hold air shows anymore, the last time there was an airshow there was very early 2000's and they said that over a million people attended over 1 weekend. Seems like easy money to me. Probably too many chumps in Sunnyvale and Mountain View whining about the noise.

[@MichaelJohnson-tw7dq]

Goodyear built 168 airships during ww2. The United States was the only power to use airships during World War II, and the airships played a small but important role. The Navy used them for minesweeping, search and rescue, photographic reconnaissance, scouting, escorting convoys, and antisubmarine patrols. Airships were based on the Atlantic and pacific coasts of the USA, the Caribbean, South America, France, and Italy. A former ww2 zeppelin hanger in tillamook, Or. currently houses an aircraft museum.

[@rickdurr2960]

I love your videos. A rather remarkable coincidence re your video on the Macon: two after I watched it I was talking with a nephew who currently works at Moffet Field in the large hangar for a company named Lighter Than Air (LTF). Amazingly they are in the process of building an airship based largely on the Macon, due to be launched in January 2022. The purpose of the ship is for studying the atmosphere and climate and carrying out humanitarian missions in other parts of the world. Thought you might want to know. Again, thanks for your vids. They are great.

[@CurCam713]

Thank you for this video. I read the books about the Macon, the Akron, the Los Angeles, and the Shenandoah when I was in high school. These were very brave and dedicated crews.

[@HM2SGT]

Rudyard Kipling, not an author one usually associates with science fiction and futurism, wrote an intriguing short story; "with the night mail", the tale of an airship crossing the Atlantic in a storm. Some very interesting concepts about abandoned airships and the use being so common it was positively mundane, sort of like the Pan am space travel advert in 2001 a space odyssey.

[@CurCam713]

The Graf Zeppelin flew over one million miles in its lifetime.

[@HM2SGT]

@@CurCam713 Indeed. There were several successful dirigible passenger services, but it seems like there were disastrous crashes as often as there were successes. Still, wouldn’t it be shiny to be able to fly the North America - South America route? A shame it couldn’t succeed today.

[@jamessullivan1348]

I live along Interstate 77 outside of Newcomerstown OH. The crash site of the Shenandoah is south of me and the hangar for the Goodyear blimp is north of me. The Goodyear blimp used to fly over my house almost every year. Such great memories.

[@frankgulla2335]

I remember the time I ran across a book about the aircraft carriers Akron and Macon. I thought I knew all the Navy's carriers and so I pulled the book off the shelf and was amazed to find that I was looking an AIRSHIP aircraft carrier! what an amazing time that was for experimentation, though we were so unknowing. Thanks for all the great video and stills of the events surrounding this incredible moment in the development of air travel.

[@monicaenriquez8643]

Wished you covered the Goodyear Blimp! I remembered seeing it a number of times! I can even remember the sound of propellers! I didn’t live far from the Brooklyn Navy yard! But I was so excited to see it. I also remember my mom being afraid of it because she said they could explode! My mother was born in 1917, and had read about the blimp that had exploded at Lakehurst, NJ! So she never liked them! In 1953 my parents, my two older brother went to live in Venezuela, were my grandfather had retired to Caracas after being the Consul General, with my grandmother ( who was born in England, her father, my great grandfather, was the Consul General from Spain to England and he was transferred to the United States just before the start of WWI. When we returned to the states we lived in a hotel in Brooklyn Heights and we were walking to the home of a friend of my mother’s and suddenly there was a blimp! My mother nearly passed out from fear! However it must have been headed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard which is located on the East River.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Small technical correction. A zeppelin or rigid airship has an internal frame work. A blimp has simply a gas bag.

[@majorchungus]

Airships have a special spot in my heart. I clicked on this video in 0.2 seconds.

[@legomaker3105]

Excellent video! Seems like all of your videos are well thought out and presented clearly, carefully and easily understandable. Well done sir

[@topturretgunner]

THG. I have really come to enjoy and learn much from you videos. While not a historian I am interested in history. In particular the WWII era. Thank you so much for your work and research. Your efforts at shining a light on "history that deserves to be remembered" are greatly appreciated.

[@maxdesorgher]

I have a tiny tool my grandpa used when he worked as a toolmaker on this project. He was born in 1897 and moved from his position began at Camp Meade and it changed to Fort Meade WWI.

[@theophilhist6455]

These machines were the ultimate expression of the poetry of mechanical artistry, complexity and monstrosity

[@theoldgrowler3489]

Great look at an interesting page of history.

[@CFarnwide]

Now this is an interesting episode! Had no idea they were ever considered as an aircraft carrier. Interesting indeed!

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day, Using Airships to carry and release Parasite Fighters was pioneered by the British, during WW-1 ; using Sopwith Camels. AmeriKa..., came Latte, To the Pate...; As per usual (!). Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@tomharbaugh8187]

Hanger 1 at Moffett Field is an engineering wonder. I was an Electronics Technician Station there in the 70’s. There was a radio transmitter room suspended from the roof at the very top of the hanger. Went up there once a week to do maintenance on the radio transmitters. Took the elevator up. Yes an elevator built in the 30 ‘s on tracks that followed the roofline all way to the top. It would break down, then you walked the stairway. Over 200 feet from ground to roof. Yes hanger 1 had its own weather. In the winter it would get foggy in the hanger and be sunny outside.

[@tedjones3955]

An amazing channel, sir! Never dull, always entertaining and educational. God bless and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

[@earllutz2663]

As usual, very informative, and also entertaining. Thank you again THG.

[@Kw1161]

The History Guy: another great video, thanks for shedding light on the forgotten airship history. Happy Holidays!

[@hertzair1186]

I fly into Moffett field several times a year and the massive airship hangar is still grabs your attention….

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

I flew in the Goodyear Blimp back in 1994 here in Las Vegas over the Sam Boyd's Silver Bowl where UNLV beat Central Michigan at the 3rd Las Vegas Bowl 🥣 🤔 Its quite nice and somber. It made me want to put on a cape!

[@Lee-70ish]

Bet that was great fun I envy you. I was on duty at the London 2012 Olympics and an illuminated one flew over the stadium at the Paralympics it looked brilliant. The airships must have been incredible to see Been to the Cardington Airship Hangars here in the UK and they are truely huge. The modern blimps look like toys inside.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

@@Lee-70ish They're fricken huge. I would love to see 👀 England sone day. How's the weather today?

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

@Chris Webb I have lived here most of my life and I have never been strung out..But I am still constipated. Thank you for asking

[@skovner]

Thanks for a video that gave me more information, and made no obvious errors. There are far too many vvideos that have glaring obvious errors (like talking about one ship but showing a quite different one. I appreciate videos that do a good job.

[@acftmxman]

I grew up near NAS Moffett Field. The three dirigible hangars are still there. Hangar One is being rebuilt today because of money Google and Oracle pay to share the field with NASA Ames Research Center. When I was a child, Moffett was a fighter base then was home to the P-2 & P-3’s. I’ve been inside the hangars many times. They are large enough to have their own weather patterns. You feel so infinitesimally small when looking up from just inside the doors. Thanks for another great video that took me back to my childhood.

[@clearsmashdrop5829]

I hope Hangar One gets repaired but its been 10 years since its been stripped so not having high hopes. :(

[@aaronlogdahl1798]

Merry Christmas to you, History Guy!!!!

[@michaelfisher7170]

I remember being disappointed when I was younger when, after seeing pictures of these gigantic floating things I learned that their time had passed long before I was born, and the realization I'd never look up and see one of them floating overhead. Seeing them must have been amazing for the landbound in those days.

[@stevek8829]

We still have blimps! I haven't seen any for a few years now, come to think. But, more than Goodyear have them.

[@bigsarge2085]

Delightful story!

[@lukenellermoe6266]

Amazing story from my favorite history professor, merry Christmas to you history guy

[@floundergearjam]

HG - Another outstanding lesson in history. Keep them coming and thanks for all that you do sir.

[@adriennegormley9358]

I was aware that the loss of the Macon killed the airship program; it's nice to get the whole story. For years that I refuse to recount, I have both lived, and worked, within a mile of Moffett Federal Airport (now under lease to Google), and worked with women whose husbands were stationed at what was then NAS Moffett Field, so I knew a bit about the Macon, but not the full story. Thanks for this.

[@MarshOakDojoTimPruitt]

thanks

[@binalith4898]

great video, and at the end there is an interesting retelling of NOAA's arc.

[@nelsonbrum8496]

As a resident of Sunnyvale, this was a great video. I knew that Hanger 1 at Moffett Field was built for a huge airship. But I had no idea the Macon was a floating aircraft carrier! Even more impressive than I imagined! NASA Ames RC is located at Moffett Field, a history of the massive wind tunnel tunnel there would make a great video. Thanks for all the great videos!

[@christopherlynch3314]

Agree! I recently worked with this facility, pretty fascinating capability unlike any in the world.

[@clearsmashdrop5829]

There is a small musem at moffet. If you get a chance try to visit. Has some Sunnyvale history to explore.

[@darklordojeda]

I remember being at my Great Grandparents house in the 80's and hearing the wind tunnel fire up. Also the constant circling of P-3s and an occasional NASA U-2 going straight up.

[@johnkeenan5404]

The Navy used airships in WWII. Although not rigid or the size of the Macon or Akron they used blimps for anti submarine patrol and convoy escort. They were extremely effective. The pilots wore a naval aviator insignia with just one wing.

[@nscalestation]

Thank you History Guy for this great episode. I worked in Hanger 1 in the mid 80's at the flight simulator command. They had a 3 story building inside the hanger at the north end and it looked small inside the hanger. There were always many aircraft inside, mostly P3's from the training squadron VP-31 but also others. Always something interesting, like NASA U-2s for example and when an air show was in town the Blue Angle FA-18s would be parked there. Today Hanger has had all of it's skin removed and is a skeleton. There are plans to re-skin / restore it with Google funding it. The other 2 hangers at Moffett Field where built for blimps during WW2 and were made of wood. Many of these were built during the war for coastal antisubmarine patrol.

[@pooryorick831]

I still remember a very young child walking in to the Macon's hangar at Moffett Field during an air show. It is by far the largest room I have ever been in. I was maybe 5 so it made an impression on me because I still remember that. Years later I enjoyed watching the Navy P-3s based there coming and going. I love Moffett Field. There's a lot of history there.

[@wxman66]

Would love to see a return to airships

[@erfquake1]

Magnificent video, thank you! I recall once seeing an F9C1 Sparrowhawk at the Dayton Air Force Museum, complete with top hook and no landing gear.

[@stein1385]

Decent input 👍

[@bjw4859]

This information should be more widely told, I'm into airships & I had no idea about most of this, especially about the bits about on board aircraft, the things you learn.

[@Xelbiuj]

Congrats on 1m. Thanks for the great videos.

[@DeconvertedMan]

Steam punk! There is just something COOL about these massive airships.

[@AMStationEngineer]

Most thoroughly enjoyed, and then some!!!!

[@whtfsh765]

Your aviation related videos are my favorite, although I also watch all the others you make. Thanks.

[@russwoodward8251]

Amazing great ships. Thank you.

[@zepmarq]

Hands-down, my favorite YT channel. 😎

[@jonathanbanks8749]

There are many online photos of the luxurious Graf Zeppelin accommodations. It flew many transatlantic passenger trips from Germany to Lakehurst in the Thirties.

[@davef.2329]

Excellent video. Thanks.

[@irishcherokee8884]

You tell the best stories

[@JamesAllmond]

Being from Macon, Ga, this one is near and dear to the heart... had to add, and lived very close to the Shenandoah River in West Virginia...

[@kurtbauch5491]

Excellent video! My Grandfather (Kurt Bauch, whom I was named after) came over with the other 12 engineer to design and built the “Akron & Macon” dirigibles. I still have quite a few items, pictures and books (many from when he worked for Graf Zeppelin) & at least one book by Hugo Eckener.

[@skybanner9]

Another well researched video.

[@Hannah_Em]

There was a great alternate-history computer game set in 1937 which took the concept of airborne aircraft carrying zeppelins and ran with it, called Crimson Skies, which I loved growing up as a kid! It's an aerial combat game which cast the player as the leader of a band of aerial pirates, playing it as a kid I had no idea that it had been based partially on a real concept!

[@derekr1282]

Never played the first one, but High Road to Revenge was one of my favorite games from my childhood. Wish they would make more games like that one. An immersive world, great gameplay, stunning visuals (for the time), and a brilliant soundtrack.

[@christopherrasmussen8718]

I was stationed at Lakehurst in the 90s. Used to have the run of Hanger 1. It was built as a double hanger. I think , only one time it had two in it? The museum is unique. Parts of the ground gear was/still out in the woods. I so wish I had been alive in the times. The chapel there has stained glass windows remembering the airships and the crews.

[@billerker]

“Gas bag” and “Sky hook” - you’re making this up!

[@miked1765]

As always, well done video.

[@Paladin1873]

Wow, a Fleet. My Dad used to fly one in the late 1950s with the local Civil Air Patrol. Somewhere I have a color photo of it in flight.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

While there were few rigid airships, the US military produced and used blimps for much longer.

[@Paladin1873]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel The Fleet was an old biplane.

[@davidbaise5137]

Thanks for this, HG. In fiction, Pynchon has a boys club of explorers going about in a blimp filled with gadgets. Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon. That Cagney picture is a good look. Also Charlie Chan at the Olympics features an Atlantic crossing to Berlin- on the Hindenburg.

[@bobbeckman3735]

Thanks. There is still a blimp hangar in Tillamook Oregon which is neat to see.

[@bicivelo]

Amazing!