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The N-Class, or as popularly known, the "Nan ship", was a line of non-rigid airships built by the Goodyear Aircraft Company of
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for the US Navy. This line of airships was developed through many versions and assigned various designators as the airship designation system changed in the post World War II era. These versions included airships configured for both
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typi ...
and
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(AEW) missions.


Design and development

The initial version, designated ZPN-1, was a follow-on to the M-class blimp for patrol missions. The Nan ship used a significantly larger envelope than the M-ship although their overall lengths were similar. Two
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single-row, air-cooled radial engines powered the N-Class blimps.''Sky Ships: A History of the Airship in the United States Navy'', Althoff, W.F., Pacifica Press, c1991, An initial contract was awarded to the Goodyear Aircraft Company for the prototype N-class blimp in the late 1940s, with delivery of the first on in 1952. The ZPN-1 designation was changed to ZPG-1 in 1954, and then to SZ-1A in 1962. The envelope capacity for the ZPN-1 was and used the gas helium for lift. The ZPN-1 was followed by an order for four improved N-class blimps that were delivered in 1954. These airships were designated ZP2N, and re-designated in 1954 as the ZPG-2. Three of the ZP2N airships were modified for an airborne early warning mission in the mid-1950s and were designated, originally, ZP2N-1W but at delivery were designated ZPG-2W. Their designation was changed to EZ-1B in 1962. The envelope capacity of these airships exceeded . The ZPG-2W was equipped with the
AN/APS-20 The AN/APS-20 was an airborne early warning, anti-submarine, maritime surveillance and weather radar developed in the United States in the 1940s. Entering service in 1945, it served for nearly half a century, finally being retired in 1991. Init ...
radar with its antenna installed beneath the gondola. An AN/APS-69 height-finding radar antenna was mounted on top of the envelope. The engines were installed in the control car and drove the propellers through extended shafts. The airship carried a crew of 21 to 25 and had an endurance capability of over 200 hours. The first ZPG-2W was delivered to the Navy at
NAS Lakehurst Lakehurst Maxfield Field, formerly known as Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst), is the naval component of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL), a United States Air Force-managed joint base headquartered approximate ...
in May 1955. Operationally the ZPG-2W was used to fill radar gaps in the North American early-warning network between the Contiguous Barrier and the Inshore Barrier during the Cold War. In a demonstration of the ability to stay on-station autonomously for considerably extended periods, ZPG-2 "Snow Bird" (BuNo 141561), pilot in command Cdr. Jack R. Hunt USN, supported by a naval crew of 12 plus a civilian flight engineer from Goodyear, made a record-breaking non-stop flight across the Atlantic and back. The airship departed NAS South Weymouth, Massachusetts, on Monday 4 March 1957, reaching the south-west tip of Portugal by the evening of 7 March despite adverse headwinds for some of the way, passed by Casablanca, Morocco, on the morning of 8 March, then turned back westwards over the
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
Islands towards the Caribbean Sea, eventually landing at
NAS Key West Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 NAS Key West is an air ...
, Florida, on the evening of 15 March. The flight had covered a distance of in 264.2 hours, and in doing so had not only broken the lighter-than-air distance record of set by the '' Graf Zeppelin'' rigid airship in 1929 but also the aircraft endurance record without refuelling. One of the ZPG-2 airships was built or modified with external engines to test systems for the follow on ZPG-3W airships and is some times referred to as a ZPG-2 1/2. The follow-on and larger AEW blimp was the ZPG-3W, the largest non-rigid airship built to ever enter military service. It was used to fill radar gaps in the North American early-warning network during the Cold War between the Contiguous Barrier and the Inshore Barrier. The popular name for the ZPG-3W was ''Vigilance''. The ZPG-3W was unique in that the huge antenna for the early warning radar was enclosed inside the helium-filled envelope. Four airships were delivered to the U.S. Navy. The first flight of the ZPG-3W was in July 1958. The envelope of the blimp was used as a
radome A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and conceal antenna ...
for the radar antenna, thus providing the airship with a clean aerodynamic shape. The airship was long and was almost high, containing some 1,500,000 cubic feet (42,450 cubic meters). The endurance time of the airship could extend for days. This model of the N-class blimp was the largest non-rigid airship ever flown. The ZPG-3W ''Vigilance'' was the last of the airships built for the U.S. Navy. The July 6, 1960, crash of a Lakehurst-based airship east of Long Beach Island killed 18 sailors, a loss that added pressure on the program. The Navy subsequently decommissioned its airship units at NAS Glynco, Brunswick, Georgia, and at Lakehurst on October 31, 1961. On August 31, 1962, the last two ZPG-3W ships made a ceremonial last flight over Lakehurst — the base log noted, "This flight terminates operation of non-rigid airships at Lakehurst," Steingold said. The specially designed and built AN/APS-70 Radar with its massive internal antenna was the best airborne radar system built for detecting other aircraft because its low frequency penetrated weather and showed only the more electronically visible returns. A large radome on top of the envelope held the height-finding radar. In 1986, a ZPG-2W envelope was used for the construction of the
Piasecki PA-97 The Piasecki PA-97 Helistat was an American experimental heavy-lift aircraft, built by Piasecki by fastening four H-34J helicopters to a framework beneath a helium-inflated blimp envelope. The sole prototype was lost during a test flight, killin ...
Helistat. On 1 July 1986, the PA-97 crashed immediately after liftoff on a test flight, killing one of its pilots.


Survivors

Two N-class blimp control cars are currently located at the
National Museum of Naval Aviation The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
at NAS Pensacola, Florida. The cockpit from the control car for ZPG-2, BuNo ''141561'', also known as ''Snow Bird'', has been restored and is on display at the museum. Launching from NAS South Weymouth, Massachusetts in March 1957, this airship made two crossings of the Atlantic before touching down at
NAS Key West Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 NAS Key West is an air ...
, Florida. All told, ''Snow Bird'' spent just over eleven days aloft in covering 9,448 miles without refueling. For his performance on the flight, the airship commander, CDR Jack R. Hunt, USN, received the Harmon International Trophy (e.g.,
Harmon Trophy The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronaut (balloon or dirigible). A fourth trophy, the "National Trophy," was awarded from 1926 through 1938 to th ...
) for Aeronautics. Following its deflation in 1962, the control car of ZPG-3W number 2, BuNo ''144243'', was stored for many years at
NAS Lakehurst Lakehurst Maxfield Field, formerly known as Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst), is the naval component of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL), a United States Air Force-managed joint base headquartered approximate ...
. New Jersey. It is currently recorded as in storage at the
National Museum of Naval Aviation The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
at NAS Pensacola, Florida awaiting restoration. Following storage at NAS Lakehurst, It had reportedly been in storage at
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at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona from at least 1993 until being relocated to the
National Naval Aviation Museum The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
(NNAM), at NAS Pensacola in 1995. At some point post-1995, the control car pf ''144243'' was returned to the 309 AMARG at Davis-Monthan AFB due to space limitations at NNAM. Although currently residing in unprotected storage, it still represents a far less humid environment and protects the control car from further deterioration until it can be returned to NNAM for eventual restoration and display. Under the 1962 unified
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air vehicle designation system, the ZPG-3W was re-designated the EZ-1C in late 1962.


Designation systems

Under the designation system established in April 1947, the first N-class airships were given the Navy designation of ZPN-1, (Z = lighter-than-air; P = patrol; N = type/class). In April 1954, the designation system was changed to mimic that used for
heavier-than-air An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...
naval aircraft. With this change, the designation for the ZPN-1 became the ZPG-1 (Z = lighter-than-air; P = patrol; G=Goodyear (manufacturer); 1=first version). In the 1962 system, the ZPG-1 designation was changed to SZ-1A (S=anti-submarine warfare; Z=lighter-than-air type; 1=first vehicle in the type; A=first model in the series). The designations for later model blimps followed similarly.


Specifications (ZPG-2W)


See also


References

*''Wings Over Boston, Celebrating 75 Years of Naval Aviation'', 1986, not copyrighted, Publisher Captain R.A.Perrault, Editor JO2 H.C.Kenyon, page 26 {{DEFAULTSORT:N Class Blimp 1950s United States patrol aircraft Airships of the United States Navy Goodyear aircraft