The K-1 was an experimental blimp designed by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1929. Due to the inability to get Congressional approval for the construction of an airship the navy used the ploy of ordering a "universal" control car (type J/K) which could be used on the J-type airships from the Naval Aircraft Factory. An order was placed with

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...

for an envelope to hold "experimental gases". To complete the deception, there is no record of the US Navy assigning a serial number to the K-1, Standard Army TC type tail fins were procured from Goodyear. Unlike past Navy blimps, the control car was not suspended from external cables, but was hung from cables attached to the top of the envelope, and the car was carried flush against the envelope as in modern

blimp A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...

s. The control car carried bunks and a galley so that a relief crew could be carried, and was completely enclosed. The K-1 was also the first Navy blimp to have a taxi wheel. Like the Graf Zeppelin, the fuel for the K-1 was "

blau gas Blau gas (german: Blaugas) is an artificial illuminating gas, similar to propane, named after its inventor, Hermann Blau of Augsburg, Germany. Not or rarely used or produced today, it was manufactured by decomposing mineral oils in retorts by ...

" a mixture of combustible gases with the same density as air, which meant that the valving of gas as the fuel was consumed was not necessary. The only serious drawback was the tendency of the fuel to leak into the helium which then could not be run through the Lakehurst purification plant, which meant the expensive helium had to be vented to atmosphere when too contaminated or an overhaul was necessary.

Operations

K-1 was assembled at

Lakehurst, New Jersey Lakehurst is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,654,Wright R-975-20 The Wright R-975 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of about and power ratings of . They were the largest memb ...

engines. In mid-1933 the K-1 was sent to Lakehurst and after the departure of J-4 to Sunnyvale, was with the ZMC-2, the only flying airships at Lakehurst until 1937. The K-1 last flew in September 1940, and was subsequently used for mooring and snow removal experiments until it was scrapped in October 1941. The K-1 was not a popular airship, tending to fly tail low, and was, despite its amenities, thought to be 'uncomfortable." The K-1 was not the prototype of the later "K Class."

Specifications (K-1)

References

{{Goodyear aircraft 1930s United States experimental aircraft Airships of the United States Navy Goodyear aircraft

Operations

Specifications (K-1)

See also

References