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    So we start-off in 1835 with a 1-man airship and 90 years later during the 1930's end-up with a magnificent airship

    Now, at our mid-way point in life, the REFERENCE, and 34 seconds later ---- every thing is gone. END OF THE RIGID.

    For next 70 years, there are NO AIRSHIPS above the ref. size. Only non-rigid, 140 KCF to 1.5 MCF during 1940-1960.

    From 1960-Present, there has been NO airships of a size above the reference constructed.

During those 34 dreadful seconds while the Hindenburg was burning and the on-site commentator, Herbert Morrison, for the Chicago Radio Station WLS , was giving the world his observation, the rigid airship would become jinxed.

Germany removed the very successful Graf Zeppelin from service and the US Navy removed the USS Los Angeles from service. The rigid airship was dead. The next 20 years were dominated by non-rigid airships, commonly called blimps. Just under 200 of these blimps of various sizes were used in anti-submarine operations. The size of the small blimp, (Good Year Blimp) was 140 KCF and in the Navy was known as the   L-Ship and used mostly for training and in some cases on operations as shown in the photo below. The photo after the two L-ships, shows one of the larger Blimps of 1 MCF.

Shown at left is the US Navy L-8, a small size blimp (140 KCF). L-8 was delivering a load of critical parts for the carrier Hornet, that was requested while under-way on the Doolittle Raid of WW2. An interesting part about the L-8 history is that just 4 months later this airship will become involved in a real mystery. On 16 August 1942 the L-8 with a crew of only 2-men was dispatched by Moffett Field command to investigate an oil-slick in the pacific. The L-8 failed to send-out it's required position report at the end of the first hour. Later in the day the ship came floating into land with no crew aboard and at the mercy of the wind became completely deflated. The crew was never found and no one seems to know what happened. The L-8 then became known as the 'Ghost Ship'. The car was repaired and with a new bag installed was placed back in service.

Shown at left is same size blimp (140 KCF). 

   Good Year Blimp

   A quick assessment of the time-line vs size of the Airship in cubic feet (CF)

            (Size of an Airship relates to the Volume of Air displacement)          ( KCF = thousand cubic feet )   ( MCF = million cubic feet)

1783     Montgolfier Hot air balloon

1835     Paul Haenlein              1 man airship                3 KCF

1935    Hindenburg            100 man airship                 7 MCF             Reference size

             USS Akron               100 man airship               7 MCF             reference size

             USS Macon              100 man airship               7 MCF             reference size

1940-1960                Navy blimps size 140 KCF to 1.5 MCF

1960-present            many ideas put forward and abandoned

Future Oblate Spheroid          1000 man airship         30 -100 MCF         4-14 times larger than reference

In the Beginning....

It all started with the Montgolfier Hot Air balloon flight near Paris in 1783 and for next 50 years there was activity with Hot Air and Hydrogen lifting gas. Then about  1835  considerable interest was taken with powered and controllable airships with hydrogen.

Benjamin Franklin, in charge of all things wise, was the American ambassador to France when he witnessed the successful ascent of an unmanned hydrogen-filled balloon on August 27, 1783. As the twelve-foot globe shot up in the sky until it seemed no bigger than an orange, a skeptic said the flight was interesting but wondered what use it could have. Franklin, our history primers tell us, growled, “What use is a new born babe?”

And then controlled flight began in Europe....

Here is a link to Wikipedia that explains this next part of airship design:

Paul Haenlein - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  In America, we have the history of airship design and travel as outlined in  buttons across the top of this page.  Please click on each era to see which    airships were successful and which were not, throughout our short history of airship travel.

         The Airship Research Lab has the experience with airship flight and operations since 1942 and can see the future in 

         Heavy-lift airships and seeking an equity firm that can also see the future. If serious, please contact.

Contact info:

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