L class blimp

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Infobox Aircraft
name=L class


caption=L-8 delivering supplies prior to the Doolittle Raid
type=Training airship
manufacturer=Goodyear
designer=
first flight=
introduced=
retired=
status=
primary user=US Navy
more users=
produced=
number built=22
variants with their own articles=

The L class blimps were training airships operated by the United States Navy during World War II. In the mid-1930s, the Goodyear Aircraft Company built a family of small non-rigid airships that the company used for advertising the Goodyear name. In 1937 the United States Navy awarded a contract for two different airships, K class blimp designated K-2 and a smaller blimp based upon Goodyear’s smaller commercial model airship used for advertising and passenger carrying. The smaller blimp was designated by the Navy as L-1 The L-1 was delivered in April 1938 and operated from the Navy’s lighter-than-air facility at Lakehurst, New Jersey. In the meantime, the Navy ordered two more L-Class blimps, the L-2 and L-3, on September 25, 1940. These were delivered in 1941. L-2 was lost in a nighttime mid-air collision with the G-1 on June 8, 1942.

When the United States entered World War II, the Navy took over the operation of Goodyear’s five commercial blimps. These were the "Resolute", "Enterprise", "Reliance", "Rainbow", and "Ranger". These airships were given the designations L-4 through L-8 even though their characteristics and performance varied among them. The next four L-Class airships were assembled in the assembly and repair shops at NAS Moffett Field. These blimps, L-9 through L-12 were completed by April 1943. The last lot of L-Class airships were ordered from Goodyear under a contract of February 24, 1943. This was a lot of ten airships designated L-13 through L-22. All the blimps were delivered by the end of 1943.

As training airships these blimps operated mainly from the two major lighter-than-air bases, Lakehurst and Moffett Field. While too small for any extensive operational use, they were used on some coastal patrols. In this role, L-8, was involved in an incident where in the airship came drifting in from the Pacific Ocean over southern San Francisco in 1942 without either of the crewmen onboard.

Following the end of World War II a number of the L-class blimps were returned to Goodyear.

Operators

;USA
*United States Navy

pecifications (L-4)

aerospecs
met or eng?= eng

crew=Two
capacity=
length m=44.97
length ft=147
length in=6
span m=
span ft=
span in=
swept m=
swept ft=
swept in=
rot number=
rot dia m=
rot dia ft=
rot dia in=
dia m= 12.14
dia ft= 39
dia in= 10
height m=16.46
height ft=34
height in=0
wing area sqm=
wing area sqft=
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3= 3,482
volume ft3= 123,000
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=
empty weight lb=
gross weight kg=
gross weight lb=
lift kg= 1,152
lift lb= 2,540

eng1 number=2
eng1 type=Warner R-500-2 radials,
eng1 kw= 108
eng1 hp= 145
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kw=
eng2 hp=
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=

max speed kmh=96
max speed mph=61
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh= 74
cruise speed mph= 46
range km=3,537
range miles=2,205
endurance h= 11
endurance min= 54
ceiling m=
ceiling ft=
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=
armament2=
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armament5=
armament6=

References

*
*
* Engelmann, Larry (July 1978) "Close Encounter of Flight 101" American Legion Magazine

External links

* [http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/L-8_crash_site.htm An account of the L-8 mystery]

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=

lists=
* List of airships of the United States Navy

see also=