C class blimp

__NOTOC__ Infobox Aircraft
name=C class


caption=
type=Patrol airship
manufacturer=Various
designer=
first flight=30 September 1918, at Wingfoot Lake
introduced=
retired=1922
status=
primary user=US Navy
more users=
produced=
number built=10
variants with their own articles=The C-type blimp was a patrol airship developed by the US Navy shortly after World War I, a systematic improvement upon the B-type which was very suitable for training, but of limited value for patrol work. Larger, with two motors, and a longer endurance. Once again, the envelope production was split between Goodyear and Goodrich, with all control cars being built by the Burgess division of Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. All ten of the "C" type blimps were delivered in late 1918, and examples served at all of the Navy's airship stations in 1919 and 1920. The Navy deflated its last two C-type airships, the C-7 and C-9 in 1922.

Operations

Arriving too late for the war, the C-type was used for a variety of activities. Training of course, but there were also other exploits. C-1 was the first Airship to release an airplane in flight when the C-1 dropped a Curtiss JN-4 over Fort Tilden, New York. C-1 also tested a job which Navy blimps would also perform for the rest of their service. It was flown to Key West, Florida where it tracked torpedoes fired in practice from submarines. The only "famous" C-type was the C-5, which was flown to St. Johns, Newfoundland, where it was to attempt a transatlantic flight in competition with the US Navy's heavier-than-air Curtiss NC flying boats. The attempt ended when the C-5 was blown from the hands of the ground crew and out to sea. Two C-type blimps were transferred to the US Army.

Interesting fact

The first US implosion bombs, the Fat Man (Mark III) had incredibly bad ballistics. Los Alamos engineers, in an effort to fit the awkward shape of the weapon into an aerodynamically sound shape, based the Mark IV bomb casing upon the shape of the C-type blimp envelope.

pecifications (typical)

aerospecs
met or eng?= eng

crew=Four
capacity=
length m=59.76
length ft=196
length in=0
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= 12.80
dia ft= 42
dia in= 0
height m=16.46
height ft=54
height in=0
wing area sqm=
wing area sqft=
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3= 5,125
volume ft3= 181,000
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=
empty weight lb=
gross weight kg=
gross weight lb=
lift kg= 1,837
lift lb= 4,050

eng1 number=2
eng1 type=Hispano-Suiza
eng1 kw= 112
eng1 hp= 150
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=97
max speed mph=60
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh= 64
cruise speed mph= 40
range km=2,320
range miles=1,440
endurance h= 31
endurance min= 30
ceiling m=2,620
ceiling ft=8,600
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=1 × .303 Lewis gun
armament2=4 × 270 lb (122 kg) bombs
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6=

References

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ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=

lists=
* List of airships of the United States Navy

see also=