K Class Blimp - Operational History

Operational History

The K-ships were used for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) duties in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as the Mediterranean Sea. All equipment was carried in a forty foot long control car. The installed communications and instrumentation equipment allowed night flying. The blimps were equipped with the ASG-type radar, that had a detection range of 90 mi (140 km), sonobuoys, and magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment. The K-ships carried four Mk-47 depth bombs, two in a bomb bay and two externally, and were equipped with a .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine gun in the forward part of the control car. An aircrew of 10 normally operated the K-ships, consisting of a command pilot, two co-pilots, a navigator/pilot, airship rigger, an ordnanceman, two mechanics, and two radiomen.

On 1 June 1944, two K-class blimps of United States Navy (USN) Airship Patrol Squadron 14 (ZP-14) completed the first transatlantic crossing by non-rigid airships. K-123 and K-130 left South Weymouth, MA on 28 May 1944 and flew approximately 16 hours to Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland. From Argentia, the blimps flew approximately 22 hours to Lagens Field on Terceira Island in the Azores. The final leg of the first transatlantic crossing was about a 20-hour flight from the Azores to Craw Field in Port Lyautey (Kenitra), French Morocco. The first pair of K-ships were followed by K-109 & K-134 and K-112 & K-101 which left South Weymouth on 11 and 27 June 1944, respectively. These six blimps initially conducted nighttime anti-submarine warfare operations to complement the daytime missions flown by FAW-15 aircraft (PBYs and B-24s) using magnetic anomaly detection to locate U-boats in the relatively shallow waters around the Straits of Gibraltar. Later, ZP-14 K-ships conducted minespotting and minesweeping operations in key Mediterranean ports and various escort missions including that of the convoy carrying Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill to the Yalta Conference in early 1945. In late April 1945, K-89 and K-114 left Weeksville NAS in North Carolina and flew a southern transatlantic route to NAS Bermuda, the Azores, and Port Lyautey where they arrived on 1 May 1945 as replacements for Blimp Squadron ZP-14.

The ability of the K-ships to hover and operate at low altitudes and slow speeds resulted in detection of numerous enemy submarines as well as assisting in search and rescue missions. The K-ships had an endurance capability of over 24 hours which was an important factor in the employment of ASW tactics.

The mooring system for the K-ship was a 42 ft (12.8 m) high triangular mooring mast that was capable of being towed by a tractor. For advance bases where moving the mooring mast was not needed, a stick mast was used. A large ground crew was needed to land the blimps and moor them to the mast.

During the war, one K-ship—K-74—was lost to enemy action when it was shot down by U-134 on 8 July 1943. The crew was picked up eight hours later, except for one man who drowned just before being rescued.

The last "K Ship"—K-43—was retired in March 1959.

The airship control cars (gondolas) of K-28 and K-47 are on display at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT and the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL, respectively.