Central Park and U.S. Airships

Aerial photo Central Park, looking north, with three U.S. airships (U.S. Navy blimps ZMC-2, J-3 and some other) flying over New York City. Photograph dated April 15, 1931 (10 A.M.). Source: Mitchel Field, Records of the Army Air Forces / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

The Navy blimps were non-rigid airships (without an internal structural framework). The U.S. Navy launched its lighter-than-air program in 1915, when it awarded its first contract for an airship to the Connecticut Aircraft Company. The first airship flew in April 1917, but it was severely damaged during testing. After World War I, the Navy contracted Goodyear to build airships and hangers were built to accommodate them. In 1961, the Navy’s lighter-than-air program was terminated and the last flight of a naval airship occurred in 1962.