William R. Petty
AMM1 - Class 1-48
January 1948
Lighter-than-Air, Blimps
Dad, of course, was in the U. S. Navy from September 1942 until he retired in June of 1966. After serving at the Kingsville Naval Air Station during WWII he was transferred to the Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After Hawaii he spent a year at Naval Air Station Lakehurst in Lakehurst, New Jersey with a Patrol Squadron flying as a crewman in blimps.

Before joining his squadron he attended a Navy training school for lighter-than-air aircraft (blimps). The training course, Non Rigid Type Airships and Free Balloons Course lasted 6 weeks. Part of the course requirements was the creation and assembly of a notebook describing aircraft/blimp specifications and their operations with detailed drawings.

Here are a few selected drawings from Dad's notebook, just a small sample from some 100 plus pages.

Click on picture for larger image...
Free Balloon
Airship
Dimensions
Airship
Pressure Areas
Forward
Air Valve
Suspension Legs
Suspension Rings
Suspension Cables
Mooring Cone
Vertical &
Horizontal Fins

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