Overview

Originally published in 1990, Sky Ships is easily the most comprehensive history of U.S. Navy airships ever written. The Naval Institute Press is releasing this new edition- complete with two hundred new photographs-to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the book's publication. Impressed by Germany's commercial and military Zeppelins, the United States initiated its own airship program in 1915. Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey was homeport for several of the largest machines ever to navigate the air. The success of the commercial rigid airship peaked in 1936 with transatlantic round trips between Central Europe and the Americas by Hindenburg and by Graf Zeppelin- ending with the infamous fire in 1937. That setback, the onset of war, and the accelerated progress of heavier-than-air technology ended rigid airship development. The Navy continued to use blimps to protect Allied shipping during World War II. Following the war, the Navy persisted with efforts to integrate the airships, but the program was finally discontinued in the early 1960s.

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9781591142133

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Althoff's Sky Ships: a History of the Airship in the United States is well-produced, large in format and William Althoff has again regaled readers with the U.S. Navy's (USN) Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) program as well as the context of the times in terms of technology and decision making factors.... It is a book rich in history and comprehension which would be welcome by anyone with the interest in USN LTA flight. --The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Author Information

William F. Althoff is a geologist and historian of naval aviation and science in the Arctic. His publications include scientific papers, articles, and six books. He was Ramsey Fellow in Naval Aviation History at the National Air and Space Museum in 19992000 and then research associate in 200002.

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