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U.S. Navy Blimp Mail
by Cheryl Ganz
P.O. Box A3843
Chicago IL 60690-3843
This article is reprinted from The Zeppelin Collector, January 1998. Permission for reproduction should be requested from the author.
Zeppelin posts have been documented in many philatelic catalogs, but no published listing of United States Navy pressure airship mail exists. Pressure airships include both non-rigid blimps and the rigid metalclad ZMC-2. Many of these flown items exist in very low quantities as they are unofficially carried mail. Crew members would send mail or carry it as a courtesy for collectors. Only the September 13, 1961 flight was authorized by the post office.
These airships were built by Goodyear for the naval airship program's anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning system. The fleet airship program was terminated on October 31, 1961. Types of flights include: trial, test, delivery, local flights, fleet exercise, endurance, Arctic, and final.
Please review this listing and send me any corrections to P.O. Box A3843, Chicago IL 60690-3843. Please send photocopies of unlisted items. Please note that the cancel does not always match the date of flight. I have tried to give actual flight dates when possible. Most data is taken from the covers and therefore airship numbers are sometimes incomplete and pilot names could be misspelled. This is part of a larger project to list all non-rigid airship mail.
Note: BuNo = Bureau Number.
Flight Date; Airship; Route; Pilot or Signature; Additional information
September 14, 1929; ZMC-2; Grosse Ile near Detroit to Lakehurst; William E. Kepner, pilot
October 15, 1933; J-4; Moffett Field area to welcome Macon; signed by postmaster J.A. Matthews; 40
March 12, 1935; J-4; Concord to Port Chicago; 15
January 16, 1939; K-2; Lakehurst trial flight; Emmett J. Sullivan, pilot
May 28-? 1944; K-123; South Weymouth, MA to Africa via NAS Argentina, Newfoundland; W.H. Ireland on crew; John Kane was navigator on first leg; LTJG Robert Kersey, pilot; no cachet*
March 6-7, 1947; XM-1; Lakehurst to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Howard R. Walton
September 23, 1948; XM-1; Lakehurst to Minneapolis; name of pilot not clear; 1 known
June 18, 1951; ZPN-1; Akron trial flight; Walter L. Massic, pilot; 3 known
February 12, 1952; ZPN-1; Akron to Grosse Isle, MI; Walter L. Massic, pilot
March 26, 1952; Guantanamo Bay to Roosevelt Roads fleet exercise; W.W. Skinner, pilot
April 17, 1952; Weeksville, NC fleet exercise over Atantic; D.R. Richardson, pilot
May 21, 1952; ZP2K-33; Dartmouth, Canada to Lakehurst; William R. Peeler; landed on HMCS Magnificence during exercises with Canadian Navy; also with mixed franking
May 22, 1952; ZP2K-58; Weeksville, NC area; Robert E. Miller, pilot
May 26, 1952; ZPN-1; Akron to over Lake Erie; Hank H. Nettling, pilot
June 16-17, 1952; XZPN-1; Akron to Lakehurst delivery flight; Walter L. Massic, pilot; 4 known
October 9, 1952; K-69; Lakehurst participation in NATO operations; R.J. Davis, Jr., pilot
October 27, 1952; ZPN-1; Lakehurst to Mt. Pocono and return; Douglas L. Cordiner, pilot
December 17, 1952; ZPN-1; Lakehurst area; D.L. Cordiner, pilot
February 12-14, 1953; ZP3K-124; Guantanamo Bay to Lakehurst; R.W. Keene, pilot
April 23, 1953; ZP2N; Akron to Cleveland; Walter L. Massic, pilot
May 20, 1953; ZP3K-47; Lakehurst to USS Palau at sea; William R. Peeler, pilot
October 30, 1953; ZP2N-1 BuNo 4038; Akron to over Lake Erie; Walter L. Massic, pilot
December 17, 1953; K-125; Santa Ana to Los Angeles; William R. Peeler, pilot
May 17-25, 1954; YZPG-2 BuNo 126710; endurance flight Lakehurst to Key West, with mail carried or dropped at several points by the crew of 14: Pilots: Marion H. Eppes, Ben B. Levitt, Chauncey R. Porter, Richard E. Duncan, James F. Tucker, Crew: Russell N. Hansen, Ralph C. Hart, William P. Koll, Paul G. Richter, Herschel G. Mitchell, John A. Reinhart, Vincent J. Hudson, John E. Regier -drops over Kindley base in Bermuda; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Windsor Field in Nassau, Bahamas; Masters Field, Miami
July 22, 1954; ZP5K; Akron area; Walter L. Massic, pilot
July 27-29, 1954; ZSG-2 BuNo 125; Santa Ana to Seattle; C.E.F. Miller and P.R. Brooks, pilots
September 9, 1954; ZPG-2, Lakehurst trial flight; Marion H. Eppes, pilot
September 29, 1954; ZPN, Lakehurst training flight; R.A. Bernstein, pilot
March 4-15, 1957; ZPG-2; Weymouth, MA endurance record flight; Jack R. Hunt, pilot
May 18, 1957; 40; Oakland area armed forces day flight; G.R. Barker, pilot
May 30, 1957; K-120; Brunswick, GA to Oakland, CA via nuclear test area in Nevada; Joe T. Katz, pilot
June 5, 1957; XZS2G-1; Lakehurst test flight; Richard W. Widdicombe, pilot
August 21, 1957; ZPG-2 BuNo 719; Lakehurst to over Asbury Park; W. Millison, pilot
September 17, 1957; ZPG-2W; Akron area; James C. Maloney, pilot
October 26, 1957; K-43; Lakehurst area; D.D. Crawsler, pilot
February 15, 1958; ZSG-4 BuNo 134020; Lakehurst to Five Island, NY in search for SS Savannah; Dewey D. Crowder, pilot
April 14, 1958; ZPG-2W BuNo 137918; Lakehurst to NYC; Richard D. Nye, pilot
May 1, 1958; ZPG-2 BuNo 641561 Snow Bird; Lakehurst to Barnegat light test flight; C.H. Pearman, pilot
May 10, 1958; ZSG-4 BuNo 134021; Lakehurst to Fire Island, NY; W.E. LeGrande, pilot
May 17, 1958; ZSG-4 BuNo 134021; Lakehurst to Raritan, NJ; D.D. Crawsler, pilot
May 17, 1958; K-120; Moffett Field area; Donald P. Ventow, pilot
May 17, 1958; BuNo 137489; Lakehurst over southern NJ; Richard W. Widdicombe, pilot
May 17, 1958; BuNo 141568; Key West area; C.U. Briegel, pilot
May 18, 1958; ZSG-4 BuNo 134024; Pensacola, FL to Brunswick, GA; J.R. Hill, pilot
July 21, 1958; ZPG-3W; Akron test flight; Dean R. Mealy, pilot
July 24, 1958; ZPG-3W; Akron to Lake Erie area test flight; Dean R. Mealy, pilot
August 8, ZPG-2 BuNo 126719 Snow Goose, Resolute Bay to T-3, Henry Collins, pilot
August 9, 1958; ZPG-2 BuNo 126719 Snow Goose, Fort Churchill, Canada to T-3, Henry Collins, pilot; Canada dispatch
August 19, 1958; ZSG-4 BuNo 134020; Lakehurst to NYC for parade and return; William J. Hanley, pilot
September 22, 1958; ZPG-2W BuNo 144242; Akron to over Lake Erie on test flight; Dean R. Mealy, pilot
October 2, 1958; ZPG-3W BuNo 144242; Akron to over Lake Erie; Dean R. Mealy, pilot
March 20, 1959; K-43; Lakehurst final flight of 134 K-class, Charles E. Rosendahl, Vice Admiral
May 14, 1959; ZSG-4 BuNo 131923; Brunswick, GA to Pensacola, FL; J.R. Hill, pilot
May 16, 1959; Brunswick,GA to Fall River, MA; Paul W. Muehlen, pilot
May 16, 1959; ZSG-4 BuNo 131923; Pensacola to Mobile; J.R. Hill, pilot
June 19, 1959; ZPG-3W; Akron to Lakehurst; J.R. Van Evera, pilot
June 19, 1959; ZPG-3W; Lakehurst training flight; Walter Bjerre, pilot
May 14, 1960; BuNo 146296; Lakehurst area; Richard W. Widdicombe, pilot
May 20, 1960; ZPG-3W; Lakehurst area; Clement G. Williams, pilot
March 20, 1961; ZPG-2; Lakehurst area; Gerald J. Krueger, pilot
June 26, 1961; ZPG-3W; Lakehurst; not flown as operations discontinued
September 12, 1961; ZPG-2 BuNo 141561; Lakehurst area; Gerald J. Krueger, pilot
September 13, 1961; Lakehurst area for press as final "official" flights; 3PM and 6PM cancels
February 20, 1962; ZPG-2 BuNo 141559; Lakehurst area; R. Shannon, pilot
May 16, 1962; ZPG-2 BuNo 141559; Lakehurst area; R. Shannon, pilot
August 31, 1962; ZPG-2 BuNo 141561; Lakehurst area; R. Shannon and Ash, pilots on final flights
* flown item not seen by author, listing based on printed accounts
Contributors: the late Karl Wacker, Ronald Dobrowolski, Richard Duncan, Robert Hunter, John C. Kane, Greg Leugers, Ford U. Ross, Richard G. Van Treuren
References:
- Allen, Hugh. The Story of the Airship (Non-Rigid), A Study of One of America's Lesser Known Defense Weapons. Akron: Goodyear Tire & Rubber, 1942.
- Althoff, William E. Sky Ships, A History of the Airship in the United States Navy. New York: Orion Books, 1990.
- Hansen, Zenon. The Goodyear Airships. Bloomington, IL: Airship International Press, 1977.
- Kronstein, Max. The Development of the Blimp and its Philatelic History. The Airpost Journal. August 1987-June 1988.
- Shock, James R. U.S. Navy Pressure Airships, 1915-1962, A History of U.S. Navy Airships (Non-Rigid, Semi-Rigid and Metalclad) by Individual Airship. Edgewater, FL: Atlantis Productions, 1994.