J-class blimp
{{Infobox aircraft
|name=J class
|image= File:J class blimp.jpg
|caption=NAVY J-4
|type=Patrol airship
|manufacturer=Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation
|designer=
|first_flight=31 August 1922
|introduction=
|retired=1940
|status=
|primary_user=US Navy
|more_users=US Army
|produced=
|number_built=3
|variants=
}}
The J-class blimps were non-rigid airships designed by the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in the early 1920s for the US Navy.
Design and development
Designed in 1919, the J-type were to be improvements upon the D-type. Improvements included a smaller envelope (174,800 cu ft), more powerful engines, a new, simple boat style control car capable of water landings and a single ballonet to reduce weight as tried in the H-1. Two airships, designated J-1 and J-2, were ordered. J-1 first flew 31 August 1922 at Wingfoot Lake. The J-1 was operated at Hampton Roads until airship operations there were terminated in 1924. From May 1924 the J-1 served at Lakehurst, and was at that time the Navy's only active blimp. Due to the single ballonet, the J-1 proved difficult to handle. J-1 was retired in August 1924. J-2 was cancelled due to the failure of the single ballonet J-1, with the car being stored at the Naval Aircraft Factory.
J-3 was assembled from an Army TC type envelope and control car, modified to suit the Navy. Instrumentation came from the J-1. The J-3 first flew 12 October 1926. Lakehurst was the only naval air station which the J-3 served at. Its role was to train crews for the ZR-3 and ZRS-4 and 5. The J-3 was lost on April 4, 1933, during a forced landing while searching for survivors of the Navy rigid airship {{USS|Akron|ZRS-4}} with the loss of 2 out of the blimp's crew of 7.{{Cite web|url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/decummins.htm|title=David e. Cummins, Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy|date=March 2024 }} Rescue was made by a United States Coast Guard and New York Police Department amphibians. J-4 utilized the J-2 control car, modified by enclosing it, and a TC-type envelope. It was test flown in November 1927. The J-4 served as a trainer at Lakehurst until it was sent to Sunnyvale in the summer of 1933. After the Army took over Sunnyvale, the J-4 was returned to Lakehurst in May 1935. The J-4 was stricken from the Navy registry in March 1940.
The J-class blimps were equipped with a control car that was suspended externally from the envelope. Utilizing helium for lift, the envelope capacity was {{convert|210000|cuft|m3|abbr=on}}. Two radial engines powered the blimp.
Operators
;{{USA}}
- United States Army As TC Class Blimps
- United States Navy
Specifications (J-3 and J-4)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = imp
|crew=5-6
|length m=59.76
|length ft=196
|length in=0
|dia m=13.57
|dia ft=44
|dia in=6
|height m=17.68
|height ft=58
|height in=0
|volume m3=5,964
|volume ft3=210,600
|lift kg=2,087
|lift lb=4,600
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Union
|eng1 kw=97
|eng1 hp=130
|max speed kmh=96
|max speed mph=60
|cruise speed kmh=74
|cruise speed mph=46
|range km=1,556
|range miles=970
|endurance=52 hours|ceiling m=2,439
|ceiling ft=8,000
}}
See also
{{aircontent
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
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References
{{reflist}}
- {{cite book |last= Shock |first= James R. |title=U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962 |year=2001 |publisher=Atlantis Productions |location=Edgewater, Florida |isbn=0-9639743-8-6 }}
{{USN non-rigid airship classes}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:J Class Blimp}}
Category:1920s United States patrol aircraft