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K-class | |
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General information | |
Type | Patrol airship |
Manufacturer | Goodyear-Zeppelin and Goodyear Aircraft Corporation |
Primary user | United States Navy |
Number built | 134 |
History | |
First flight | 6 December 1938 |
Retired | 1959 |
The K-class blimp was a class of blimps (non-rigid airship) built by the Goodyear Aircraft Company of Akron, Ohio for the United States Navy. These blimps were powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp nine-cylinder radial air-cooled engines, each mounted on twin-strut outriggers, one per side of the control car that hung under the envelope. Before and during World War II, 134 K-class blimps were built and configured for patrol and anti-submarine warfare operations, and were extensively used in the Navy’s anti-submarine efforts in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean areas.