Naval Air Station (NAS) Lakehurst Photographs [Baldwin]

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of twelve black and white photographs relating to airships at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lakehurst, New Jersey in the 1920s. The photographs range in size from approximately 5 by 4 inches up to approximately 10.5 by 9.5 inches. One item is a post card showing the interior of the ZRS-5 Macon with facts about the airship printed on the back. Other airships shown in the photographs include the ZR-1 Shenandoah and the ZR-3 Los Angeles. There are also two photographs of airship engines and a group picture of members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lakewood Lodge 1432 posed in front of an airship model. One photograph is a portrait of William A. Moffett in uniform.

Arrangement

Collection is in original order.

Biographical / Historical

Naval Air Station (NAS) Lakehurst was acquired by the US Navy in 1921 for use as an airship station and it served as the control station for all US Navy lighter-than-air (LTA) flights until the program was terminated in 1961. NAS Lakehurst also became the center for rigid airship development in the United States not only for military but also for commercial purposes. Hangar No. 1, the first major structure built at NAS Lakehurst, was where the first American-built rigid airship, the ZR-1 Shenandoah, was constructed. NAS Lakehurst also served as the home port for the ZR-3 Los Angeles, ZRS-4 Akron, and the ZRS-5 Macon airships. A total of six hangars were built at NAS Lakehurst to accommodate the rigid airships as well as blimps and balloons. NAS Lakehurst was also the site of the Zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg disaster in 1937 which marked the end of commercial airship travel.

Harry Milton Baldwin served in the US Navy and was stationed at NAS Lakehurst in the 1920s.