Description: This photograph shows two Goodyear blimps in the air, flying above a body of water. Canoes and motorboats are visible on the lake. The name and number of each airship is visible on its tail. The Columbia (N2A) is the left; the Mayflower (N3A) is on the left. Both of these airships likely were built in the 1960s, when the Goodyear-Zeppelin Company developed the GZ-19A model (an airship named "Mayflower" was built in 1963). The GZ-20 model was introduced in 1968; an airship named "Columbia" and based on this model was built in 1969. Zeppelins are a type of airship, named for and invented by Ferdinand von Zeppelin. They are also known as blimps, airships, and dirigibles. Zeppelins once used heated air to become airborne. Over time, hydrogen and helium replaced the heated air. Zeppelins are different than hot-air balloons because balloons float with the wind, while zeppelins have engines that can steer the airship. Militaries have used them in wartime to observe and bomb enemy positions and companies have also utilized them to advertise products. The center of zeppelin production in the United States was Akron, Ohio. In 1916, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company purchased land near Akron to build a plant that could produce zeppelin aircraft. In 1917, the main Goodyear Company created a subsidiary known as the Goodyear Zeppelin Company to manufacture the zeppelins. That same year, the firm received a contract from the federal government to manufacture nine zeppelins for the United States military during World War I. Unfortunately for the company, its manufacturing facilities were not complete in 1917, so Goodyear completed the first airships inside of a large amusement park building in Chicago, Illinois. The military used these airships to bomb and to spy upon enemy positions. At the conclusion of World War I, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company continued to manufacture zeppelins. The firm used most of these ships to advertise its products. Zeppelins originally used heated air or hydrogen, but most of these ships utilized helium to become airborne. During this period, other companies, especially European ones, were constructing airships to transport passengers, including across the Atlantic Ocean. Goodyear also manufactured two airships, the "Akron" and the "Macon," for the United States military during the early 1930s. During World War II, the company manufactured 104 airships for the military at its Akron facility. Following World War II, the Goodyear Zeppelin Company continued to manufacture airships, but it also expanded into producing other types of aircraft and aircraft parts. The main thrust of the company, however, remained the airships. The company now used the zeppelins almost exclusively for advertising purposes. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06156
Subjects: Airships; Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation; Zeppelin (airship); Akron (Ohio)
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)