View source for Airship

{{Short description|Powered lighter-than-air aircraft}}
{{hatnote group|
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Dirigible|the 1931 film|Dirigible (film)}}
{{Distinguish|Balloon (aeronautics)}}
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{{EngvarB|date=June 2025}}
[[File:Zeppellin NT amk.JPG|thumb|A modern airship, [[Zeppelin NT]] ''D-LZZF'' in 2010]]
[[File:Hindenburg at lakehurst colorized.png|thumb|The [[LZ 129 Hindenburg|LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'']] was the largest airship ever built and was [[Hindenburg disaster|destroyed in 1937]].]]
[[File:Brockhaus-Efron Aeronavtika.jpg|thumb|120px|upright|Dirigible airships compared with related aerostats, from the ''[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]'', 1890–1907]]
An '''airship''', '''dirigible balloon''' or '''dirigible''' is a type of [[aerostat]] ([[lighter-than-air]]) [[aircraft]] that can navigate through the air flying [[powered aircraft|under its own power]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airship |title=Definition of AIRSHIP |work=merriam-webster.com |access-date=4 October 2016 }}</ref> Aerostats use [[buoyancy]] from a [[lifting gas]] that is less [[dense]] than the surrounding [[air]] to achieve the [[lift (physics)|lift]] needed to stay airborne.

In early dirigibles, the lifting gas used was [[hydrogen gas|hydrogen]], due to its high lifting capacity and ready availability, but the inherent [[flammability]] led to several fatal accidents that rendered hydrogen airships obsolete. The alternative lifting gas, [[helium]], is not flammable, but is rare and relatively expensive. Significant amounts were first discovered in the [[United States]] and for a while helium was only available for airship usage in [[North America]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Discovery of Helium in Natural Gas at the University of Kansas |work=National Historic Chemical Landmarks |publisher=American Chemical Society |url=http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/heliumnaturalgas.html |access-date=2014-02-21 }}</ref> Most airships built since the 1960s have used helium, though some have used [[thermal airship|hot air]].{{efn|A few airships after [[World War II]] still used hydrogen. The first British airship to use helium was the ''[[Chitty Bang Bang (airship)|Chitty Bang Bang]]'' of 1967.}}

The bulk of an airship consists of the lighter-than air ''envelope'', which may either form the gasbag itself or contain a number of gas-filled cells. The engines, crew, and payload capacity necessary for the function of the airship are instead housed in the ''[[gondola (airship)|gondola]]'', one or more enclosed platforms suspended below the envelope.

The main types of airship are [[non-rigid airship|non-rigid]], [[semi-rigid airship|semi-rigid]] and [[rigid airship]]s.<ref name="ege" /> Non-rigid airships, often called "blimps", rely solely on internal gas pressure to maintain the envelope shape. Semi-rigid airships maintain their shape by internal pressure, but have some form of supporting structure, such as a fixed keel, attached to it. Rigid airships have an outer structural framework that maintains the shape and carries all structural loads, while the lifting gas is contained in one or more internal gasbags or cells.<ref>Mowthorpe, C. E. S. ''Battlebags, British Airships of the First World War'', Phoenix Mill, United Kingdom. Alan Sutton Publishing, 1995, p. xx. {{ISBN|0-7509-0989-7}}.</ref> Rigid airships were first flown by Count [[Ferdinand von Zeppelin]] and the vast majority of rigid airships built were manufactured by the firm he founded, [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin]]. As a result, rigid airships are often called [[zeppelin]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=zeppelin |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |website=EtymOnline.com |access-date=2016-09-04 }}</ref>

Airships were the first aircraft capable of controlled powered flight, and were most commonly used before the 1940s; their use decreased as their capabilities were surpassed by those of aeroplanes. Their decline was accelerated by a series of high-profile accidents, including the 1930 crash and burning of the British [[R101]] in France, the 1933 and 1935 storm-related crashes of the twin [[airborne aircraft carrier]] U.S. Navy helium-filled rigids, the {{USS|Akron|ZRS-4|6}} and [[USS Macon (ZRS-5)|USS ''Macon'']] respectively, and the 1937 burning of the German [[hydrogen]]-filled ''[[LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg]]''. From the 1960s, helium airships have been used where the ability to hover for a long time outweighs the need for speed and manoeuvrability, such as advertising, tourism, camera platforms, geological surveys and [[Observation aircraft|aerial observation]].

==Terminology==
[[File:Ballon poisson de 9019s368w 0 ng451j60n.tiff|thumb|Ballon-Poisson, a navigable balloon designed by aeronaut Ferdinand Lagleize, c. 1850]]

===Airship===
During the pioneer years of aeronautics, terms such as "airship", "air-ship", "air ship" and "ship of the air" meant any kind of navigable or dirigible flying machine.<ref>[http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth172915/ US patent 467069] "Air-ship" referring to a compound aerostat/rotorcraft.</ref><ref>[[Ezekiel Airship]] (1902) [http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/History_of_the_Airplane/History_of_the_Airplane_Intro/History_of_the_Airplane_Intro.htm wright-brothers.org][http://altereddimensions.net/2012/burrell-cannon-flies-first-airplane altereddimensions.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222065900/http://altereddimensions.net/2012/burrell-cannon-flies-first-airplane |date=2014-02-22 }} "airship" – referring to an HTA aeroplane.</ref><ref>[http://gustavewhitehead.org/news_journalism/1901_-_flying.html The Bridgeport Herald, August 18, 1901] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803021718/http://gustavewhitehead.org/news_journalism/1901_-_flying.html |date=August 3, 2013 }} – "air ship" referring to Whitehead's aeroplane.</ref><ref>Cooley Airship of 1910, also called the Cooley monoplane.[http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/Aviations_Attic/UFOs/UFOs.htm]{{cite web |title=Round Aircraft Designs |url=http://celticowboy.com/Round%20Aircraft%20Designs.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402075442/http://celticowboy.com/Round%20Aircraft%20Designs.htm |archive-date=2012-04-02 |access-date=2011-09-07}} – a heavier-than-air monoplane.</ref><ref>Frater, A.; ''The Balloon Factory'', Picador (2009), p. 163 – Wright brothers' "airship".</ref><ref>[http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=879 George Griffith, ''The angel of the Revolution'', 1893] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222154830/http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=879 |date=2014-02-22 }} – "air-ship", "vessel" referring to a VTOL compound rotorcraft (not clear from the reference if it might be an aerostat hybrid).</ref> In 1919 [[Frederick Handley Page]] was reported as referring to "ships of the air", with smaller passenger types as "air yachts".<ref>[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=AS19190224.2.104 Auckland Star, 24 February 1919] "Ships of the air", "Air yachts" – passenger landplanes large and small</ref> In the 1930s, large intercontinental flying boats were also sometimes referred to as "ships of the air" or "flying-ships".<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17455790 The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 11 April 1938] – "ship of the airs", "flying-ship", referring to a large flying-boat.</ref><ref>[http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/innovation/innovation16.cfm Smithsonian, America by air] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118135217/http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/innovation/innovation16.cfm |date=2014-01-18 }} "Ships of the Air" referring to Pan Am's Boeing Clipper flying-boat fleet.</ref> Nowadays the term "airship" is used only for powered, dirigible balloons, with sub-types being classified as rigid, semi-rigid or non-rigid.<ref name="ege" /> Semi-rigid architecture is the more recent, following advances in deformable structures and the exigency of reducing weight and volume of the airships. They have a minimal structure that keeps the shape jointly with overpressure of the gas envelope.<ref>Liao, L., & Pasternak, I. (2009). "A review of airship structural research and development". ''Progress in Aerospace Sciences'', 45(4), 83–96.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930091277.pdf |title=Inertia Factors of Ellipsoids for Use in Airship Design |first=Louis Bryant Jr.|last=Tuckerman |date=January 1, 1926 |publisher=[[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] |via=ntrs.nasa.gov}}</ref>

===Aerostat===
An [[aerostat]] is an [[aircraft]] that remains aloft using buoyancy or static lift, as opposed to the [[aircraft|aerodyne]], which obtains lift by moving through the air. Airships are a type of aerostat.<ref name="ege">Ege (1973).</ref> The term ''aerostat'' has also been used to indicate a tethered or [[moored balloon]] as opposed to a free-floating balloon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/;jsessionid=07EA994A2F49A80A15E17252C57AC109?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F3207%3FredirectedFrom%3Daerostat|title=Home: Oxford English Dictionary|access-date=2018-01-18}}</ref> Aerostats today are capable of lifting a payload of {{convert|3,000|lb}} to an altitude of more than {{convert|4.5|km}} above sea level.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Principles of Integrated Maritime Surveillance Systems|url=https://archive.org/details/principlesintegr00ince|url-access=limited|last1=Ince|first1=A. Nejat|last2=Topuz|first2=Ercan|last3=Panayirci|first3=Erdal|publisher=Springer Science + Business Media, LLC|year=1998|isbn=978-1-4613-7404-6|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/principlesintegr00ince/page/n217 204]}}</ref> They can also stay in the air for extended periods of time, particularly when powered by an on-board generator or if the tether contains electrical conductors.<ref name=":0" /> Due to this capability, aerostats can be used as platforms for telecommunication services. For instance, Platform Wireless International Corporation announced in 2001 that it would use a tethered {{convert|1,250|lb}} airborne payload to deliver cellular phone service to a {{convert|140|mi}} region in Brazil.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2591179/mobile-wireless/giant-aerostats-developed-for-rural-cell-phone-service.html|title=Giant Aerostats Developed For Rural Cell Phone Service|last=Brewin|first=Bob|work=Computerworld|access-date=2018-08-29|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Tactical Communications for the Digitized Battlefield|url=https://archive.org/details/tacticalcommunic00ryan|url-access=limited|last1=Ryan|first1=Michael|last2=Frater|first2=Michael|publisher=Artech House|year=2002|isbn=978-1-58053-323-2|location=Boston, Massachusetts|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tacticalcommunic00ryan/page/n332 315]}}</ref> The [[European Union]]'s ABSOLUTE project was also reportedly exploring the use of tethered aerostat stations to provide telecommunications during disaster response.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130618-google-balloon-wireless-communication-internet-hap-satellite-stratosphere-loon-project/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620173300/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130618-google-balloon-wireless-communication-internet-hap-satellite-stratosphere-loon-project/|archive-date=June 20, 2013|title=Google's Loon Project Puts Balloon Technology in Spotlight|last=Handwerk|first=Brian|date=2013-06-18|access-date=2018-08-29}}</ref>

===Blimp===
{{main|Blimp}}
A blimp is a non-rigid aerostat.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kWJBDAAAQBAJ&q=A+blimp+is+a+non-rigid+aerostat&pg=PA3|title=Fundamentals of Aircraft and Rocket Propulsion|last=El-Sayed|first=Ahmed F.|date=2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4471-6796-9|language=en}}</ref> In British usage it refers to any non-rigid aerostat, including [[barrage balloon]]s and other [[kite balloon]]s, having a streamlined shape and stabilising tail fins.<ref>Wragg, D; ''Historical Dictionary of Aviation'', History Press (2008) p. 27.</ref> Some blimps may be powered dirigibles, as in early versions of the [[Goodyear Blimp]]. Later Goodyear dirigibles, though technically ''semi-rigid airships,'' have still been called "blimps" by the company.<ref name="piece">Mackinnon, Jim, [http://www.ohio.com/news/local-news/piece-by-piece-goodyear-s-new-airship-arrives-at-wingfoot-hangar-1.332411 "Piece by piece, Goodyear's new airship arrives at Wingfoot hangar"], September 6, 2012, updated September 7, 2012, ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]],'' [[Akron, Ohio]] (Goodyear blimps' base), retrieved June 28, 2021</ref>

===Zeppelin===
The term zeppelin originally referred to airships manufactured by the German [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin|Zeppelin Company]], which built and operated the first rigid airships in the early years of the twentieth century. The initials LZ, for {{lang|de|Luftschiff Zeppelin}} (German for "Zeppelin airship"), usually prefixed their craft's serial identifiers.

Streamlined rigid (or semi-rigid)<ref>Cf. [[Zeppelin NT]].</ref> airships are often referred to as "Zeppelins", because of the fame that this company acquired due to the number of airships it produced,<ref>{{cite book |last=de Syon |first=Guillaume |date=2002 |title=Zeppelin!: Germany and the airship, 1900–1939 |publisher=[[JHU Press]] |isbn=978-0-8018-8634-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABW6BoUm9HkC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hartcup |first=Guy |author-link=Guy Hartcup |date=1974 |title=The Achievement of the Airship: A History of the Development of Rigid, Semi-rigid, and Non-rigid Airships |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |isbn=978-0-7153-6551-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4FTAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> although its early rival was the [[List of Parseval airships|Parseval]] semi-rigid design.

===Hybrid airship===
{{Main|Hybrid airship}}
Hybrid airships fly with a positive aerostatic contribution, usually equal to the empty weight of the system, and the variable payload is sustained by propulsion or aerodynamic contribution.<ref>{{cite web |last=Buerge |first=B. T. |date=2009 |title=The Suitability of Hybrid vs. Conventional Airships for Persistent Surveillance Missions |others=Unpublished report from Dr. Charles Perkins |url=http://www.enu.kz/repository/2010/AIAA-2010-1014.pdf |access-date=2016-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924190844/http://www.enu.kz/repository/2010/AIAA-2010-1014.pdf |archive-date=2016-09-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://journals.oregondigital.org/index.php/trforum/article/viewFile/806/701 |last1=Prentice |first1=B. E. |last2=Beilock |first2=R. E. |last3=Phillips |first3=A. J. |last4=Thomson |first4=J. |date=October 2010 |title=The Rebirth of Airships |journal=Journal of the Transportation Research Forum |volume=44 |issue=1}}</ref>

==Classification==
Airships are classified according to their method of construction into rigid, semi-rigid and non-rigid types.<ref name="ege" />

===Rigid===
{{Main|Rigid airship}}
A rigid airship has a rigid framework covered by an outer skin or envelope. The interior contains one or more gasbags, cells or balloons to provide lift. Rigid airships are typically unpressurised and can be made to virtually any size. Most, but not all, of the German [[Zeppelin]] airships have been of this type.

===Semi-rigid===
{{Main|Semi-rigid airship}}
A semi-rigid airship has some kind of supporting structure but the main envelope is held in shape by the internal pressure of the lifting gas. Typically the airship has an extended, usually articulated keel running along the bottom of the envelope to stop it kinking in the middle by distributing suspension loads into the envelope, while also allowing lower envelope pressures.

===Non-rigid===
{{Main|Blimp}}
Non-rigid airships are often called "blimps". Most, but not all, of the American [[Goodyear blimp|Goodyear airship]]s have been blimps.

A non-rigid airship relies entirely on internal gas pressure to retain its shape during flight. Unlike the rigid design, the non-rigid airship's gas envelope has no compartments. However, it still typically has smaller internal bags containing air ([[ballonet]]s). As altitude is increased, the lifting gas expands and air from the ballonets is expelled through valves to maintain the hull's shape. To return to sea level, the process is reversed: air is forced back into the ballonets by scooping air from the engine exhaust and using auxiliary blowers.

==Construction==
[[File:Usn-airships (cropped).jpg|thumb|U.S. Navy airships and balloons, 1931: in the background, ZR-3, in front of it, (l to r) J-3 or 4, K-1, ZMC-2, in front of them, [[Caquot kite balloon|"Caquot" observation balloon]], and in foreground free balloons used for training]]

===Envelope===
The envelope is the structure which contains the buoyant gas. Envelopes in the early 19th century were made from [[goldbeater's skin]], selected for its low weight, relatively high strength, and impermeability compared to paper or linen. By the 1920s, [[natural rubber]] treated with cotton became the predominant [[elastomer]] used in envelope construction. The natural rubber was succeeded by [[neoprene]] in the 1930s and [[Nylon]] and [[Polyethylene terephthalate|PET]] in the 1950s. A few [[metal-clad airship|airships have been metal-clad]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brooks |first=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/zeppelin-rigid-airships-1893-1940_compress/page/93/mode/2up |title=Zeppelin: Rigid Airships, 1893-1940 |date=1992}}</ref> The most successful of which is the [[ZMC-2|Detroit ZMC-2]], which logged 2265 hours of flight time from 1929 to 1941 before being scrapped, as it was considered too small for operational use on anti-submarine patrols.<ref>[http://nasgi.org/zmc2.htm NAS Grosse Ile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709085217/http://nasgi.org/zmc2.htm|date=2011-07-09}}, NASGIVM. 2006.</ref>

The problem of the exact determination of the pressure on an airship envelope is still problematic and has fascinated major scientists such as [[Theodor Von Karman]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://authors.library.caltech.edu/47901/1/19930094841.pdf|title=Von Karman, Theodor. "Calculation of pressure distribution on airship hulls." (1930).}}</ref>

The envelope may contain [[ballonets]] (see below), allowing adjustment of the density of the buoyant gas by adding or subtracting envelope volume.

===Ballonet===
{{Main|Ballonet}}
[[File:ballonet analogue.jpg|thumb|upright|The air-filled red balloon acts as a simple ballonet inside the outer balloon, which is filled with lifting gas.]]

A [[ballonet]] is an air bag inside the outer [[Aerostat|envelope]] of an airship which, when inflated, reduces the volume available for the lifting gas, making it more dense. Because air is also denser than the lifting gas, inflating the ballonet reduces the overall lift, while deflating it increases lift. In this way, the ballonet can be used to adjust the lift as required by controlling the buoyancy. By inflating or deflating ballonets strategically, the pilot can control the airship's altitude and attitude.

Ballonets may typically be used in [[Non-rigid airship|non-rigid]] or [[Semi-rigid airship|semi-rigid]] airships, commonly with multiple ballonets located both [[Bow (ship)|fore]] and [[Stern|aft]] to maintain balance and to control the [[Flight dynamics (aircraft)|pitch]] of the airship.

===Lifting gas===
{{Main|Lifting gas}}
[[Lifting gas]] is generally hydrogen, helium or hot air.

Hydrogen gives the highest lift {{convert|1.1|kg/m3|lb/ft3|abbr=on}} and is inexpensive and easily obtained, but is highly flammable and can detonate if mixed with air. Helium is completely non flammable, but gives lower performance-{{convert|1.02|kg/m3|lb/ft3|abbr=on}} and is a rare element<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Stephen |last2=Gerth |first2=Florian |date=2024 |title=A Review of the Sustainability of Helium: An Assessment of Its Past, Present and a Zero-Carbon Future |journal=Regional Science and Environmental Economics |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=78–103 |doi=10.3390/rsee1010006 |doi-access=free |issn=3042-4658}}</ref> and much more expensive.<ref>{{cite web |last=Freudenrich |first=Craig |title=How Blimps Work |url=https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/blimp2.htm |website=[[HowStuffWorks]] |access-date=2023-10-18 }}</ref>

[[Thermal airship]]s use a heated lifting gas, usually air, in a fashion similar to [[hot air balloon]]s. The first to do so was flown in 1973 by the British company [[Cameron Balloons]].<ref>"Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1980–81", pp. 609–610</ref>

===Gondola===
[[File:Modern airship gondola.jpg|thumb|A gondola fitted with twin propellers]]

===Propulsion and control===
{{Update section|date=December 2019}}
Small airships carry their engine(s) in their gondola. Where there were multiple engines on larger airships, these were placed in separate nacelles, termed ''power cars'' or ''engine cars''.<ref name="Brew, 1998" >{{cite book
  |title=Sunbeam Aero-engines
  |last=Brew |first=Alec
  |year=1998
  |publisher=Airlife
  |isbn=1-84037-023-8
  |pages=41, 43, 92
}}</ref> To allow asymmetric thrust to be applied for maneuvering, these power cars were mounted towards the sides of the envelope, away from the centre line gondola. This also raised them above the ground, reducing the risk of a propeller strike when landing. Widely spaced power cars were also termed ''wing cars'', from the use of "wing" to mean being on the side of something, as in a theater, rather than the [[wing|aerodynamic device]].<ref name="Brew, 1998" /> These engine cars carried a crew during flight who maintained the engines as needed, but who also worked the engine controls, throttle etc., mounted directly on the engine. Instructions were relayed to them from the pilot's station by a [[engine order telegraph|telegraph system]], as on a ship.<ref name="Brew, 1998" />

If fuel is burnt for propulsion, then progressive reduction in the airship's overall weight occurs. In hydrogen airships, this is usually dealt with by simply venting cheap hydrogen lifting gas. In helium airships water is often condensed from the exhaust and stored as ballast.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.airships.net/helium-hydrogen-airships/ | title=Hydrogen and Helium in Airship Operations }}</ref>

===Fins and rudders===
To control the airship's direction and stability, it is equipped with fins and rudders. Fins are typically located on the tail section and provide stability and resistance to rolling. Rudders are movable surfaces on the tail that allow the pilot to steer the airship left or right.

===Empennage===
{{Main|Empennage}}
The [[empennage]] is the tail section of the airship, which includes the fins, rudders, and other aerodynamic surfaces. It plays a crucial role in maintaining stability and controlling the airship's attitude.

===Fuel and power systems===
Airships require a source of power to operate their propulsion systems. This includes engines, generators, or batteries, depending on the type of airship and its design. Fuel tanks or batteries are typically located within the envelope or gondola.

===Navigation and communication equipment===
To navigate safely and communicate with ground control or other aircraft, airships are equipped with a range of instruments, including GPS systems, radios, radar, and navigation lights.

===Landing gear===
Some airships have landing gear that allows them to land on runways or other surfaces. This landing gear may include wheels, skids, or landing pads.

==Performance==
===Efficiency===
The main advantage of airships with respect to any other vehicle is that they require less energy to remain in flight, compared to other air vehicles.<ref>{{Cite tech report|type=Contractor Report NASA/CR—2003-212724|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20040021326.pdf|title=Initial Feasibility Assessment of a High Altitude Long Endurance Airship|first1=Anthony|last1=Colozza|first2=James|last2=Dolce|date=December 1, 2003|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration Glenn Research Center|via=ntrs.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite conference |last1=Miller |first1=Gerry D. |last2=Stoia |first2=Tina R. |last3=Harmala |first3=Devin A. |last4=Atreya |first4=Shailesh |date=2005-09-26 |title=Operational Capability of High Altitude Solar Powered Airships |url=http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2005-7487 |conference=AIAA 5th ATIO and 16th Lighter-Than-Air Systems Tech. and Balloon Systems Conferences |language=en |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |volume=AIAA Paper, 7487 |doi=10.2514/6.2005-7487 |isbn=978-1-62410-067-3|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The proposed [[Varialift]] airship, powered by a mixture of solar-powered engines and conventional jet engines, would use only an estimated 8 percent of the fuel required by [[jet aircraft]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/is-solar-power-the-future-of-airships?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1?rebelltitem=1|title=Solar-powered Future: Airships are making a comeback|date=2019-10-16|website=Big Think|language=en|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dormehl |first1=Luke |title=Zeppelins could make a comeback with this solar-powered airship cargo mover |date=8 October 2019 |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/varialift-airships-solar-powered-airship/ |access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref> Furthermore, utilizing the [[jet stream]] could allow for a faster and more energy-efficient cargo transport alternative to [[Maritime transport|maritime shipping]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hunt|first1=Julian David|last2=Byers|first2=Edward|last3=Balogun|first3=Abdul-Lateef|last4=Leal Filho|first4=Walter|last5=Colling|first5=Angeli Viviani|last6=Nascimento|first6=Andreas|last7=Wada|first7=Yoshihide|date=2019-09-01|title=Using the jet stream for sustainable airship and balloon transportation of cargo and hydrogen|journal=Energy Conversion and Management: X|volume=3|article-number=100016|doi=10.1016/j.ecmx.2019.100016|issn=2590-1745|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019ECMX....300016H }}</ref> This is one of the reasons why [[China]] has embraced their use recently.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-03-10/china-s-hoping-airships-will-revolutionize-air-transport|title=Filling the Friendly Skies With Hot Air|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=10 March 2019 |access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref>

==History==

===Early pioneers===
[[File:Flying boat.png|thumb|Francesco Lana de Terzi's Aerial Ship design of 1670]]
[[File:BlanchardChannelFlight.jpg|thumb|Crossing of the [[English Channel]] by Blanchard in 1785]]
[[File:Seven Views of the Atmotic Ship - page 3.jpg|thumb|Bland's 1851 Atmotic Ship design p. 3]]
[[File:GiffardAirship.JPG|thumb|A model of the 1852 [[Giffard dirigible|Giffard airship]] at the [[London Science Museum]]]]
[[File:DupuyLomeDirigeable.jpg|thumb|The navigable balloon developed by [[Henri Dupuy de Lôme]] in 1872]]

====17th–18th century====
In 1670, the [[Jesuit]] Father [[Francesco Lana de Terzi]], sometimes referred to as the "Father of [[Aeronautics]]",<ref>{{cite web | title = Francesco Lana-Terzi, S.J. (1631–1687); The Father of Aeronautics | url = http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/scientists/lana.htm | access-date = 24 July 2010 | archive-date = 24 April 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210424104423/http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/scientists/lana.htm }}</ref> published a description of an "Aerial Ship" supported by four copper spheres from which the air was evacuated. Although the basic principle is sound, such a craft was unrealizable then and remains so to the present day, since external air pressure would cause the spheres to collapse unless their thickness was such as to make them too heavy to be buoyant.<ref>{{cite web | title = Would a balloon filled with vacuum instead of helium float? | date=April 2000 | url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/question194.htm | access-date = 24 July 2010}}</ref> A hypothetical craft constructed using this principle is known as a ''[[vacuum airship]]''.

In 1709, the Brazilian-Portuguese Jesuit priest [[Bartolomeu de Gusmão]] made a hot air balloon, the Passarola, ascend to the skies, before an astonished Portuguese court. It would have been on August 8, 1709, when Father Bartolomeu de Gusmão held, in the courtyard of the [[Casa da Índia]], in the city of Lisbon, the first Passarola demonstration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chronology of Aviation History from 1700 to 1799|url=https://www.skytamer.com/1700-1799.html|access-date=2021-02-20|website=www.skytamer.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Science Source Stock Photos & Video – Passarola, Bartolomeu de Gusmao's Airship, 1709|url=https://www.sciencesource.com/archive/Image/Passarola--Bartolomeu-de-Gusmao-s-Airship--1709-SS2732612.html|access-date=2021-02-20|website=www.sciencesource.com}}</ref> The balloon caught fire without leaving the ground, but, in a second demonstration, it rose to 95 meters in height. It was a small balloon of thick brown paper, filled with hot air, produced by the "fire of material contained in a clay bowl embedded in the base of a waxed wooden tray". The event was witnessed by King [[John V of Portugal]] and the future [[Pope Innocent XIII]].<ref name="Sousa 2014">{{cite conference <!-- Citation bot bypass--> |last=Louro |first=F.V. |last2=Melo De Sousa |first2=Joao M. |title=Father Bartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão: a Charlatan or the First Practical Pioneer of Aeronautics in History |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |publication-place=Reston, Virginia |date=2014-01-10 |isbn=978-1-62410-256-1 |doi=10.2514/6.2014-0282 |oclc=1237189987 |url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2014-0282 |page= |conference=52nd Aerospace Sciences Meeting |conference-url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/book/10.2514/masm14}}</ref>

A more practical dirigible airship was described by Lieutenant [[Jean Baptiste Marie Meusnier]] in a paper entitled "{{lang|fr|Mémoire sur l'équilibre des machines aérostatiques}}" (Memorandum on the equilibrium of aerostatic machines) presented to the [[French Academy]] on 3 December 1783. The 16 water-color drawings published the following year depict a {{convert|260|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} streamlined envelope with internal ballonets that could be used for regulating lift: this was attached to a long carriage that could be used as a boat if the vehicle was forced to land in water. The airship was designed to be driven by three propellers and steered with a sail-like aft rudder. In 1784, [[Jean-Pierre Blanchard]] fitted a hand-powered propeller to a balloon, the first recorded means of propulsion carried aloft. In 1785, he crossed the [[English Channel]] in a balloon equipped with flapping wings for propulsion and a birdlike tail for steering.<ref>Winter & Degner (1933), pp. 26–27.</ref>

====19th century====
[[File:1849_ad_for_Rufus_Porter's_New-York-to-California_transport.jpg|thumb|1849 Rufus Porter design]]
The [[timeline of aviation – 19th century|19th century]] saw continued attempts to add methods of propulsion to balloons. [[Rufus Porter (painter)|Rufus Porter]] built and flew scale models of his "Aerial Locomotive", but never a successful full-size implementation.<ref>McPherson, Gregg (2010) [https://techalmanac.blogspot.com/2010/03/rufus-porter-and-dream-of-flight.html Rufus Porter and the Dream of Flight] Technology Almanac</ref> The Australian [[William Bland]] sent designs for his "[[Atmotic airship]]" to the [[The Great Exhibition|Great Exhibition]] held in London in 1851, where a model was displayed. This was an elongated balloon with a steam engine driving twin propellers suspended underneath. The lift of the balloon was estimated as 5&nbsp;tons and the car with the fuel as weighing 3.5&nbsp;tons, giving a payload of 1.5&nbsp;tons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2032274|title=Airship Honours for Australia. – Bland's Remarkable Invention More Than 70 Years Ago. – The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.: 1848–1957) – 13 Sep 1924|work=nla.gov.au|date=13 September 1924 |access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/visions-of-a-flying-machine/2006/05/10/1146940613357.html|title=Visions of a flying machine |work=National – smh.com.au|date=11 May 2006|access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref> Bland believed that the machine could be driven at {{convert|80|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} and could fly from Sydney to London in less than a week.<!--This figure is nonsense: London–Sidney is c. 10,500 mi-->

In 1852, [[Henri Giffard]] became the first person to make an engine-powered flight when he flew {{convert|27|km|abbr=on}} in a [[Giffard dirigible|steam-powered airship]].<ref>Winter & Degner (1933), p. 36.</ref> Airships would develop considerably over the next two decades. In 1863, [[Solomon Andrews (inventor)|Solomon Andrews]] flew his aereon design, an unpowered, controllable dirigible in Perth Amboy, New Jersey and offered the device to the U.S. Military during the Civil War.<ref>Glazer, Stephen D. [http://jrul.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/jrul/article/view/1865/3298 "Rutgers in the Civil War"], ''Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries'' Vol. 66 (2014), p. 102</ref> He flew a later design in 1866 around New York City and as far as Oyster Bay, New York. This concept used changes in lift to provide propulsive force, and did not need a powerplant. In 1872, the French naval architect [[Henri Dupuy de Lôme|Dupuy de Lome]] launched a large navigable balloon, which was driven by a large propeller turned by eight men.<ref>[[#Brooks1992|Brooks 1992]] p. 19.</ref> It was developed during the [[Franco-Prussian war]] and was intended as an improvement to the balloons used for communications between Paris and the countryside during the [[Siege of Paris (1870–1871)|siege of Paris]], but was completed only after the end of the war.

In 1872, [[Paul Haenlein]] flew an airship with an internal combustion engine running on the coal gas used to inflate the envelope, the first use of such an engine to power an aircraft.<ref>Winter & Degner (1933), p. 44.</ref><ref name="Mattos">Bento S. Mattos, [http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMASM06_778/PV2006_328.pdf Short History of Brazilian Aeronautics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726115643/http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMASM06_778/PV2006_328.pdf |date=2013-07-26 }} (PDF), 44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, Nevada, 9–12 January 2006.</ref> [[Charles F. Ritchel]] made a public demonstration flight in 1878 of his hand-powered one-man rigid airship, and went on to build and sell five of his aircraft.<ref name="Mattos" />

[[File:Dyer Airship Patent Drawing Page 1.png|thumb|Dyer Airship 1874 patent drawing page 1]]
In 1874, [[Micajah Clark Dyer]] filed U.S. Patent 154,654 "Apparatus for Navigating the Air".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hendrick |first1=Bill |title=First in flight – a case for Georgian |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/first-flight-case-for-georgian/AhRDEUU8Umc13xHA2gVx6I/ |access-date=December 29, 2020 |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=August 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=00154654&IDKey=A5B9E6BB217B&HomeUrl=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2%2526Sect2=HITOFF%2526u=%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsearch-adv.htm%2526r=1%2526p=1%2526f=G%2526l=50%2526d=PALL%2526S1=0154,654.PN.%2526OS=PN/154,654%2526RS=PN/154,654|title=Patent Images|work=uspto.gov|access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US154654|title=Micajah dyee|work=google.com|access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref> It is believed successful trial flights were made between 1872 and 1874, but detailed dates are not available.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://therevivalist.info/georgia-first-in-flight-micajah-clark-dyer/|title=Georgia: First in Flight?|work=therevivalist.info|date=9 March 2014|access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref> The apparatus used a combination of wings and paddle wheels for navigation and propulsion.

{{blockquote|In operating the machinery the wings receive an upward and downward motion, in the manner of the wings of a bird, the outer ends yielding as they are raised, but opening out and then remaining rigid while being depressed. The wings, if desired, may be set at an angle so as to propel forward as well as to raise the machine in the air. The paddle-wheels are intended to be used for propelling the machine, in the same way that a vessel is propelled in water. An instrument answering to a rudder is attached for guiding the machine. A balloon is to be used for elevating the flying ship, after which it is to be guided and controlled at the pleasure of its occupants.<ref>July 31, 1875 article in the Gainesville (Georgia) Eagle</ref>}}

More details can be found in the book about his life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourbook.com/BookInfo/IP32675-09.asp|title=Georgia's Pioneer Aviator, Micajah Clark Dyer – From A Leading Self Publishing Company|work=yourbook.com|access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref>

In 1883, the first electric-powered flight was made by [[Gaston Tissandier]], who fitted a {{convert|1.5|hp|kW|1|abbr=on}} [[Siemens]] electric motor to an airship.

The first fully controllable free flight was made in 1884 by [[Charles Renard]] and [[Arthur Constantin Krebs]] in the [[French Army]] airship ''[[La France (airship)|La France]]''. La France made the first flight of an airship that landed where it took off; the {{convert|170|ft|adj=on|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|66000|cuft|m3|abbr=on}} airship covered {{convert|8|km|abbr=on}} in 23 minutes with the aid of an {{convert|8.5|hp|kW|1|abbr=on}} electric motor,<ref>Winter & Degner (1933), pp. 49–50.</ref> and a {{convert|435|kg|abbr=on|adj=on}} battery. It made seven flights in 1884 and 1885.<ref name="Mattos" />

In 1888, the design of the Campbell Air Ship, designed by Professor Peter C. Campbell, was built by the Novelty Air Ship Company. It was lost at sea in 1889 while being flown by Professor Hogan during an exhibition flight.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scripophily.net/noairshco.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512192026/http://www.scripophily.net/noairshco.html|title=Scientific American – 27 July 1889|archive-date=May 12, 2011}}</ref>

From 1888 to 1897, [[Friedrich Hermann Wölfert|Friedrich Wölfert]] built three airships powered by [[Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft]]-built petrol engines, the last of which, [[Deutschland (1896 airship)|''Deutschland'']], caught fire in flight and killed both occupants in 1897.<ref>[[#Brooks1992|Brooks 1992]] p. 20.</ref> The 1888 version used a {{convert|2|hp|kW|1|abbr=on}} single cylinder Daimler engine and flew {{convert|10|km|0|abbr=on}} from [[Canstatt]] to [[Kornwestheim]].<ref>[http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f62/mercedes-benz-museum-trip-ii-beginning-52297/ Mercedes-Benz Museum (Trip II): The beginning], ''gminsidenews.com'', 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.zeppelin-tourismus.de/en/rund0208e.pdf Member's Circular Letter February 2008], {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227054344/http://www.zeppelin-tourismus.de/en/rund0208e.pdf |date=February 27, 2012 }} ''zeppelin-tourismus.de''.</ref>

[[File:Santos-Dumont flight around the Eiffel Tower.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Santos-Dumont number 6|Santos-Dumont No. 6]] rounding the [[Eiffel Tower]] in 1901]]

In 1897, an airship with an aluminum envelope was built by the [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]]-[[Croatian people|Croatian]] engineer [[David Schwarz (aviation inventor)|David Schwarz]]. It made its first flight at [[Tempelhof International Airport|Tempelhof field]] in Berlin after Schwarz had died. His widow, Melanie Schwarz, was paid 15,000 marks by Count [[Ferdinand von Zeppelin]] to release the industrialist [[Carl Berg (airship builder)|Carl Berg]] from his exclusive contract to supply Schwartz with [[aluminium]].<ref>[[#Brooks1992|Brooks 1992]] pp. 27–31.</ref>

From 1897 to 1899, Konstantin Danilewsky, medical doctor and inventor from [[Kharkiv|Kharkov]], built four muscle-powered airships, of gas volume {{convert|150|–|180|m3|abbr=on}}. About 200 ascents were made within a framework of experimental flight program, at two locations, with no significant incidents.<ref>Bill Welker. [https://welweb.org/ThenandNow/Danilewsky.html ''Airships of Konstantin Danilewsky''. Then-and-Now project, publication January 2018]</ref><ref>(2019) ''AirBike...1897''. Ed. by A. B. Akimov and W. J. Welker. Sapphire Publications, US, 342 p. {{ISBN|978-1-62374-015-3}} (Digital edition) [https://airbike.welweb.org Free download]. Late 1800s work of Dr. Konstantin Dalilewsky to solve the problem of human flight presented for the first time in English. Including reproduction of the original Russian and German 1900 editions.</ref>

===Early 20th century===
[[File:First Zeppelin ascent.jpg|thumb|LZ1, Count Zeppelin's first airship]]
In July 1900, the Luftschiff [[Zeppelin LZ1]] made its first flight. This led to the most successful airships of all time: the Zeppelins, named after [[Ferdinand von Zeppelin|Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin]] who began working on rigid airship designs in the 1890s, leading to the flawed LZ1 in 1900 and the more successful [[Zeppelin LZ2|LZ2]] in 1906. The Zeppelin airships had a framework composed of triangular lattice girders covered with fabric that contained separate gas cells. At first multiplane tail surfaces were used for control and stability: later designs had simpler [[cruciform tail]] surfaces. The engines and crew were accommodated in "gondolas" hung beneath the hull driving propellers attached to the sides of the frame by means of long drive shafts. Additionally, there was a passenger compartment (later a [[bomb bay]]) located halfway between the two engine compartments.

[[Alberto Santos-Dumont]] was a wealthy young [[Brazil]]ian who lived in France and had a passion for flying. He designed 18 balloons and dirigibles before turning his attention to fixed-winged aircraft.<ref>Niccoli, R. ''The Book of Flight: From the flying machines of Leonardo da Vinci to the conquest of space'', New York, Friedman/Fairfax, 2002, p. 24. {{ISBN|978-1-58663-716-3}}</ref>
On 19 October 1901 he flew his airship ''[[Santos-Dumont number 6|Number 6]]'', from the [[Parc Saint Cloud]] to and around the [[Eiffel Tower]] and back in under thirty minutes.<ref>Toland (1957), pp. 25–37.</ref> This feat earned him the [[Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe|Deutsch de la Meurthe]] prize of 100,000 [[franc]]s. Many inventors were inspired by Santos-Dumont's small airships. Many airship pioneers, such as the American [[Thomas Scott Baldwin]], financed their activities through passenger flights and public demonstration flights. [[Stanley Spencer (aeronaut)|Stanley Spencer]] built the first British airship with funds from advertising baby food on the sides of the envelope.<ref name="Christchurch Star">[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=TS19031231.2.12&cl=&srpos=0&e=-------10-PubMetaTS-1-byDA---2%2522cashmere+road%2522-- Papers Past – Christchurch Star, 31 December 1903, ''Ways of Airships'' (p. 2)]</ref> Others, such as [[Walter Wellman]] and [[Melvin Vaniman]], set their sights on loftier goals, attempting two polar flights in 1907 and 1909, and two trans-Atlantic flights in 1910 and 1912.<ref>Toland (1957), pp. 49–51.</ref>
[[File:1911 AstraTorres airshipNo1 crop.jpg|right|thumb|[[Astra-Torres airship]] No.1 at an air show in 1911]]

In 1902 the Spanish engineer [[Leonardo Torres Quevedo]] published details of an innovative airship design in Spain and France titled "{{lang|fr|Perfectionnements aux aerostats dirigibles}}" ("Improvements in dirigible aerostats").<ref>{{cite journal | title=La dirección de globos y un inventor español | url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000682851&page=3&search=%22leonardo+torres+quevedo%22&lang=es | journal=La Época | date=1902 }}</ref><ref name="Redondo2008">Francisco A. González Redondo. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348018483_Leonardo_Torres_Quevedo_1902-1908_The_Foundations_for_100_years_of_Airship_designs ''Leonardo Torres Quevedo, 1902–1908. The Foundations for 100 years of Airship designs''] In book: Proceedings of the 7th International Airship Convention, pp. 1–12, Publisher: German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics (DGLR), October 2008.</ref> With a non-rigid body and internal bracing wires, it overcame the flaws of these types of aircraft as regards both rigid structure (zeppelin type) and flexibility, providing the airships with more stability during flight, and the capability of using heavier engines and a greater passenger load. A system called "auto-rigid". In 1905, helped by Captain A. Kindelán, he built the airship "Torres Quevedo" at the [[Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha|Guadalajara]] military base.<ref>{{cite web|author=Francisco A. González Redondo|date=2019|number=88|periodical=Revista de la Asociación Española de Ensayos No Destructivos|title=Leonardo Torres Quevedo: Ingeniero, Matemático, Inventor|url=https://www.aend.org/Revistas%20digitales/RevAEND88.pdf}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> In 1909 he patented an improved design that he offered to the French [[Société Astra|Astra]] company, who started mass-producing it in 1911 as the [[Astra-Torres airship]].<ref name=Talbot>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q346DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT30|title=Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War|last=Ambrose Talbot|first=Frederick Arthur|date=2020|publisher=Prabhat Prakashan|isbn=978-81-8430-501-2|pages=30–32|chapter=Airships of War|language=en}}</ref> This type of envelope was employed in the United Kingdom in the [[Coastal class airship|Coastal]], [[C Star class airship|C Star]], and [[NS class airship|North Sea]] airships.<ref name=Whale>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KkN-CgAAQBAJ|title=British Airships – Past, Present And Future|last=Whale|first=George|date=2013|publisher=Read Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-4733-9152-9|chapter=Airship design|language=en}}</ref> The distinctive three-lobed design was widely used during the Great War by the Entente powers for diverse tasks, principally convoy protection and anti-submarine warfare. The success during the war even drew the attention of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], who acquired a model in 1922.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Starkings|first1=Peter|title=Japanese Military Airships 1910–1945|url=http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/jas_jottings/japanese_airships.htm|access-date=8 September 2015}}</ref> Torres also drew up designs of a 'docking station' and made alterations to airship designs, to find a resolution to the slew of problems faced by airship engineers to dock dirigibles. In 1910, he proposed the idea of attaching an airships nose to a [[mooring mast]] and allowing the airship to weathervane with changes of wind direction. The use of a metal column erected on the ground, the top of which the bow or stem would be directly attached to (by a cable) would allow a dirigible to be moored at any time, in the open, regardless of wind speeds. Additionally, Torres' design called for the improvement and accessibility of temporary landing sites, where airships were to be moored for the purpose of disembarkation of passengers. The final patent was presented in February 1911 in Belgium, and later to France and the United Kingdom in 1912, under the title "Improvements in Mooring Arrangements for Airships".<ref>Francisco A. González Redondo. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Francisco-Gonzalez-Redondo/publication/347906296_The_Mooring_Mast_history_and_controversy_Dirigible_The_Journal_of_The_Airship_Heritage_Trust_1753-2175/links/5fe67094299bf14088440363/The-Mooring-Mast-history-and-controversy-Dirigible-The-Journal-of-The-Airship-Heritage-Trust-1753-2175.pdf The Mooring Mast: History and Controversy], pp. 12–17, The Airship Heritage Trust (1753-2175): No. 69, 2013.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=González-Redondo|first1=F.|title=The Controversial Origins of the Mooring Mast for Airships: An Historical Overview of a Neglected Branch of Aeronautical Technology that has Great Potential for Future Use|last2=Camplin|first2=G.|publisher=[[International Committee for the History of Technology]]|year=2015|pages=81–108|issue=21}}</ref><ref>([https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/LEONARDO-TORRES-QUEVEDO%2C-1902-1908.-THE-FOUNDATIONS-Redondo/908ea29044d0bc3879e85f97ecbd0006885d0a1b/figure/7 see Fig.1])</ref>

Other airship builders were also active before the war: from 1902 the French company [[Lebaudy Frères]] specialized in semirigid airships such as the ''[[Lebaudy Patrie|Patrie]]'' and the ''[[Lebaudy République|République]]'', designed by their engineer Henri Julliot, who later worked for the American company [[Goodrich Corporation|Goodrich]]; the German firm [[Schütte-Lanz]] built the wooden-framed SL series from 1911, introducing important technical innovations; another German firm [[Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft]] built the ''[[August von Parseval|Parseval]]-Luftschiff'' (PL) series from 1909,<ref name=LuegerLuftschiff>[[#Lueger1920|Lueger 1920]], pp. 404–412, [http://www.zeno.org/Lueger-1904/A/Luftschiff Luftschiff]</ref> and Italian [[Enrico Forlanini]]'s firm had built and flown the first two [[Forlanini airships]].<ref name=Lig>[[#Lig|Ligugnana, Sandro]]</ref>

On May 12, 1902, the inventor and [[Brazil]]ian aeronaut [[Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhao]] and his French mechanic, Georges Saché, died when they were flying over [[Paris]] in the airship called Pax. A marble plaque at number 81 of the Avenue du Maine in Paris, commemorates the location of Augusto Severo accident.<ref name=severodeath>{{cite web|url=http://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/M500050/Death-of-the-aeronaut-Auguste-Severo-and-his-mechanic-George-Sache?img=2&search=Sache&bool=phrase|title=Death of the aeronaut Auguste Severo and his mechanic George Sache|work=lookandlearn.com|access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref><ref name=severo>{{cite web|url=http://cabanus.e-monsite.com/pages/les-dirigeables/la-belle-epoque-1890-1905.html|title=La belle époque. 1890–1905.|work=e-monsite.com|access-date=4 October 2016|archive-date=5 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005121233/http://cabanus.e-monsite.com/pages/les-dirigeables/la-belle-epoque-1890-1905.html}}</ref> ''[[The Catastrophe of the Balloon "Le Pax"]]'' is a 1902 short silent film recreation of the catastrophe, directed by [[Georges Méliès]].

In Britain, the Army built their first dirigible, the [[British Army Dirigible No 1|''Nulli Secundus'']], in 1907. The Navy ordered the construction of an experimental rigid in 1908. Officially known as [[HMA No. 1|His Majesty's Airship No. 1]] and nicknamed the ''Mayfly'', it broke its back in 1911 before making a single flight. Work on a successor did not start until 1913.

German airship passenger service known as [[DELAG]] (Deutsche-Luftschiffahrts AG) was established in 1910.

In 1910 [[Walter Wellman]] unsuccessfully attempted an aerial crossing of the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in the airship ''[[America (airship)|America]]''.

===World War I===
{{Main|German strategic bombing during World War I}}
[[File:Dirigeable militaire ital z603qz55s 0 5m60qs94p.tiff|thumb|right|Italian military airship, 1908]]
[[File:German airship bombing Warsaw.JPG|thumb|German airship [[List of Schütte-Lanz airships#SL2|Schütte Lanz SL2]] [[Aerial bombing of cities|bombing]] [[Warsaw]] in 1914]]

The prospect of airships as bombers had been recognized in Europe well before the airships were up to the task. [[H. G. Wells]]' ''[[The War in the Air]]'' (1908) described the obliteration of entire fleets and cities by airship attack. The Italian forces became the first to use dirigibles for a military purpose during the [[Italo–Turkish War]], the first bombing mission being flown on 10 March 1912.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1912/1912%20-%200298.html With the Dirigibles at Tripoli][[Flight International|''Flight'']] 30 March 1912</ref> [[World War I]] marked the airship's real debut as a weapon. The Germans, French, and Italians all used airships for scouting and tactical bombing roles early in the war, and all learned that the airship was too vulnerable for operations over the front. The decision to end operations in direct support of armies was made by all in 1917.<ref>Ventry & Koesnik (1982), p. 85.</ref><ref>Robinson (1973), pp. 126–127.</ref>

Many in the German military believed they had found the ideal weapon with which to counteract British naval superiority and strike at Britain itself, while more realistic airship advocates believed the zeppelin's value was as a long range scout/attack craft for naval operations. Raids on England began in January 1915 and peaked in 1916: following losses to the British defenses only a few raids were made in 1917–18, the last in August 1918.<ref>Robinson 1994, p. 360.</ref> Zeppelins proved to be terrifying but inaccurate weapons. Navigation, target selection and bomb-aiming proved to be difficult under the best of conditions, and the cloud cover that was frequently encountered by the airships reduced accuracy even further. The physical damage done by airships over the course of the war was insignificant, and the deaths that they caused amounted to a few hundred.<ref>Cole, Christopher and Cheesman, E. F. ''The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918''. London: Putnam, 1984. {{ISBN|0-370-30538-8}}. p. 449</ref> Nevertheless, the raids caused a significant diversion of British resources to defense efforts. The airships were initially immune to attack by aircraft and anti-aircraft guns: as the pressure in their envelopes was only just higher than ambient air, holes had little effect. But following the introduction of a combination of [[Incendiary ammunition|incendiary]] and [[High-explosive incendiary|explosive]] ammunition in 1916, their flammable hydrogen lifting gas made them vulnerable to the defending aeroplanes. Several were shot down in flames by British defenders, and many others destroyed in accidents. New designs capable of reaching greater altitude were developed, but although this made them immune from attack it made their bombing accuracy even worse.

Countermeasures by the British included sound detection equipment, searchlights and anti-aircraft artillery, followed by night fighters in 1915. One tactic used early in the war, when their limited range meant the airships had to fly from forward bases and the only zeppelin production facilities were in [[Friedrichshafen]], was the bombing of airship sheds by the British [[Royal Naval Air Service]]. Later in the war, the development of the [[aircraft carrier]] led to the first successful carrier-based air strike in history: on the morning of 19 July 1918, seven [[Sopwith Camel|Sopwith 2F.1 Camels]] were launched from {{HMS|Furious|47|6}} and [[Tondern raid|struck the airship base at Tønder]], destroying zeppelins L&nbsp;54 and L&nbsp;60.<ref>Robinson (1994), pp. 340–341.</ref>

[[File:1918 view from French dirigible.jpg|thumb|left|View from a French dirigible approaching a watership in 1918]]
[[File:Zeppelin_wreck_23_sept_1916.JPG|thumb|right|Wreckage of Zeppelin [[Zeppelin LZ 72|L31]] or [[Zeppelin LZ 74|L32]] shot down over England, 23 September 1916]]

The British Army had abandoned airship development in favour of aeroplanes before the start of the war, but the Royal Navy had recognized the need for small airships to counteract the submarine and mine threat in coastal waters.<ref>Higham (1961), p. 111.</ref> Beginning in February 1915, they began to develop the [[SS class blimp|SS]] (Sea Scout) class of blimp. These had a small envelope of {{convert|1,699|-|1,982|m3|cuft|abbr=on}} and at first used aircraft [[fuselage]]s without the wing and tail surfaces as control cars. Later, more advanced blimps with purpose-built gondolas were used. The [[NS class blimp|NS class]] (North Sea) were the largest and most effective non-rigid airships in British service, with a gas capacity of {{convert|10200|m3|cuft|abbr=on}}, a crew of 10 and an endurance of 24 hours. Six {{convert|230|lb|adj=on|abbr=on}} bombs were carried, as well as three to five machine guns. British blimps were used for scouting, mine clearance, and [[convoy]] patrol duties. During the war, the British operated over 200 non-rigid airships.<ref>Mowthorpe, Ces, ''Battlebags'', Stroud, Gloucs, Allan Sutton Publishing, 1995, p. xxiii.</ref> Several were sold to Russia, France, the United States, and Italy. The large number of trained crews, low attrition rate and constant experimentation in handling techniques meant that at the war's end Britain was the world leader in non-rigid airship technology.

The Royal Navy continued development of rigid airships until the end of the war. Eight rigid airships had been completed by the armistice, ([[No. 9r]], four [[23 class airship|23 Class]], two [[R23X class airship|R23X Class]] and one [[R31 class airship|R31 Class]]), although several more were in an advanced state of completion by the war's end.<ref>Patrick Abbott and Nick Walmsley, British Airships in Pictures: An Illustrated History, House of Lochar 1998, {{ISBN|1-899863-48-6}} (pp. 59–69)</ref> Both France and Italy continued to use airships throughout the war. France preferred the non-rigid type, whereas Italy flew 49 semi-rigid airships in both the scouting and bombing roles.<ref>Ventry & Koesnik (1982), p. 97.</ref>

Aeroplanes had almost entirely replaced airships as bombers by the end of the war, and Germany's remaining zeppelins were destroyed by their crews, scrapped or handed over to the Allied powers as war reparations. The British rigid airship program, which had mainly been a reaction to the potential threat of the German airships, was wound down.

===The interwar period===
[[File:Airship Bodensee, Oct. 1919.jpg|thumbnail|The ''[[Zeppelin LZ 120 Bodensee|Bodensee]]'' 1919]]
[[File:LZ121 Nordstern.jpg|thumbnail|The ''[[Zeppelin LZ 121 Nordstern|Nordstern]]'' 1920]]
[[File:Norge airship in flight 1926.jpg|thumb|[[Norge (airship)|''Norge'']] airship in flight 1926]]
[[File:R-38-rescue.jpg|thumb|Rescuers scramble across the wreckage of British [[R38 (ZR-2)|R-38/USN ZR-2]], 24 August 1921.]]

Britain, the United States and Germany built rigid airships between the two world wars. Italy and France made limited use of Zeppelins handed over as war reparations. Italy, the Soviet Union, the United States and Japan mainly operated semi-rigid airships.

Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Versailles]], Germany was not allowed to build airships of greater capacity than a million cubic feet. Two small passenger airships, [[Zeppelin LZ 120 Bodensee|LZ&nbsp;120 ''Bodensee'']] and its sister ship LZ&nbsp;121 ''Nordstern'', were built immediately after the war but were confiscated following the sabotage of the wartime Zeppelins that were to have been handed over as war reparations: ''Bodensee'' was given to Italy and ''Nordstern'' to France. On May 12, 1926, the Italian built semi-rigid airship ''[[Norge (airship)|Norge]]'' was the first aircraft to fly over the [[North Pole]].

The British [[R33 class airship|R33]] and [[R34 (airship)|R34]] were improved versions of the German L&nbsp;33, which had come down almost intact in Yorkshire on 24 September 1916.<ref>Higham (1961), p. 138.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1921-10-01 |title=Rigid Airships |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1921/october/rigid-airships |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=U.S. Naval Institute |language=en |quote=British talent has contributed a number of advancements to the art}}</ref> Despite being almost three years out of date by the time they were launched in 1919, they became two of the most successful airships in British service. The creation of the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) in early 1918 created a hybrid British airship program. The RAF was not interested in airships while the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] was, so a deal was made where the Admiralty would design any future military airships and the RAF would handle manpower, facilities and operations.<ref name="Higham 176">Higham (1961), p. 176.</ref> On 2 July 1919, R34 began the first crossing of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] by a passenger aircraft.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hitchens |first=Frank |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtkPEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 |title=Pioneer Aviators: ...and the Planes They Flew |date=2023 |publisher=Andrews UK Limited |isbn=978-1-83791-189-9 |page=272 |language=en}}</ref> It landed at [[Mineola, Long Island]] on 6 July after 108&nbsp;hours in the air; the return crossing began on 8 July and took 75 hours. This feat failed to generate enthusiasm for continued airship development, and the British airship program was rapidly wound down.

During World War I, the U.S. Navy acquired its first airship, the DH-1,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gtoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA819|title=Navy's First Dirigible Meets Disaster|page=819|magazine=Popular Mechanics|date=June 1916|volume=25|issue=6|access-date=4 October 2016|via=Google Books}}</ref> but it was destroyed while being inflated shortly after delivery to the Navy. After the war, the U.S. Navy contracted to buy the [[ZR-2|R 38]], which was being built in Britain, but before it was handed over it was destroyed because of a structural failure during a test flight.<ref>Higham 1961, pp. 222–223.</ref>
[[File:USS Shenandoah Bau.jpg|thumb|left|{{USS|Shenandoah|ZR-1}} during construction, 1923]]
[[File:ZR3 USS Los Angeles an Kriegsschiff.jpg|thumb|left|{{USS|Los Angeles|ZR-3}} beside tender [[USS Patoka]] February 1931]]
America then started constructing the {{USS|Shenandoah|ZR-1|6}}, designed by the [[Bureau of Aeronautics]] and based on the [[List of Zeppelins#LZ 96|Zeppelin L&nbsp;49]].<ref>Swanborough, G. and Bowyers, P. M. ''United States Navy Aircraft Since 1912''. London: Putnam, 1976 (2nd ed.) {{ISBN|0851778380}}, p. 586</ref> Assembled in [[Hangar No. 1, Lakehurst Naval Air Station|Hangar No. 1]] and first flown on 4 September 1923<ref name=Hnavy>{{cite web|title=USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), Airship 1923–1925 -Construction and Christening, 1922–1923 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/ac-usn22/z-types/zr1-v.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021206160908/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/ac-usn22/z-types/zr1-v.htm |archive-date=December 6, 2002 |publisher=Naval Historical Center |access-date=December 28, 2011 }}</ref> at [[Lakehurst, New Jersey]], it was the first airship to be inflated with the [[noble gas]] [[helium]], which was then so scarce that the ''Shenandoah'' contained most of the world's supply. A second airship, {{USS|Los Angeles|ZR-3|6}}, was built by the Zeppelin company as compensation for the airships that should have been handed over as war reparations according to the terms of the Versailles Treaty but had been sabotaged by their crews. This construction order saved the Zeppelin works from the threat of closure. The success of the ''Los Angeles'', which was flown successfully for eight years, encouraged the U.S. Navy to invest in its own, larger airships. When the ''Los Angeles'' was delivered, the two airships had to share the limited supply of helium, and thus alternated operating and overhauls.<ref>Althoff, William F., ''USS Los Angeles'', Washington DC, Brassey's, 2004, p. 48, {{ISBN|1-57488-620-7}}</ref>

In 1922, [[Charles Dennistoun Burney|Sir Dennistoun Burney]] suggested a plan for a subsidised air service throughout the [[British Empire]] using airships (the Burney Scheme).<ref name="Higham 176" /> Following the coming to power of [[Ramsay MacDonald]]'s [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government in 1924, the scheme was transformed into the [[Imperial Airship Scheme]], under which two airships were built, one by a private company and the other by the [[Royal Airship Works]] under Air Ministry control. The two designs were radically different. The "capitalist" ship, the ''[[R100]]'', was more conventional, while the "socialist" ship, the [[R101]], had many innovative design features. Construction of both took longer than expected, and the airships did not fly until 1929. Neither airship was capable of the service intended, though the R100 did complete a proving flight to Canada and back in 1930.<ref>Countryman, Barry, ''R100 in Canada'', Erin, Ontario, Boston Mills, 1982, {{ISBN|0-919822-36-3}}</ref> On 5 October 1930, the R101, which had not been thoroughly tested after major modifications, crashed on its maiden voyage to India at Beauvais in France killing 48 of the 54 people aboard. Among the dead were the craft's chief designer and the Secretary of State for Air. The disaster ended British interest in airships.

In 1925 the Zeppelin company started construction of the [[LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin|''Graf Zeppelin'' (LZ&nbsp;127)]], the largest airship that could be built in the company's existing shed, and intended to stimulate interest in passenger airships. The ''Graf Zeppelin'' burned ''[[blau gas]]'', similar to [[propane]], stored in large gas bags below the hydrogen cells, as fuel. Since its density was similar to that of air, it avoided the weight change as fuel was used, and thus the need to [[valve]] hydrogen. The ''Graf Zeppelin'' had an impressive safety record, flying over {{convert|1600000|km|mi|abbr=on}} (including the first circumnavigation of the globe by airship) without a single passenger injury.<ref>Botting, Douglas, ''Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine''. New York: Henry Hold, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8050-6458-3}}</ref> [[File:NH43901-enhanced.jpg|thumb|USS ''Macon'' over [[Lower Manhattan]], 1933]]
The U.S. Navy experimented with the use of airships as [[airborne aircraft carrier]]s, developing an idea pioneered by the British. The USS ''Los Angeles'' was used for initial experiments, and the {{USS|Akron|ZRS-4|6}} and {{USS|Macon|ZRS-5|2}}, the world's largest at the time, were used to test the principle in naval operations. Each carried four [[F9C Sparrowhawk]] [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]] in its hangar, and could carry a fifth on the trapeze. The idea had mixed results. By the time the Navy started to develop a sound doctrine for using the ZRS-type airships, the last of the two built, USS ''Macon'', had been wrecked. Meanwhile, the seaplane had become more capable, and was considered a better investment.<ref>Smith (1965), pp. 171–174.</ref>

Eventually, the U.S. Navy lost all three U.S.-built rigid airships to accidents.<ref name=":1" /> USS ''Shenandoah'' flew into a [[severe thunderstorm]] over [[Noble County, Ohio]] while on a poorly planned publicity flight on 3 September 1925. It broke into pieces, killing 14 of its crew. USS ''Akron'' was caught in a severe storm and flown into the surface of the sea off the shore of New Jersey on 3 April 1933. It carried no life boats and few life vests, so 73 of its crew of 76 died from drowning or hypothermia. USS ''Macon'' was lost after suffering a structural failure offshore near [[Point Sur Lighthouse]] on 12 February 1935. The failure caused a loss of gas, which was made much worse when the aircraft was driven over [[pressure height]] causing it to lose too much helium to maintain flight.<ref>Smith (1965), pp. 157–161.</ref> Only two of its crew of 83 died in the crash thanks to the inclusion of life jackets and inflatable rafts after the ''Akron'' disaster.

The [[Empire State Building]] was completed in 1931 with a dirigible mast, in anticipation of future passenger airship service, but no airship ever used the mast. Various entrepreneurs experimented with commuting and shipping freight via airship.<ref>{{cite podcast|date=2010|title=Intercity Dirigible Service|website=The Engines of Our Ingenuity|last=Lienhard|first=John H.|number=2571|url=https://engines.egr.uh.edu/episode/2571}}</ref>

In the 1930s, the German Zeppelins successfully competed with other means of transport. They could carry significantly more passengers than other contemporary aircraft while providing amenities similar to those on ocean liners, such as private cabins, observation decks, and dining rooms. Less importantly, the technology was potentially more energy-efficient than heavier-than-air designs. Zeppelins were also faster than ocean liners. On the other hand, operating airships was quite involved. Often the crew would outnumber passengers, and on the ground large teams were necessary to assist mooring and very large hangars were required at airports.

[[File:Hindenburg burning.jpg|thumb|left|The ''[[LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg]]'' catches fire, 6 May 1937]]
By the mid-1930s, only Germany still pursued airship development. The Zeppelin company continued to operate the ''Graf Zeppelin'' on passenger service between Frankfurt and [[Recife]] in Brazil, taking 68 hours. Even with the small ''Graf Zeppelin'', the operation was almost profitable.<ref>Botting, Douglas, ''Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine''. New York, Henry Hold, 2001, p. 235, {{ISBN|0-8050-6458-3}}</ref> In the mid-1930s, work began on an airship designed specifically to operate a passenger service across the Atlantic.<ref>Dick, Harold G., with Robinson, Douglas H., ''Graf Zeppelin & Hindenburg'', Washington DC, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985, p. 83, {{ISBN|0-87474-364-8}}</ref> The [[LZ 129 Hindenburg|''Hindenburg'' (LZ 129)]] completed a successful 1936 season, carrying passengers between [[Lakehurst, New Jersey]] and Germany. The year 1937 started with the most spectacular and widely remembered airship accident. Approaching the Lakehurst [[mooring mast]] minutes before landing on 6 May 1937, the ''Hindenburg'' suddenly burst into flames and crashed to the ground. Of the 97 people aboard, 35 died: 13 passengers, 22 aircrew, along with one American ground-crewman. The disaster happened before a large crowd, was filmed and a [[Herbert Morrison (announcer)|radio news reporter]] was recording the arrival. This was a disaster that theater goers could see and hear in [[newsreels]]. The [[Hindenburg disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster]] shattered public confidence in airships, and brought a definitive end to their "golden age". The day after the ''Hindenburg'' disaster, the ''Graf Zeppelin'' landed safely in Germany after its return flight from Brazil. This was the last international passenger airship flight.

''Hindenburg''{{'}}s identical sister ship, the [[LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin|''Graf Zeppelin II'' (LZ 130)]], could not carry commercial passengers without helium, which the United States refused to sell to Germany. The ''Graf Zeppelin'' made several test flights and conducted some electronic espionage until 1939 when it was grounded due to the beginning of the war. The two ''Graf Zeppelins'' were scrapped in April, 1940.

Development of airships continued only in the United States, and to a lesser extent, the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had several semi-rigid and non-rigid airships. The semi-rigid dirigible [[SSSR-V6 OSOAVIAKhIM]] was among the largest of these craft, and it set the longest endurance flight at the time of over 130 hours. It crashed into a mountain in 1938, killing 13 of the 19 people on board. While this was a severe blow to the Soviet airship program, they continued to operate non-rigid airships until 1950.

===World War II===
While Germany determined that airships were obsolete for military purposes in the coming war and concentrated on the development of aeroplanes, the United States pursued a program of military airship construction even though it had not developed a clear [[military doctrine]] for airship use. When the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941, bringing the United States into [[World War II]], the U.S. Navy had 10 nonrigid airships:
*4 ''K''-class: ''K-2'', ''K-3'', ''K-4'' and ''K-5'' designed as patrol ships, all built in 1938.
*3 ''L''-class: ''L-1'', ''L-2'' and ''L-3'' as small training ships, produced in 1938.
*1 ''G''-class, built in 1936 for training.
*2 ''TC''-class that were older patrol airships designed for land forces, built in 1933. The U.S. Navy acquired both from the United States Army in 1938.
[[File:Goodyear ZNPK (K-28) Puritan (2834542477).jpg|thumb|Control car (gondola) of the Goodyear ZNPK (K-28) later operated by Goodyear as Puritan VI]]

Only ''K''- and ''TC''-class airships were suitable for combat and they were quickly pressed into service against Japanese and German [[submarine]]s, which were then sinking American shipping within visual range of the American coast. U.S. Navy command, remembering airship's anti-submarine success in World War I, immediately requested new modern antisubmarine airships and on 2 January 1942 formed the ZP-12 patrol unit based in [[Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst|Lakehurst]] from the four ''K'' airships. The ZP-32 patrol unit was formed from two ''TC'' and two ''L'' airships a month later, based at [[Moffett Federal Airfield|NAS Moffett Field]] in [[Sunnyvale, California]]. An airship training base was created there as well. The status of submarine-hunting Goodyear airships in the early days of [[World War II]] has created significant confusion. Although various accounts refer to airships ''Resolute'' and ''Volunteer'' as operating as "privateers" under a [[Letter of Marque]], Congress never authorized a commission, nor did the President sign one.<ref>Theodore Richard, Reconsidering the [[Letter of Marque]]: Utilizing Private Security Providers Against Piracy (April 1, 2010). Public Contract Law Journal, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 411–464 at 429 n. 121, Spring 2010. Available at [http://ssrn.com/abstract=1591039 SSRN]</ref>

[[File:mcastustin1.jpg|thumb|left|A view of six helium-filled blimps being stored in one of the two massive [[hangar]]s located at [[Marine Corps Air Station Tustin|NAS Santa Ana]], during World War II]]

In the years 1942–44, approximately 1,400 airship pilots and 3,000 support crew members were trained in the military airship crew training program and the airship military personnel grew from 430 to 12,400. The U.S. airships were produced by the [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company|Goodyear]] factory in [[Akron, Ohio]]. From 1942 till 1945, 154 airships were built for the U.S. Navy (133 ''K''-class, 10 ''L''-class, seven ''G''-class, four ''M''-class) and five ''L''-class for civilian customers (serial numbers ''L-4'' to ''L-8'').

The primary airship tasks were patrol and [[convoy]] escort near the American coastline. They also served as an organization centre for the convoys to direct ship movements, and were used in naval search and rescue operations. Rarer duties of the airships included aerophoto reconnaissance, naval mine-laying and mine-sweeping, parachute unit transport and deployment, cargo and personnel transportation. They were deemed quite successful in their duties with the highest combat readiness factor in the entire U.S. air force (87%).

During the war, some 532 ships without airship escort were sunk near the U.S. coast by enemy submarines. Only one ship, the tanker ''Persephone'', of the 89,000 or so in convoys escorted by blimps was sunk by the enemy.{{sfnp|Vaeth|1992|pp=20–21}} Airships engaged submarines with [[depth charge]]s and, less frequently, with other on-board weapons. They were excellent at driving submarines down, where their limited speed and range prevented them from attacking convoys. The weapons available to airships were so limited that until the advent of the [[homing torpedo]] they had little chance of sinking a submarine.<ref name="Vaeth 1992">{{cite book|last=Vaeth |first=J. Gordon |title=Blimps & U-Boats |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=U.S. Naval Institute Press |year=1992 |isbn=1-55750-876-3}}</ref>

Only one airship was ever destroyed by [[U-boat]]: on the night of 18/19 July 1943, the ''K-74'' from ZP-21 division was patrolling the coastline near Florida. Using [[radar]], the airship located a surfaced German submarine. The ''K-74'' made her attack run but the U-boat opened fire first. ''K-74''{{'}}s [[depth charge]]s did not release as she crossed the U-boat and the ''K-74'' received serious damage, losing gas pressure and an engine but landing in the water without loss of life. The crew was rescued by patrol boats in the morning, but one crewman, Aviation Machinist's Mate Second Class Isadore Stessel, died from a [[shark]] attack. The U-boat, {{Ship|German|submarine U-134|1941|2}}, was slightly damaged and the next day or so was attacked by aircraft, sustaining damage that forced it to return to base. It was finally sunk on 24 August 1943 by a British [[Vickers Wellington]] near [[Vigo, Spain]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010612154236/http://www.history.navy.mil/download/lta-08.pdf U.S. Navy LTA history]}}.</ref><ref>[http://uboat.net/boats/u134.htm U-134 history], ''Uboat.net''.</ref>

Fleet Airship Wing One operated from Lakehurst, New Jersey, Glynco, Georgia, Weeksville, North Carolina, [[South Weymouth NAS]] Massachusetts, [[Brunswick NAS]] and Bar Harbor Maine, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Argentia, Newfoundland.

[[File:USN ZP-14 Blimp at RAF Gibraltar 1944.jpg|thumb|K-class blimps of USN Blimp Squadron ZP-14 conducted antisubmarine warfare operations at the Strait of Gibraltar in 1944–45.]]

Some Navy blimps saw action in the European war theater. In 1944–45, the U.S. Navy moved an entire squadron of eight Goodyear [[K class blimp]]s (K-89, K-101, K-109, K-112, K-114, K-123, K-130, & K-134) with flight and maintenance crews from [[Weeksville Dirigible Hangar|Weeksville Naval Air Station]] in North Carolina to [[Naval Air Station Port Lyautey]], [[French Morocco]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kaiser |first=Don |date=2011 |title=K-Ships Across the Atlantic |url=http://www.naval-airships.org/resources/documents/NAN_vol93_no2_KShips_feature.pdf |magazine=Naval Aviation News |volume=93 |issue=2 |pages=20–23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217071129/http://naval-airships.org/resources/documents/NAN_vol93_no2_KShips_feature.pdf |archive-date=2015-02-17 |access-date=2013-06-19}}</ref> Their mission was to locate and destroy German U-boats in the relatively shallow waters around the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] where [[magnetic anomaly detection]] (MAD) was viable. PBY aircraft had been searching these waters but MAD required low altitude flying that was dangerous at night for these aircraft. The blimps were considered a perfect solution to establish a [[24/7]] MAD barrier (fence) at the Straits of Gibraltar with the PBYs flying the day shift and the blimps flying the night shift. The first two blimps (K-123 & K-130) left [[Naval Air Station South Weymouth|South Weymouth NAS]] on 28 May 1944 and flew to [[Naval Station Argentia|Argentia, Newfoundland]], the [[Lajes Field|Azores]], and finally to [[Kenitra Airport|Port Lyautey]] where they completed the first transatlantic crossing by nonrigid airships on 1 June 1944. The blimps of USN Blimp Squadron ZP-14 (Blimpron 14, aka ''The Africa Squadron'') also conducted mine-spotting and mine-sweeping operations in key Mediterranean ports and various escorts including the convoy carrying United States President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] to the [[Yalta Conference]] in 1945. Airships from the ZP-12 unit took part in the sinking of the last U-boat before German capitulation, sinking the ''U-881'' on 6 May 1945 together with destroyers [[USS Atherton]] and [[USS Moberly (PF-63)|USS Moberly]].

Other airships patrolled the [[Caribbean]], Fleet Airship Wing Two, Headquartered at [[Naval Air Station Richmond]], covered the [[Gulf of Mexico]] from Richmond and [[Key West, Florida]], [[Houma, Louisiana]], as well as [[Hitchcock, Texas|Hitchcock]] and [[Brownsville, Texas]]. FAW 2 also patrolled the northern Caribbean from San Julian,{{Clarify|date=March 2010|reason=where is this San Julian located, there are several, and cite would be helpful}} the Isle of Pines (now called [[Isla de la Juventud]]) and [[Guantánamo Bay]], Cuba as well as [[Vernam Field]], Jamaica.

[[File:Completed interiour view of 80th CB's LTA.jpg|thumb|Interior view of [[Carlsen Air Force Base|Carlsen Field's]] LTA hangar built by African American [[Seabee]]s of the 80th Naval Construction in 1943]]

Navy blimps of Fleet Airship Wing Five, (ZP-51) operated from bases in [[Trinidad]], [[British Guiana]] and [[Paramaribo]], [[Suriname (Dutch colony)|Suriname]]. Fleet Airship Wing Four operated along the coast of [[Brazil]]. Two squadrons, VP-41 and VP-42 flew from bases at [[Amapá]], [[Igarapé-Açu]], [[São Luís, Maranhão|São Luís]] [[Fortaleza]], [[Fernando de Noronha]], [[Recife]], [[Maceió]], [[Ipitanga]] (near [[Salvador, Bahia]]), [[Caravelas]], [[Vitória, Espírito Santo|Vitória]] and the hangar built for the ''Graf Zeppelin'' at [[Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro]].

Fleet Airship Wing Three operated squadrons, ZP-32 from Moffett Field, ZP-31 at NAS Santa Ana, and ZP-33 at [[Naval Air Station Tillamook|NAS Tillamook, Oregon]]. Auxiliary fields were at [[Del Mar, California|Del Mar]], [[Lompoc, California|Lompoc]], [[Watsonville, California|Watsonville]] and [[Eureka, California|Eureka]], California, [[North Bend, Oregon|North Bend]] and [[Astoria, Oregon]], as well as [[Shelton, Washington|Shelton]] and [[Quillayute Airport|Quillayute]] in Washington.

From 2 January 1942 until the end of war airship operations in the Atlantic, the blimps of the Atlantic fleet made 37,554 flights and flew 378,237 hours. Of the over 70,000 ships in convoys protected by blimps, only one was sunk by a submarine while under blimp escort.<ref name="Vaeth 1992" />

The [[Soviet Union]] flew a single airship during the war. The ''USSR-V1'' (also known as the SSSR-V1 or the CCCP-B1), originally built in 1932.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Journal of the Airship Heritage Trust - Dirigible|url=https://www.airshipsonline.com/dirigible/pdf_copies/No.%2065%20-%20Spring%202012/No.%2065%20-%20Spring%202012.pdf|publisher=Airship Heritage Trust|page=15}}</ref> and rebuilt in 1942 as the ''USSR-V12''.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=The Journal of the Airship Heritage Trust - Dirigible|url=https://www.airshipsonline.com/dirigible/pdf_copies/No.%2065%20-%20Spring%202012/No.%2065%20-%20Spring%202012.pdf|publisher=Airship Heritage Trust|page=17}}</ref> The V12 entered service in 1942 for hydrogen delivery, paratrooper training, and equipment transport. It made 1432 flights with 300&nbsp;[[tonne|metric tons]] of cargo until 1945{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}. In 1947, the V12 crashed into shed doors and caught fire. It was re-built and re-commissioned, as the ''USSR-V12bis'' ''Patriot'', in the same year.

On 1 February 1945, the Soviets commissioned a second airship, ''Pobyeda'' (''Victory''). The Pobyeda was used for mine-sweeping and wreckage clearing in the Black Sea, crashing on 29 January 1947.<ref name="auto"/>

===Postwar period===
[[File:Goodyear blimp.jpg|thumb|left|One of the [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company]]'s [[Goodyear Blimp|blimp]] fleet, being replaced by [[LZ N07-101|Zeppelin NT semirigids]]]]
Although airships are no longer used for major cargo and passenger transport, they are still used for other purposes such as [[advertising]], [[sightseeing]], surveillance, research and [[advocacy]].

There were several studies and proposals for [[atomic airship|nuclear-powered airships]], starting with a 1954 study by F.W. Locke Jr for US Navy.<ref>[http://www.historynet.com/atomic-airships.htm Atomic Airships] by John J. Geoghegan. Originally published in the January 2013 issue of ''Aviation History'' magazine.</ref> In 1957 Edwin J. Kirschner published the book ''The Zeppelin in the Atomic Age'',<ref>''The Zeppelin in the Atomic Age: The Past, Present, and Future of the Rigid Lighter-Than-Air Aircraft'', Kirschner, Edwin J. Published by University of Illinois Press (1957)</ref> which promoted the use of atomic airships. In 1959 [[Goodyear Aerospace|Goodyear]] presented a plan for nuclear-powered airship for both military and commercial use. Several other proposals and papers were published during the next decades.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jurich |first=Leo|title=The Nuclear Powered Airship|date=1 January 1960|journal=SAE Mobilus|series=SAE Technical Paper Series|volume=1|article-number=600278 |publisher=SAE International|doi=10.4271/600278}}</ref>

In the 1980s, [[Per Lindstrand]] and his team introduced the ''GA-42'' airship, the first airship to use [[Aircraft flight control system#Fly-by-wire control systems|fly-by-wire flight control]], which considerably reduced the pilot's workload.

An airship was prominently featured in the [[James Bond (film series)|James Bond film]] ''[[A View to a Kill]]'', released in 1985. The Skyship 500 had the livery of Zorin Industries.<ref>{{cite web | title = IMDb | website = [[IMDb]] | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090264/ }}</ref>

The world's largest [[thermal airship]] ({{convert|300,000|ft3|m3|abbr=off|lk=off|disp=semicolon}}) was constructed by the [[Per Lindstrand]] company for French botanists in 1993. The ''AS-300'' carried an underslung raft, which was positioned by the airship on top of tree canopies in the rain forest, allowing the botanists to carry out their treetop research without significant damage to the rainforest. When research was finished at a given location, the airship returned to pick up and relocate the raft.<ref>[http://www.lindstrandtech.com/thermal_airships.html ''Thermal Airships''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003191341/http://www.lindstrandtech.com/thermal_airships.html |date=October 3, 2013 }}, Lindstrand Technologies.</ref>

In June 1987, the U.S. Navy awarded a US$168.9&nbsp;million contract to [[Westinghouse Electric]] and [[Airship Industries]] of the UK to find out whether an airship could be used as an airborne platform to detect the threat of sea-skimming missiles, such as the [[Exocet]].<ref name=nyt870606>{{Cite news | agency = Reuters | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/06/business/navy-awards-blimp-order.html | title = Navy Awards Blimp Order | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 6 June 1987 | access-date = 6 November 2007 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071215035457/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDC1E30F935A35755C0A961948260| archive-date= 15 December 2007 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref> At 2.5 million cubic feet, the Westinghouse/Airship Industries Sentinel 5000 (Redesignated YEZ-2A by the U.S. Navy) prototype design was to have been the largest blimp ever constructed.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1992–93 |publisher=Janes Information Group |year=1992 |isbn=0-7106-0987-6 |editor-last=Lambert |editor-first=Mark}}</ref> Additional funding for the Naval Airship Program was killed in 1995 and development was discontinued.

The SVAM CA-80 airship, which was produced in 2000 by Shanghai Vantage Airship Manufacture Co., Ltd., had a successful trial flight in September 2001. This was designed for advertisement and propagation, air-photo, scientific test, tour and surveillance duties. It was certified as a grade-A Hi-Tech introduction program (No. 20000186) in Shanghai. The CAAC authority granted a type design approval and certificate of airworthiness for the airship.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2000 |title=Model CA-80 Non-rigid Airship |url=http://www.vantageship.com/en_ca80data.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183256/http://www.vantageship.com/en_ca80data.htm |archive-date=2016-03-03 |website=Shanghai Vantage Airship Manufacture Co., Ltd.}}</ref>

In the 1990s the Zeppelin company returned to the airship business. Their new model, designated the [[Zeppelin NT]], made its maiden flight on 18 September 1997. {{as of|2009}} there were four NT aircraft flying, a fifth was completed in March 2009 and an expanded NT-14 (14,000&nbsp;cubic meters of helium, capable of carrying 19 passengers) was under construction. One was sold to a Japanese company, and was planned to be flown to Japan in the summer of 2004. Due to delays getting permission from the Russian government, the company decided to transport the airship to Japan by sea. One of the four NT craft is in South Africa carrying diamond detection equipment from De Beers, an application at which the very stable low vibration NT platform excels. The project included design adaptations for high temperature operation and desert climate, as well as a separate [[mooring mast]] and a very heavy mooring truck. NT-4 belonged to [[Airship Ventures]] of Moffett Field, Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, and provided sight-seeing tours.

[[Blimp]]s are used for advertising and as TV camera platforms at major sporting events. The most iconic of these are the [[Goodyear Blimp]]s. Goodyear operates three blimps in the United States, and [[American Blimp Corporation|The Lightship Group]], now The AirSign Airship Group,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airsign.com|title=Aerial Advertising & Airplane Banner Towing |website=www.airsign.com}}</ref> operates up to 19 advertising blimps around the world. [[Airship Management Services]] owns and operates three [[Skyship 600]] blimps. Two operate as advertising and security ships in North America and the Caribbean. [[Airship Ventures]] operated a Zeppelin NT for advertising, passenger service and special mission projects. They were the only airship operator in the U.S. authorized to fly commercial passengers, until closing their doors in 2012.

[[Skycruise Switzerland AG]] owns and operates two [[Skyship 600]] blimps. One operates regularly over Switzerland used on sightseeing tours.
[[File:Spiritofdubai.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Spirit of Dubai]] approaches its motorized [[mooring mast]]]]
The Switzerland-based Skyship 600 has also played other roles over the years. For example, it was flown over [[Athens]] during the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] as a security measure. In November 2006, it carried advertising calling it ''The [[Spirit of Dubai]]'' as it began a publicity tour from London to Dubai, UAE on behalf of [[The Palm Islands]], the world's largest man-made islands created as a residential complex.

Los Angeles-based [[Worldwide Aeros Corp.]] produces FAA Type Certified [[Aeros 40D Sky Dragon]] airships.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.aerosml.com/ | title = Worldwide Aeros Corp }}</ref>

In May 2006, the U.S. Navy began to fly airships again after a hiatus of nearly 44 years. The program uses a single [[American Blimp Company]] A-170 nonrigid airship, with designation [[American Blimp MZ-3|MZ-3A]]. Operations focus on crew training and research, and the platform integrator is [[Northrop Grumman]]. The program is directed by the [[Naval Air Systems Command]] and is being carried out at [[NAES Lakehurst]], the original centre of U.S. Navy lighter-than-air operations in previous decades.

In November 2006 the U.S. Army bought an A380+ airship from [[American Blimp Corporation]] through a Systems level contract with [[Northrop Grumman]] and [[Booz Allen Hamilton]]. The airship started flight tests in late 2007, with a primary goal of carrying {{convert|2500|lb|abbr= on}} of payload to an altitude of {{convert|15000|ft|m|abbr= on}} under [[remote control]] and [[autonomous waypoint navigation]]. The program will also demonstrate carrying {{convert|1000|lb|abbr= on}} of payload to {{convert|20000|ft|m|abbr=on}} The platform could be used for intelligence collection. In 2008, the ''CA-150'' airship was launched by Vantage Airship. This is an improved modification of model ''CA-120'' and completed manufacturing in 2008. With larger volume and increased passenger capacity, it is the largest manned nonrigid airship in China at present.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CA-150 型软式载人飞艇 |trans-title=CA-150 Non-rigid Manned Airship |url=http://www.vantageship.com/en/index.php?id=61 |website=Shanghai Vantage Airship Manufacture Co., Ltd.}}</ref>

In late June 2014 the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] flew the GEFA-FLUG AS 105 GD/4<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yro.slashdot.org/story/14/06/27/1927213/protesters-launch-a-135-foot-blimp-over-the-nsas-utah-data-center|title=Protesters Launch a 135-Foot Blimp Over the NSA's Utah Data Center |work=slashdot.org|date=27 June 2014 |access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref> blimp AE Bates (owned by, and in conjunction with, [[Greenpeace]]) over the [[NSA]]'s [[Bluffdale, Utah|Bluffdale]] [[Utah Data Center]] in protest.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/06/protestors-launch-a-135-foot-blimp-over-the-nsas-utah-data-center/|title=Protestors Launch a 135-Foot Blimp Over the NSA's Utah Data Center|first=Andy|last=Greenberg|magazine=wired.com|access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref>

====Postwar projects====
Hybrid designs such as the [[Helistat|Heli-Stat]] airship/helicopter, the [[Aereon]] aerostatic/aerodynamic craft, and the [[AeroLift CycloCrane|CycloCrane]] (a hybrid aerostatic/rotorcraft), struggled to take flight. The Cyclocrane was also interesting in that the airship's envelope rotated along its longitudinal axis.

In 2005, a short-lived project of the U.S. [[Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (DARPA) was [[Walrus HULA]], which explored the potential for using airships as long-distance, heavy lift craft.<ref>[http://www.darpa.mil/news/2005/walrus.pdf "Contractors for Walrus Program announced"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206102354/http://www.darpa.mil/news/2005/walrus.pdf |date=2016-02-06 }}, press release, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, 26 August 2005.</ref><ref>[http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/10/us-cbo-gives-ok-to-hula-airships-for-airlift/index.php "US CBO Gives OK to HULA Airships for Airlift"], ''Defense Industry Daily'', 21 October 2005.</ref> The primary goal of the research program was to determine the feasibility of building an airship capable of carrying {{convert|500|ST|t|abbr=on}} of payload a distance of {{convert|12000|mi|abbr=on}} and land on an unimproved location without the use of external [[wikt:ballast|ballast]] or ground equipment (such as masts). In 2005, two contractors, [[Lockheed Martin]] and [[US Aeros Airships]] were each awarded approximately $3 million to do feasibility studies of designs for WALRUS. Congress removed funding for Walrus HULA in 2006.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/walrus-hunted-to-extinction-by-congress-darpa-02102/ |title=WALRUS Hunted to Extinction By Congress, DARPA? |date=4 April 2006 |publisher=Defense Industry Daily}}</ref>

==Modern airships==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2010}}

===Military===
In 2010, the U.S. Army awarded a $517 million (£350.6 million) contract to [[Northrop Grumman]] and partner [[Hybrid Air Vehicles]] to develop a [[Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle]] (LEMV) system, in the form of three HAV 304s.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/babbage/2010/07/29/the-difference-engine-not-all-hot-air "The Difference Engine: Not all hot air"], ''The Economist'', July 29, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=194252 "Photo Release – Northrop Grumman Awarded $517 Million Agreement for US Army Airship With Unblinking Eye"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623003627/http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=194252 |date=June 23, 2010 }}, ''Northrop Grumman'', June 14, 2010, access date July 29, 2010</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/5366082/250+foot-long-hybrid-airship-will-spy-over-afghanistan-battlefields-in-2011 |title=250-Foot Long Hybrid Airship Will Spy Over Afghanistan Battlefields in 2011 |website=Gizmodo |date=2009-09-23 |access-date=2010-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111232347/http://gizmodo.com/5366082/250+foot-long-hybrid-airship-will-spy-over-afghanistan-battlefields-in-2011 |archive-date=2010-11-11 }}</ref> The project was cancelled in February 2012 due to it being behind schedule and over budget; also the forthcoming U.S. withdrawal from [[Afghanistan]] where it was intended to be deployed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://insidedefense.com/201302132424647/Inside-Defense-General/Public-Articles/army-deflates-lemv-airship-cost-and-schedule-cited/menu-id-926.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320111016/http://insidedefense.com/201302132424647/Inside-Defense-General/Public-Articles/army-deflates-lemv-airship-cost-and-schedule-cited/menu-id-926.html|title=InsideDefense.com – February 13, 2013: Army Deflates LEMV Airship; Cost And Schedule Cited|archive-date=March 20, 2013}}</ref> Following this the [[Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10]] was repurchased by [[Hybrid Air Vehicles]] then modified and reassembled in [[Bedford]], UK, and renamed the Airlander 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/03/massive_new_airship_to_enter_commercial_service_at_british_dirigible_base/|title=Massive new Airship to enter commercial service at British dirigible base|website=[[The Register]]}}</ref> As of 2018, it was being tested in readiness for its UK flight test programme.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38853721|title=Longest aircraft in crash repair tests|work=BBC News|date=4 February 2017}}</ref>

{{Interlanguage link|A-NSE|fr}}, a French company, manufactures and operates airships and aerostats. For 2 years, A-NSE has been testing its airships for the French Army. Airships and aerostats are operated to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) support. Their airships include many innovative features such as water ballast take-off and landing systems, variable geometry envelopes and thrust–vectoring systems.[[File:A-N400.jpg|thumb|A-N400 (A-NSE company)]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/vers-un-retour-du-dirigeable-pour-les-missions-de-surveillance-maritime |title=Vers un retour du dirigeable pour les missions de surveillance maritime? |language= fr |publisher=Mer et Marine |date=2011-10-17 |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref>

The U.S. government has funded two major projects in the high altitude arena. The [[Composite Hull High Altitude Powered Platform]] (CHHAPP) is sponsored by [[U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command]]. This aircraft is also sometimes called ''HiSentinel High-Altitude Airship''. This prototype ship made a five-hour test flight in September 2005. The second project, the [[high-altitude airship]] (HAA), is sponsored by DARPA. In 2005, DARPA awarded a contract for nearly $150&nbsp;million to Lockheed Martin for prototype development. First flight of the HAA was planned for 2008 but suffered programmatic and funding delays. The HAA project evolved into the High Altitude Long Endurance-Demonstrator (HALE-D). The U.S. Army and Lockheed Martin launched the first-of-its kind HALE-D on July 27, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2mYxoPGghA | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804113932/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2mYxoPGghA&gl=US&hl=en&amp;has_verified=1| archive-date=2011-08-04 |title=HALE-D Short B-Roll |publisher=YouTube |date=2011-07-27 |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref> After attaining an altitude of {{convert|32000|ft|abbr=on}}, due to an anomaly, the company decided to abort the mission. The airship made a controlled descent in an unpopulated area of southwest Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2011/07/28/lockheed-martins-hale-d-airship-learns-to-fly-makes-a-crash-la/|title=Lockheed Martin's HALE-D airship learns to fly, makes a crash landing |date=28 July 2011 |publisher=Engadget |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P42voAU3rtM | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/P42voAU3rtM| archive-date=2021-10-31 | url-status=live|title=Lockheed Martin blimp goes down |publisher=WEWS NewsChannel5 |date=2011-07-27 |access-date=2012-11-15}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blimpinfo.com/uncategorized/lockheed-martin-high-altitude-airship-makes-maiden-voyage/ |title=Lockheed Martin High Altitude Airship's Maiden Voyage Aborted |publisher=The Lighter Than Air Society |access-date=2014-04-06}}</ref>

On 31 January 2006 Lockheed Martin made the first flight of their secretly built [[hybrid airship]] designated the [[P-791]]. The design is very similar to the [[SkyCat]], unsuccessfully promoted for many years by the British company [[Airship Industries#ATG and its successors|Advanced Technologies Group]] (ATG).

Dirigibles have been used in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]] for [[reconnaissance]] purposes, as they allow for constant monitoring of a specific area through cameras mounted on the airships.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/world/asia/in-afghanistan-spy-balloons-now-part-of-landscape.html|title=In Afghanistan, Spy Balloons Now Part of Landscape|last=Bowley|first=Graham|date=2012-05-12|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-09|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Passenger transport===
[[File:Zeppelin NT im Flug.jpg|thumb|A [[Zeppelin NT]] airship]]
[[File:Yokoso! Japan.jpg|thumb|''Yokoso! Japan'' passenger airship at the [[Malmi Airport]] in [[Helsinki]], Finland]]
In the 1990s, the successor of the original Zeppelin company in [[Friedrichshafen]], the ''Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH'', reengaged in airship construction. The first experimental craft (later christened ''Friedrichshafen'') of the type "[[Zeppelin NT]]" flew in September 1997. Though larger than common blimps, the ''Neue Technologie'' (New Technology) zeppelins are much smaller than their giant ancestors and not actually Zeppelin-types in the classical sense. They are sophisticated semirigids. Apart from the greater payload, their main advantages compared to blimps are higher speed and excellent maneuverability. Meanwhile, several ''Zeppelin NT'' have been produced and operated profitably in joyrides, research flights and similar applications.

In June 2004, a Zeppelin NT was sold for the first time to a Japanese company, Nippon Airship Corporation, for tourism and advertising mainly around Tokyo. It was also given a role at the [[Expo 2005|2005 Expo]] in [[Aichi]]. The aircraft began a flight from Friedrichshafen to Japan, stopping at [[Geneva]], Paris, [[Rotterdam]], [[Munich]], Berlin, Stockholm and other European cities to carry passengers on short legs of the flight. Russian authorities denied overflight permission, so the airship had to be dismantled and shipped to Japan rather than following the historic [[LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin#Round-the-world flight (1929)|''Graf Zeppelin'' flight from Germany to Japan]].

In 2008, [[Airship Ventures|Airship Ventures Inc.]] began operations from [[Moffett Federal Airfield]] near [[Mountain View, California]] and until November 2012 offered tours of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] for up to 12 passengers.

===Exploration===
In November 2005, [[De Beers]], a diamond mining company, launched an airship exploration program over the remote [[Kalahari Desert]]. A [[Zeppelin NT]], equipped with a Bell Geospace [[gravity gradiometer]], was used to find potential diamond mines by scanning the local geography for low-density rock formations, known as [[kimberlite pipes]]. On 21 September 2007, the airship was severely damaged by a whirlwind while in [[Botswana]]. One crew member, who was on watch aboard the moored craft, was slightly injured but released after overnight observation in hospital.
<!-- Preceding sections were moved from Zeppelin but need merging and cleanup here.-->

===Thermal===
[[File:Prallluftschiff 01 KMJ.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Thermal airship]] (manufacturer GEFA-FLUG/Germany)]]

Several companies, such as [[Cameron Balloons]] in [[Bristol]], United Kingdom, build [[Thermal airship|hot-air airships]]. These combine the structures of both hot-air balloons and small airships. The envelope is the normal cigar shape, complete with tail fins, but is inflated with hot air instead of helium to provide the lifting force. A small gondola, carrying the pilot and passengers, a small engine, and the burners to provide the hot air are suspended below the envelope, beneath an opening through which the burners protrude.

Hot-air airships typically cost less to buy and maintain than modern helium-based [[blimp]]s, and can be quickly deflated after flights. This makes them easy to carry in trailers or trucks and inexpensive to store. They are usually very slow moving, with a typical top speed of {{convert|25|–|30|km/h|mph m/s|abbr=on}}. They are mainly used for advertising, but at least one has been used in [[rainforest]]s for wildlife observation, as they can be easily transported to remote areas.

===Unmanned remote===
[[Remote control|Remote-controlled]] (RC) airships, a type of [[unmanned aerial system]] (UAS), are sometimes used for commercial purposes such as advertising and aerial video and photography as well as recreational purposes. They are particularly common as an advertising mechanism at indoor stadiums. While RC airships are sometimes flown outdoors, doing so for commercial purposes is illegal in the US.<ref>[http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/uas/reg/media/frnotice_uas.pdf FAA Docket FAA-2006-25714] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620011126/http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/uas/reg/media/frnotice_uas.pdf |date=June 20, 2007 }}, Federal Aviation Authority.</ref> Commercial use of an unmanned airship must be certified under part 121.{{clarify|date=September 2016}}

=== Adventures ===
In 2008, French adventurer [[:fr:Stéphane Rousson|Stephane Rousson]] attempted to cross the English Channel with a muscular pedal powered airship.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/29/aeronautics|title = Pedal-power Channel pioneer is beaten by a breeze |website = [[TheGuardian.com]] |date = 28 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/france/paris/stephane-rousson-fails-in-attempt-at-first-channel-crossing-by-pedal-powered-airship-pg90llc7mq0 |title = Stephane Rousson fails in attempt at first channel crossing by pedal powered airship|last1 = Smyth|first1 = Chris}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://newatlas.com/french-cyclist-to-attempt-channel-crossing-on-pedal-powered-airship/9246/ |title = French cyclist to attempt channel crossing on pedal-powered airship |date = May 2008}}</ref>

Stephane Rousson also flies the Aérosail, a [[:fr:Voilier des airs|sky sailing yacht]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.redbull.com/int-en/stephane-rousson |title=Stéphane Rousson: Aerosail: motorless zeppelin *photos* |publisher=Redbull.com |date= 2 August 2016|access-date=2022-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alumni.enac.fr/fr/news/stephane-rousson-ce-merveilleux-fou-volant-dans-ses-droles-de-machines-entre-ciel-et-mer-747 |title = Stéphane Rousson, ce " merveilleux fou volant dans ses drôles de machines " entre ciel et mer | date=9 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.monacomatin.mc/faits-societe/le-nicois-stephane-rousson-pret-a-faire-decoller-l-aerosail-de-monaco-350111 |title=Le Niçois Stéphane Rousson prêt à faire décoller l'aerosail de Monaco |date=27 March 2015}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Aerosail.jpg|Aerosail
File:Mlle Louise ballon dirigeable à propulsion humaine.jpg|Mlle Louise pedal Airship by Stephane Rousson	
File:Zeppy Piloté par Stephane Belgrand Rousson à Villefranche sur Mer.jpg|Zeppy 3 by Stephane Rousson	
File:Zeppy Base Nature Frejus.jpg|Zeppy One
</gallery>

==Current design projects==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2008}}
[[File:Giant Aircraft Comparison.svg|thumb|right|The largest airship, the [[LZ 129 Hindenburg|LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'']] at 245 meters length and 41 meters diameter, dwarfs the size of the largest historic and modern passenger and cargo aeroplanes.]]

Today, with large, fast, and more cost-efficient [[fixed-wing aircraft]] and [[helicopters]], it is unknown whether huge airships can operate profitably in regular passenger transport though, as energy costs rise, attention is once again returning to these lighter-than-air vessels as a possible alternative. At the very least, the idea of comparatively slow, "majestic" cruising at relatively low altitudes and in comfortable atmosphere certainly has retained some appeal. There have been some niches for airships in and after World War II, such as long-duration observations, [[Anti-submarine warfare|antisubmarine]] patrol, platforms for TV camera crews, and [[advertising]]; these generally require only small and flexible craft, and have thus generally been better fitted for cheaper (non-passenger) blimps.

===Heavy lifting and buoyancy compensation ===
[[Image:Brand Cargolifter Halle.jpg|thumb|[[CargoLifter]] hangar near Berlin, since 2004 used as [[Tropical Islands]] resort]]
It has periodically been suggested that airships could be employed for [[cargo transport]], especially delivering extremely heavy loads to areas with poor infrastructure over great distances. This has also been called roadless trucking.<ref>[http://www.dynalifter.com/Dynaliftercom/RoadlessTrucking.htm "Roadless trucking"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523073252/http://www.dynalifter.com/Dynaliftercom/RoadlessTrucking.htm |date=May 23, 2009 }}, Dynalifter.</ref> Also, airships could be used for heavy lifting over short distances (e.g. on construction sites); this is described as heavy-lift, short-haul.<ref>[http://www.deagel.com/news/Boeing-and-SkyHook-International-to-Build-JHL-40-Heavy-Lift-Rotorcraft_n000004518.aspx "Boeing and SkyHook International to Build JHL-40 Heavy-Lift Rotorcraft"], press release, 8 July 2008.</ref> In both cases, the airships would be [[heavy hauler]]s. 

The old Zeppelins already faced the challenge of gaining [[buoyancy]] when large amounts of fuel were burnt on long trips, often intercontinental. Letting go [[lifting gas]] would be an expensive option. Another idea was to pick up water as ballast, from the sea, or from exhaust fumes. A third was using a kind of lift gas that could be burnt, like [[Blau gas]], as a [[Buoyancy compensator (aviation)]]. The matter is even worse when heavy freight is delivered.

One recent (1996 to 2002) enterprise of this sort was the German ''[[Cargolifter]]'' project, in which a hybrid (thus not entirely Zeppelin-type) airship even larger than ''Hindenburg'' was projected. Around 2000, CargoLifter AG built the world's largest self-supporting hall, measuring {{convert|360|m|ft|abbr= on}} long, {{convert|210|m|ft|abbr= on}} wide and {{convert|107|m|ft|abbr=on}} high about {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Berlin. In May 2002, the project was stopped for financial reasons; the company had to file [[bankruptcy]]. The enormous CargoLifter hangar was later converted to house the [[Tropical Islands Resort]].<ref name=Lasker2016/> Cargolifter had intended to replace its cargo upon delivery with water-filled containers of the same weight.

Although no rigid airships are currently used for heavy lifting, [[hybrid airship]]s are being developed for such purposes. [[AEREON 26]], tested in 1971, was described in [[John McPhee]]'s ''The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed''. [[Flying Whales]] is a French aeronautic start-up developing an airship for transporting heavy loads. 

An impediment to the large-scale development of airships as heavy haulers has been figuring out how they can be used in a cost-efficient way. In order to have a significant economic advantage over ocean transport, cargo airships must be able to deliver their payload faster than ocean carriers but more cheaply than airplanes. William Crowder, a fellow at the [[Logistics Management Institute]], has calculated that cargo airships are only economical when they can transport 500 to 1,000 tons, approximately the same as a super-jumbo aircraft.<ref name="Lasker2016">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/29/a-new-generation-of-airships-is-born |title=Helium Dreams |last=Laskas |first=Jeanne Marie |date=2016-02-29 |newspaper=The New Yorker |issn=0028-792X |access-date=2016-03-08 }}</ref> The large initial investment required to build such a large airship has been a hindrance to production, especially given the risk inherent in a new technology. The chief commercial officer of the company hoping to sell the [[LMH1|LMH-1]], a cargo airship currently being developed by [[Lockheed Martin]], believes that airships can be economical in hard-to-reach locations such as mining operations in northern Canada that currently require [[ice road]]s.<ref name="Lasker2016" />

===Metal-clad airships===
{{Main|Metal-clad airship}}

A metal-clad airship has a very thin metal envelope, rather than the usual fabric. The shell may be either internally braced or [[monocoque]] as in the [[ZMC-2]], which flew many times in the 1920s, the only example ever to do so. The shell may be gas-tight as in a non-rigid blimp, or the design may employ internal gas bags as in a rigid airship. Compared to a fabric envelope the metal cladding is expected to be more durable.

===Hybrid airships===
{{Main|Hybrid airship}}

A [[hybrid airship]] is a general term for an aircraft that combines characteristics of heavier-than-air (aeroplane or helicopter) and lighter-than-air technology. Examples include helicopter/airship hybrids intended for heavy lift applications and dynamic lift airships intended for long-range cruising. Most airships, when fully loaded with cargo and fuel, are usually ballasted to be heavier than air, and thus must use their propulsion system and shape to create aerodynamic lift, necessary to stay aloft. All airships can be operated to be slightly heavier than air at periods during flight ([[Descent (aircraft)|descent]]). Accordingly, the term "hybrid airship" refers to craft that obtain a significant portion of their lift from aerodynamic lift or other [[Kinetic energy|kinetic]] means.

For example, the [[Aeroscraft]] is a buoyancy assisted air vehicle that generates lift through a combination of aerodynamics, thrust vectoring and gas buoyancy generation and management, and for much of the time will fly heavier than air. Aeroscraft is [[Worldwide Aeros Corp]]oration's continuation of [[DARPA]]'s now cancelled [[Walrus HULA]] (Hybrid Ultra Large Aircraft) project.<ref>{{cite web | title = Aeroscraft.com | url=http://www.aeroscraft.com/ | access-date = 24 July 2010}}</ref>

The Patroller P3 hybrid airship developed by Advanced Hybrid Aircraft Ltd, BC, Canada, is a relatively small ({{convert|85,000|ft3|m3|abbr=on|disp=x|&thinsp;/&thinsp;}}) buoyant craft, manned by the crew of five and with the endurance of up to 72 hours. The flight-tests with the 40% RC scale model proved that such a craft can be launched and landed without a large team of strong ground-handlers.<ref>Vollrath, Jurgen. [http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=75a62b9c3c8ad40b366660cc6&id=34305657e6&e=537312e165] From the Hindenburg airship to the Goodyear Blimp – and now Hybrid Aircraft. Exponential Technology Counsel, Episode 39, 2016</ref> Design features a special "winglet" for aerodynamic lift control.<ref>Blake, Bruce. [http://www.patrollerairships.com/technical-information/] Patroller 3 hybrid aircraft. Onboard System specifications. AHA Ltd web-publication. January, 2017</ref>

===Airships in space exploration===
[[File:NASA Cloud City on Venus.jpg|thumb|Artist's rendering of a NASA crewed floating outpost in the atmosphere of Venus]]

Airships have been proposed as a potential cheap alternative to surface rocket launches for achieving Earth orbit. [[JP Aerospace]] have proposed the Airship to Orbit project, which intends to float a multi-stage airship up to [[mesosphere|mesospheric]] altitudes of 55&nbsp;km (180,000&nbsp;ft) and then use [[ion propulsion]] to accelerate to [[orbital speed]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jpaerospace.com/atohandout.pdf|title=Airship to Orbit}}</ref> At these heights, air resistance would not be a significant problem for achieving such speeds. The company has not yet built any of the three stages.

[[NASA]] has proposed the [[High Altitude Venus Operational Concept]], which comprises a series of five missions including crewed missions to the [[atmosphere of Venus]] in airships.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/branches/space-mission-analysis-branch-smab/smab-projects/havoc/| title=HAVOC| date=14 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0az7DEwG68A/| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/0az7DEwG68A| archive-date=2021-10-31 | url-status=live| title=A way to explore Venus| website=[[YouTube]]| date=10 October 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-havoc-concept-manned-mission-to-venus/35311//| title=NASA concept would send astronauts to Venus| date=20 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2014/12/20/nasa-havoc-venus.nasa-langley-research-cente//| title=NASA's floating 'habitat' above Venus?| website=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Pressures on the surface of the planet are too high for human habitation, but at a specific altitude the pressure is equal to that found on Earth and this makes Venus a potential target for human [[Colonization of Venus|colonization]].

Hypothetically, there could be an [[Vacuum airship|airship lifted by a vacuum]]—that is, by material that can contain nothing at all inside but withstand the atmospheric pressure from the outside. It is, at this point, science fiction, although NASA has posited that some kind of vacuum airship could eventually be used to explore the surface of Mars.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/29/blimps-hindenburg-flying-whales-airships/|title=The Age of the Airship May Be Dawning Again|first=Justin|last=Ling|date=12 January 2024 }}</ref>

===Cruiser feeder transport airship===
EU FP7 MAAT Project<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/285602|title=Multibody Advanced Airship for Transport &#124; MAAT &#124; Project &#124; Fact Sheet &#124; FP7|website=CORDIS &#124; European Commission}}</ref> has studied an innovative cruiser/feeder airship system,<ref>Dumas A, Trancossi M, Madonia M, Giuliani I. Multibody advanced airship for transport. SAE Technical Paper; 2011 Oct 18. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michele_Trancossi/publication/257333742_Multibody_Advanced_Airship_for_Transport/links/55d44d6708ae7fb244f5b3ac/Multibody-Advanced-Airship-for-Transport.pdf</ref> for the stratosphere with a cruiser remaining airborne for a long time and feeders connecting it to the ground and flying as piloted balloons.<ref>Trancossi M, Dumas A, Cimarelli A, Pascoa J. MAAT cruiser/feeder airship design: Intrinsic stability and energetic flight model. In ASME IMECE 2015 Nov 13 (Vol. 57342, p. V001T01A011). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michele_Trancossi/publication/311131309_MAAT_CruiserFeeder_Airship_Design_Intrinsic_Stability_and_Energetic_Flight_Model/links/583ea40408ae8e63e617b3f9/MAAT-Cruiser-Feeder-Airship-Design-Intrinsic-Stability-and-Energetic-Flight-Model.pdf</ref>

===Airships for humanitarian and cargo transport===
[[Google]] co-founder [[Sergey Brin]] founded LTA Research in 2015 to develop airships for humanitarian and cargo transport. The company's 124-meter-long airship Pathfinder 1 received from the [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]] a special airworthiness certificate for the helium-filled airship in September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Mark |date=25 October 2023 |title=EXCLUSIVE: Google Founder's Airship Gets FAA Clearance Sergey Brin's Pathfinder 1 can now take to the skies |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/lta-airship-faa-clearance |access-date=26 October 2023 |website=IEEE Spectrum}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20241204-could-the-airship-be-the-answer-to-sustainable-air-travel|title=Could the airship be the answer to sustainable air travel|last=Hall|first=Laura|date=13 December 2024|publisher=BBC|access-date=15 December 2024}}</ref>

The certificate allowed the largest airship since the ill-fated Hindenburg to begin flight tests at [[Moffett Federal Airfield|Moffett Field]], a joint civil-military airport in Silicon Valley.

==Comparison with heavier-than-air aircraft==
The advantage of airships over aeroplanes is that [[Buoyancy|static lift]] sufficient for flight is generated by the lifting gas and requires no engine power. This was an immense advantage before the middle of [[World War I]] and remained an advantage for long-distance or long-duration operations until [[World War II]]. Modern concepts for high-altitude airships include [[Solar cell|photovoltaic cells]] to reduce the need to land to refuel, thus they can remain in the air until consumables expire. This similarly reduces or eliminates the need to consider variable fuel weight in buoyancy calculations.

The disadvantages are that an airship has a very large reference area and comparatively large [[drag coefficient]], thus a larger drag force compared to that of aeroplanes and even helicopters. Given the large frontal area and wetted surface of an airship, a practical limit is reached around {{convert|80|–|100|mph|km/h|order=flip}}, only about one-third the typical airspeed of a modern commercial airplane. Thus, airships are used where speed is not critical.

The lift capability of an airship is equal to the buoyant force minus the weight of the airship. This assumes standard air-temperature and pressure conditions. Corrections are usually made for water vapor and impurity of lifting gas, as well as percentage of inflation of the gas cells at liftoff.<ref>Ausrotas, R. A., "Basic Relationships for LTA Technical Analysis", MIT Flight Transportation Library, 1975</ref> Based on specific lift (lifting force per unit volume of gas), the greatest static lift is provided by hydrogen (11.15&nbsp;N/m<sup>3</sup> or 71&nbsp;lb<sub>f</sub>/1000&nbsp;cu&nbsp;ft) with helium (10.37&nbsp;N/m<sup>3</sup> or 66&nbsp;lb<sub>f</sub>/1000&nbsp;cu&nbsp;ft) a close second.<ref>Layton, D. M., Basic Aerostatics – A Tutorial, 1985</ref>

In addition to static lift, an airship can obtain a certain amount of dynamic lift from its engines. Dynamic lift in past airships has been about 10% of the static lift. Dynamic lift allows an airship to "take off heavy" from a runway similar to fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. This requires additional weight in engines, fuel, and landing gear, negating some of the static lift capacity.

The altitude at which an airship can fly largely depends on how much lifting gas it can lose due to expansion before [[Mechanical equilibrium|stasis]] is reached. The ultimate altitude record for a rigid airship was set in 1917 by the L-55 under the command of Hans-Kurt Flemming when he forced the airship to {{convert|24000|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} attempting to cross France after the "Silent Raid" on London. The L-55 lost lift during the descent to lower altitudes over Germany and crashed due to loss of lift.<ref>Robinson (1994), p. 294.</ref> While such waste of gas was necessary for the survival of airships in the later years of World War I, it was impractical for commercial operations, or operations of helium-filled military airships. The highest flight made by a hydrogen-filled passenger airship was {{convert|5500|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} on the ''Graf Zeppelin's'' around-the-world flight.<ref>"Honors to Dr. Hugo Eckener: The First Airship Flight Around the World", ''National Geographic'', Vol. LVII, No. 6, June 1930, p. 679.</ref>

The greatest disadvantage of the airship is size, which is essential to increasing performance. As size increases, the problems of ground handling increase geometrically.<ref>[[#Brooks1992|Brooks 1992]] pp. 7–8</ref> As the German Navy changed from the [[Zeppelin P Class|P class]] of 1915 with a volume of over {{convert|1100000|cuft|m3|abbr=on|order=flip}} to the larger [[Zeppelin Q Class|Q class]] of 1916, the [[Zeppelin R Class|R class]] of 1917, and finally the [[Zeppelin W Class|W class]] of 1918, at almost {{convert|2200000|cuft|m3|abbr=on|order=flip}} ground handling problems reduced the number of days the Zeppelins were able to make patrol flights. This availability declined from 34% in 1915, to 24.3% in 1916 and finally 17.5% in 1918.<ref>Robinson (1994), p. 373.</ref>

So long as the [[power-to-weight ratio]]s of aircraft engines remained low and [[Brake specific fuel consumption|specific fuel consumption]] high, the airship had an edge for long-range or -duration operations. As those figures changed, the balance shifted rapidly in the aeroplane's favour. By mid-1917, the airship could no longer survive in a combat situation where the threat was aeroplanes. By the late 1930s, the airship barely had an advantage over the aeroplane on intercontinental over-water flights, and that advantage had vanished by the end of World War II.

This is in face-to-face tactical situations. Currently, a [[high-altitude airship]] project is planned to survey hundreds of kilometres as their operation radius, often much farther than the normal engagement range of a military aeroplane.{{Clarify|date=July 2008}} <!-- rephrase for comprehension --> For example, a [[radar]] mounted on a vessel platform {{convert|30|m|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} high has radio horizon at {{convert|20|km|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} range, while a radar at {{convert|18000|m|ft|abbr=on}} altitude has radio horizon at {{convert|480|km|abbr=on}} range. This is significantly important for detecting low-flying cruise missiles or fighter-bombers.

==Safety==
The most commonly used lifting gas, helium, is [[Inert gas|inert]] and therefore presents no fire risk.<ref name="stwertka">Stwertka, Albert, ''Guide to the Elements: Revised Edition''. New York; Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 24. {{ISBN|0-19-512708-0}}</ref> A series of vulnerability tests were done by the UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency DERA on a [[Skyship 600]]. Since the internal gas pressure was maintained at only 1–2% above the surrounding air pressure, the vehicle proved highly tolerant to physical damage or to attack by small-arms fire or missiles. Several hundred high-velocity bullets were fired through the hull, and even two hours later the vehicle would have been able to return to base. Ordnance passed through the envelope without causing critical helium loss. The results and related mathematical model have presented in the hypothesis of considering a Zeppelin NT size airship.<ref>Trancossi M, Pascoa J, Cannistraro G. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michele_Trancossi/publication/329076711_Safety_Analysis_of_an_Airship_Which_Loses_Lifting_Gas_from_the_Hull/links/5c1a4245458515a4c7e9c126/Safety-Analysis-of-an-Airship-Which-Loses-Lifting-Gas-from-the-Hull.pdf "Safety Analysis of an Airship Which Loses Lifting Gas from the Hull"]. SAE Technical Paper; 2018 October 30.</ref> In all instances of light armament fire evaluated under both test and live conditions, the airship was able to complete its mission and return to base.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030316021417/http://www.worldskycat.com/images/SkyCat.pdf High Safety Level (p. 5) and Structural Vulnerability Tests (p. 7)]}}. World Skycat. Retrieved 25 April 2008.</ref>

==Licensing==
{{Main|Pilot licensing and certification}}

In the United Kingdom, the basic pilot licence for airships is the PPL(As), or private pilot licence, which requires a minimum of 35 hours instruction on airships.<ref name="UK CAA">{{cite web |title=PPL (As) requirements |url=https://www.caa.co.uk/general-aviation/pilot-licences/part-fcl-requirements/ppl-spl-bpl-private-pilot-licences/ppl-as-requirements/ |website=CAA.co.uk |publisher=United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority |access-date=14 May 2023}}</ref> To fly commercially, a Commercial Pilot Licence (Airships) is required.

==See also==
{{portal|Aviation}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Airborne aircraft carrier]]
* [[Aircruise]]
* [[Airship hangar]]
* [[Barrage balloon]]
* [[Conrad Airship CA 80]] (1975–1977)
* [[Evolutionary Air and Space Global Laser Engagement]]
* [[High-altitude platform station]]
* [[The Island at the Top of the World|Hyperion]], fictional airship type.
* [[List of airship accidents]]
* [[List of British airships]]
* [[List of current airships in the United States]]
* [[List of Zeppelins]]
* [[Mystery airship]]
* SVAM CA-80
* [[Worldwide Aeros Corp]]
* [[Zeppelin mail]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
<!-- please maintain alphabetical order by last name per [[Wikipedia:Citing#How to cite sources]] -->
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* Archbold, Rich and Ken Marshall, ''Hindenburg, an Illustrated History'', 1994 {{ISBN|0-446-51784-4}}
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* {{cite journal |last=Meiklejohn |first=Bernard |date=December 1906 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3IfNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA8283 |title=The Conquest of the Air |journal=[[World's Work|The World's Work: A History of Our Time]] |volume=XIII | pages =8283–10 |access-date=10 July 2009}}
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* Ventry, Lord; Kolesnik, Eugene, ''Jane's Pocket Book 7: Airship Development'', 1976 {{ISBN|0-356-04656-7}}
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* Winter, Lumen; Degner, Glenn, ''Minute Epics of Flight'', New York, Grosset & Dunlap, 1933. {{OCLC|738688}}
* US War Department, ''Airship Aerodynamics: Technical Manual'', (1941) 2003, {{ISBN|1-4102-0614-9}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|airship|dirigible}}
{{Commons}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjBgEkbnX2I Should Airships Make a Comeback?] – Veritasium YouTube channel

{{Aircraft types (by method of thrust and lift)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Airships| ]]
[[Category:Aeronautics]]
[[Category:Gases]]
[[Category:Vehicles introduced in 1899]]