Hangar No1 Lakehurst Naval Air Station
N 40° 01.700 W 074° 18.833
18T E 558542 N 4431127
Hangar No. 1 at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, NJ is one of the few remaining structures of the "lighter than air" era of aviation. Most famously known as the site of the Hindenburg crash in 1937.
Waymark Code: WM7VX1
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 12/09/2009
Views: 8
The first major facility at Lakehurst was Hangar No. 1, a gigantic structure built in 1921 to house the huge helium-filled dirigibles. Hangar No. 1 measures 961 feet long, 350 feet wide and 200 feet high. At each end are two pairs of massive steel doors, mounted on railroad tracks. These double doors are structurally separate from the hangar itself. Each door weighs 1350 tons and is powered by two 20 horsepower motors, although provisions were made to open the doors manually, which required the assembled manpower of nine men. Inside it, Naval engineers assembled the first American-built rigid airship, the Shenandoah. On September 4, 1923, the ship made its maiden flight from Lakehurst. The Navy obtained its second rigid airship in 1924. Built in Germany and delivered to the United States as a war reparation payment, the Los Angeles shared Hangar No. 1 with the Shenandoah. The Navy used the dirigible extensively for experimental work on flight and mooring problems--it was the first American-owned airship developed to catch and release airplanes in flight. Lakehurst was also the home port for the Akron and the Macon. In addition to Hangar No. 1 there were five other hangars in two clusters, which have all since been converted for training and testing activities at the Naval Air Station. Hangar Nos. 2 and 3 housed blimps, Hangar No. 4 housed balloons and Hangars Nos. 5 and 6 housed either rigid air ships or blimps. The area between the two clusters of hangars was formerly used for mooring the airships and maneuvering them into the hangars.
County / Borough / Parish: Ocean County, Manchester Township
Year listed: 1968
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event
Periods of significance: 1900-1924
Historic function: Defense
Current function: Defense
Privately owned?: no
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Street address: Not listed
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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