View source for C-class blimp

{{About|the United States Navy class of blimps|the Royal Navy's class of blimps|Coastal class blimp}}
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name=C class
 |image=C class blimp.jpg
 |caption= NAVY C-7
 |type=Patrol airship
 |manufacturer=Various ([[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company|Goodyear]], [[Goodrich Corporation|Goodrich]])
 |designer=
 |first_flight=30 September [[1918 in aviation|1918]], at Wingfoot Lake
 |introduction=
 |retired=[[1922 in aviation|1922]]
 |status=
 |primary_user=[[US Navy]]
 |more_users=
 |produced=
 |number_built=10
 |variants=
}}
The '''C-class blimp''' was a patrol airship developed by the US Navy near the end of [[World War I]], a systematic improvement upon the [[B class blimp|B-type]] which was suitable for training, but of limited value for patrol work. Larger than the B-class, the C-class blimps had two motors and a longer endurance. As with the B-class, the envelope production was split between [[Goodyear Aerospace|Goodyear]] and [[Goodrich Corporation|Goodrich]], with control cars being built by the [[Burgess Company|Burgess]] division of [[Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company]]. Originally the Navy ordered 30 but reduced the number to 10 after the armistice in November 1918.<ref name="Althoff, William F. 1990, p. 4">Althoff, William F, ''SkyShips'', New York: Orion Books, 1990, {{ISBN|0-517-56904-3}}, p. 6.</ref> All ten of the "C" type airships were delivered in late 1918, and examples served at all of the Navy's airship stations from 1918 to 1922. In 1921, the '''C-7''' was the first airship ever to be inflated with [[helium]].<ref name="Clark, Basil 1961, p. 147">Clark, Basil, ''The History of Airships'', New York: St Martin's Press, 1961, Library of Congress 64-12336, p. 147.</ref> The Navy decommissioned its last two remaining C-type blimps, the '''C-7''' and  '''C-9''' in 1922.

==Operations==
Arriving too late for wartime use, the C-type became more of an experimental airship and was used for a variety of activities besides training. '''C-1''' was the first airship to release an airplane in flight when the '''C-1''' dropped a [[Curtiss JN-4]] over [[Fort Tilden, New York]] on 12 December 1918.<ref name="Clark, Basil 1961, p. 147"/> '''C-1''' also tested a job which Navy blimps would also perform for the rest of their service. It was flown to [[Key West, Florida]] where it tracked torpedoes fired in practice from submarines. The most notable C-type was the '''[[C-5 (blimp)|C-5]]''', which was flown to [[St. John's, Newfoundland]], where it was to attempt a transatlantic flight in competition with the US Navy's heavier-than-air [[Curtiss NC]] flying boats. In the race to be the first to cross the Atlantic by air, in addition to the C-5 and NC flying boats, there were two British entrants. This unofficial race drew much public interest on both sides of the Atlantic and was covered extensively by the press in the US and Europe.<ref>The New York Times, May 10, 1919, British Airmen Think They Can Win</ref> The attempt ended when a sudden windstorm tore  the unmanned '''C-5''' from the hands of the ground crew and it was blown out to sea and never seen again.<ref>The New York Times, June 9, 1921, Friday, 1919</ref> Two C-type blimps were transferred to the US Army.<ref>Shock, James R., American Airship Bases and Facilities, 1996, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida, {{ISBN|978-0964948037}}, page 23</ref> On 2 July 1919, the '''C-8''' suddenly exploded while landing at [[Camp Holabird]], Maryland, injuring about
80 civilians who were watching it. Windows in homes a mile away were shattered by the blast.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hsobc.org/Documents/BC%20Timeline.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726161654/http://www.hsobc.org/Documents/BC%20Timeline.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesind00incgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesind00incgoog/page/n237 2]|quote=Winkler dirigible.|title=New York Times Index for the Published News|year=1919|publisher=New York Times Company|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
The '''C-3''' caught fire while airborne on 7 July 1921 and burned at [[Naval Air Station Hampton Roads]], [[Norfolk, Virginia]].<ref name="NYT19210708p1">[https://www.nytimes.com/1921/07/08/archives/big-navy-dirigible-burned-in-flight-flames-destroy-the-c3-at.html The New York Times, July 8, 1921, Friday, Page 1], Big Navy Dirigible Burned in Flight; Flames Destroy the C-3 at Hampton Roads</ref>

==Fat Man nuclear bomb==
The first US nuclear bombs, the [[Fat Man]] (Mark III) had remarkably bad ballistics. Los Alamos engineers, in an effort to fit the awkward shape of the weapon into an aerodynamically sound shape, based the [[Mark 4 nuclear bomb|Mark IV]] bomb casing upon the shape of the C-type blimp envelope.<ref>Hansen, Chuck, Swords of Armageddon, 1995, Chukelea Publications, Sunnyvale, California, page Volume VII Page 134 (Footnote)</ref>

<!-- ==Development== -->
<!-- ==Operational history== -->
<!-- ==Variants== -->

==Operators==
;{{USA}}
*[[United States Navy]]
*[[United States Army]]
<!-- ==Units using this aircraft/Operators (choose)== -->

==Specifications (typical) ==
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = imp
|crew=Four
|length m=59.76
|length ft=196
|length in=0
|dia m=<!-- airships etc. -->12.80
|dia ft=<!-- airships etc. -->42
|dia in=<!-- airships etc. -->0
|height m=16.46
|height ft=54
|height in=0
|volume m3=<!-- lighter-than-air -->5,125
|volume ft3=<!-- lighter-than-air -->181,000
|lift kg=<!-- lighter-than-air -->1,837
|lift lb=<!-- lighter-than-air -->4,050
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name=[[Hispano-Suiza]] <!-- what type? -->
|eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines -->112
|eng1 hp=<!-- prop engines -->150
|max speed kmh=97
|max speed mph=60
|cruise speed kmh=<!-- if max speed unknown -->64
|cruise speed mph=<!-- if max speed unknown -->40
|range km=2,320
|range miles=1,440
|endurance=31 hours 30 minutes
|ceiling m=2,620
|ceiling ft=8,600
|armament = *1 × .303 [[Lewis gun]]
*4 × 270 lb (122 kg) bombs
}}

==See also==
* [[List of airships of the United States Navy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book |last=Althoff |first=William F.| title=SkyShips |year=1990 |publisher=Orion Books |location=New York|isbn=978-0-517-56904-7}}
* {{cite book |last= Shock |first= James R. |title=US Navy Airships 1915-1962 |year=2001 |publisher=Atlantic Press |location=Edgewater, Florida |pages=22–27| isbn=978-0-9639743-8-9 }}
* {{cite book |last= Hansen |first= Chuck |title=Swords of Armageddon |year=1995 |publisher=Chucelea Publications |location=Sunnyvale, California }}

{{USN non-rigid airship classes}}

[[Category:1910s United States patrol aircraft]]
[[Category:Airships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Goodyear aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1918]]