Restoration of Rare Airship Shines Light on WWII K-Ship Patrols

K-class blimps were deployed to hunt U-boats along the U.S. West Coast.

Friday, February 07, 2025 at 01:49 PM ET

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The 10 crew members of K-Ships served in vital anti-submarine roles during WWII in the Atlantic. Ground crew are shown here preparing a K-ship before a patrol. Photographed October 8-14, 1943. [Courtesy: National Archives and Records Administration]

Key Takeaways:

The Moffett Field Historical Society is undertaking a multi-year restoration of the control car from the WWII-era K-22 blimp.
The salvaged parts of K-22 were discovered by accident within Hangar One during its renovation, having been stored there since the blimp's 1943 crash.
K-class blimps like K-22 played a vital role in anti-submarine warfare patrols off the West Coast during World War II, a lesser-known aspect of Moffett Field's history.
The restoration is a complex project requiring repair of crash-damaged sections, fabrication of missing parts, and volunteer labor, complicated by inconsistencies in wartime manufacturing.

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The legacy of Moffett Federal Airfield (KNUQ) in Mountain View, California, is most often associated with Hangar One, the giant 1930s structure built to house the Navy airship USS Macon.

The Macon, however, is just one line in the Moffett story. During World War II, the field was home to the Navy K-ships—blimps that patrolled the West Coast of the U.S. as part of antisubmarine warfare.