Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-10-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— 12 Brown, P. Rendall. “A Brief History of the Wingfoot Lake Airship Base.”

— 12 Edwardsville Intelligencer (IL). “Chronology of the Year 1942,” Dec 31, 1942, p. 8.

— 12 Shock. US Navy Airships 1915-1962: A History by Individual Airship. 1992, 2001, p. 79.

— 12 U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. Airships and Balloons in the World War II Period.

Narrative Information

Shock: “G-1 conducted a secret wartime mission on 08 June 1942 with five scientists aboard along with the crew. G-1 and L-2 were conducting nighttime visual and photographic observation of experimental underwater flares. Maneuvers were being held with Coast Guard Cutter no. 4344, and the L-2 attempted to communicate with the cutter by flashing light. The cutter’s light failed and contact was not made. L-2 then attempted to contact G-1 by flashing the control car sidelights, but this was also unsuccessful. Apparently no contact was ever made between the airships on the dark night.

“G-1 was flying without lights and L-2 was flying with red and green running lights and a white undercar light. As L-2 was still trying to communicate with the cutter, G-1 passed in front of it and was struck by the bow of L-2 just forward of the control car. Despite evasive action by the pilot of L-2, both airship envelopes were ripped and tangled together with both settling into the ocean near the cutter. The control cars sank immediately but were buoyed up by the gas remaining in the envelopes. There was a muffled explosion accompanied by a flash of light from under the wreckage immediately after the control cars sank. Twelve lives were lost; the only survivor was ENS Howard S. Fahey of the L-2.

G-1 Crew: LT Frank A. Trotter (former Goodyear airship Pilot), ENS Clarence C. Ross, ENS Kenneth G. Lee, Ole V. Roos, Aviation Chief Machinists Mate, William H. Herdon, Jr., Boatswains Mate First Class, Dr.. Frank C. Gilbert, New London, CT, Dr. Charles R. Hoover, Middletown, CT, Dr. Lorenz S. Moyer, Minneapolis, MN.

L-2 Crew: LSCR Clinton S. Rounds, Raymond C. Poteet, Aviation Chief Machinists Mate, Dr. Arthur B. Wyse, San Diego, CA, Israel H. Tiles, San Diego, CA.

G-1 Airship General Specifications:

Volume (cubic feet): 183,000

….

Overall length (feet): 186.67

Maximum diameter: 42.8

Overall height: 62.0

Crew: 2 or 3 with 7-8 passengers….” (Shock 1992/2001, p. 79.)

U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. Airships and Balloons in the World War II Period:

“During the 1930s, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company built a fleet of nonrigid airships, or blimps, that it was using for advertising and barnstorming. The U.S. Navy took advantage of Goodyear’s expertise and hired Goodyear to build its new airships. The first airship was the prototype K-1. Goodyear built the envelope (the balloon), and the Naval Aircraft Factory built the control car that hung below the envelope.

“This airship burned a new type of fuel gas that resembled propane rather than the standard liquid fuel. This fuel had some interesting properties. It could be contained in cells within the airship envelope and, since it had approximately the same density as air, the buoyancy of the airship did not change as the fuel was burned. This kept the airship steady. It also was more efficient than liquid gasoline and eliminated the need to compensate for the weight of the fuel that burned during flight.

“Testing of the K-1 began on October 7, 1931, at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lakehurst in New Jersey. She was the largest nonrigid airship the Navy had operated up to that time. She performed moderately well and was used until September 1940.

“Following the K-1, the Navy began to purchase both the blimp envelope and the control car from Goodyear. The first blimp was the Defender, which the Navy purchased in 1935 and designated the G-1. She was lost in a midair collision with another airship on June 8, 1942, and 12 people died in the crash.”

Brown: “Prompted, perhaps, by the loss of former Goodyear pilot Lt. Frank Trotter one of twelve who died in the G-1 and L-2 accident in June 1942 a memorial plaque was dedicated at WFL [Wingfoot Lake Hangar, OH] the next summer. It is for ‘…the Navy officers trained at Wingfoot Lake who gave their lives in the course of airship development…’.” (Brown, P. Rendall. “A Brief History of the Wingfoot Lake Airship Base.”)

Recks: “Trotter, Frank A…(1901-1942)….U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis…Officer in the U.S. Navy, Balloon & Airship pilot & instructor…Airship pilot for Goodyear 1930-40; Goodyear representative in the ‘Hindenberg,’ 1936….Epic flight, 8 Jun. 1942 (w/4-crew) from Lakehurst, NJ in ‘Defender.’ Airship (L-2) on a night search mission, collided with another airship (G-1). Entire crew was killed. Note: Reports indicate the crew consisted of several civilian scientists; the mission was to test a new method of detecting submarines with light emitting explosives…” (Recks, Robert. “Who’s Who of Ballooning – T,” Ballooninghistory.com)

Sources

Brown, P. Rendall. “A Brief History of the Wingfoot Lake Airship Base.” Accessed at: http://www.goodyearblimp.com/history/wingfoot.html

Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL. “Chronology of the Year 1942,” Dec 31, 1942, p. 8. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=1665978

Recks, Robert. “Who’s Who of Ballooning – T,” Ballooninghistory.com. Accessed at: http://www.ballooninghistory.com/whoswho/who’swho-t.html

Shock, James R. US Navy Airships 1915-1962: A History by Individual Airship. Edgewater, FL: Atlantis Productions, 1992, 2001.

U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. Airships and Balloons in the World War II Period. Accessed 6-11-2024 at: https://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Lighter_than_air/Airships_in_WWII/LTA10.htm

1942 — June 8, USN Airships Defender/G-1 and L-2 collide, Atlantic, off Lakehurst NJ– 12