DESIGNED BY GOODYEAR FOR ANTI-SUBMARINE PATROL, CONVOY PROTECTION, SEARCH AND RESCUE, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND MINE SWEEPING.
BUILT FOR
WORLD WAR II
Only four “K” ships were available for operations at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. K-28 was delivered to the U.S. Navy at Lakehurst, NJ in December 1942 and was assigned to Blimp Squadron ZP-14. The fleet of reliable blimps was steadily increased to a strength of over 15 squadrons, and were used along the U.S. east and west coastal waters, the South American coast, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and later in the war included one stationed in French Morocco, North Africa, protecting the waters of the Mediterranean.
1942
K-28 was delivered to the U.S. Navy in December 1942 and was assigned to Blimp Squadron ZP-14. Between 1940 and 1943, the fleet of reliable blimps was steadily increased to a strength of over 15 full squadrons.
1947
After The War, ZNPK-28 was renamed “Puritan,” and used as a testing platform by Goodyear. The entire interior was stripped of all non-essential (war time) equipment.
1993
The Museum received "Puritan" with 90% of its original equipment missing. Searches were made for any plans, but when none were found, parts needed to be hand-fabricated from photographs.
OVER 14,000 hours have been spent on the restoration only World War II style K-ship control car in the world.
PROVEN HISTORY
The ability of the K-ships to hover and operate at low altitudes and slow speeds resulted in detection of numerous enemy submarines as well as assisting in search and rescue missions.
LONG RANGE
The K-ships had a long range endurance capability of over 24 hours which was a critical factor for use in Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) tactics.
FINAL DAYS
In 1947, the airship was purchased from the Navy and used to test a programmable light display system for advertising. Costly to operate and maintain, it was retired from the Goodyear fleet in April, 1948 after only one year.