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Hangar No. 1, Lakehurst Naval Air Station
Newark Metropolitan Airport Buildings
Hangar No. 1 United States Naval Air Station Wildwood
TBM-3E "Avenger" Torpedo Bomber Warplane
Lakehurst Naval Air Station (Naval Air Technical Training Center) presently occupies 7,400 acres of flat lowlands just north of Lakehurst, New Jersey. Commissioned in 1921, Lakehurst Naval Air Station, became the hub of naval lighter-than-air activity. Interest in airships in the United States began early in the 20th century. The first practical craft was the California Arrow, built by Thomas S. Baldwin in 1904. The U.S. Army purchased the first Federal airship from Baldwin five years later. Germany was the pioneer in the manufacture of rigid airships--airships that had the gas containers enclosed within compartments of a fixed fabric-covered framework--and during World War I maintained a fleet of Zeppelins, which it used primarily for patrolling and secondarily for bombing missions. The success of these airships prompted interest in the United States to develop them for coastal patrol to detect enemy submarines and mines and as a scouting arm for naval fleets. In 1921 the Navy established Lakehurst Naval Air Station to serve as its headquarters for lighter-than-air flight. The new base became the center for experimentation and development of rigid airships for strategic and commercial purposes as well as the control station for all Naval lighter-than-air flights.
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.
During the late 1920s, Lakehurst became internationally known as a port for commercial lighter-than-air flight. It was the only stopping place in the United States for German airships, and in 1929 it played host to the Graf Zeppelin, then in the process of making the first round-the-world trip. However, of the five rigid airships eventually owned by the United States after World War I, all but one--the German-built Los Angeles--crashed, and many federal officials were skeptical of the desirability of continuing the program. Nevertheless, the Navy and the general public still supported the venture, largely because of the success of the German Zeppelins. A change in public opinion occurred in 1937, when the German Zeppelin Hindenburg, the largest airship ever built, burst into flames at Lakehurst. Thirty-six passengers died and the crash of the Hindenburg marked the end of commercial airship travel and the end of experimentation with hydrogen as a lifting device.
With the onset of World War II, lighter-then-air activity increased at Lakehurst, as the Navy increased its number of non-rigid airships (from six to 125). Lakehurst became the headquarters of the Chief of Naval Airship Training and Experimentation and also of the Commander Fleet Airships, Atlantic. During World War II, the Navy used blimps for observational purposes and they played an important role in escorting coastal convoys and in protecting American ships from submarine attack. With the end of the war, naval airship activity decreased, only to be expanded upon at the outbreak of the Korean War and then reduced again. In 1961 the Navy halted all lighter-than-air activity and ordered the blimps deflated and stowed.
Hangar No. 1 Lakehurst Naval Air Station, a National Historic Landmark, is located off of Rte. 547, north of Lakehurst, New Jersey. The hangar can be seen from the road, but access to the air station itself is restricted. Group tours can be requested in writing at least two months in advance--please visit the base's public affairs office website for further information.
Newark Metropolitan Airport in New Jersey was the first great commercial airport in the United States. Development began in 1928, and during the early years of the airport's existence, one-third of the world's air traffic passed down its runways. Reflecting the early development of the airport, the trio of Art Deco airport buildings that remain today include the Administration Building, Brewster Hangar and the Medical Building. On July 11, 1927, Major Thomas L. Raymond of Newark gave his support to the construction of a municipal airport. A special commission appointed by then Secretary of Commerce, Herbert C. Hoover, announced that the proposed site of Newark Airport, adjacent to Newark Bay and U.S. Route 1, provided an excellent location in the metropolitan area for a central air terminal since many railway connections were available and weather conditions were favorable. In February 1928, construction of an aviation field of 420 acres of meadowland was begun. In less then seven months, the first unit, which consisted of about one-half of the total acreage, was opened. In August 1928, a small, four-passenger Ryan monoplane from Washington, D.C., made the first landing on a completed section of 1,600-foot-long runway, the first hard-surfaced strip of any commercial airport in the nation. In 1929, Newark was designated as the metropolitan airmail terminus and by 1930 Newark was the busiest airport in the world.
During the 1930s, the New Jersey State Military Air Unit, a division of the National Guard, maintained a squadron at Newark. In addition to military personnel, Newark Airport has been associated with many famous aviators including Wiley Post , Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes who housed experimental airplanes in one of the hangars. As new safety aids for flying were developed, Newark provided a testing ground. Night lifting, paved runways, air traffic control, radio transmittal from land to air and instrument flying were all pioneered at Newark.
To replace a temporary Administration Building built in 1929, an engineer named Wall State received permission from the Army to build the permanent Administration Building in 1934. Work on the building was continued by the Federal Civil Works Administration and it opened in 1935, dedicated by Amelia Earhart. It is a long, relatively narrow building of concrete construction faced with horizontal bands of poured concrete alternating with bands of windows articulated with brick inserts. The main entrance façade consists of a two-story, three-bay central entrance block with two wings angled back from the airfield elevation, suggestive of the movement of an airplane. The Adminstration Building was recently restored.
Construction of the Brewster Hanger began in 1937 and continued through 1938. Its design was promoted as the most advanced of the time. The Brewster Hangar is of steel-frame construction with hollow tile walls finished on the exterior with stucco. There are four three-story pylons on the field side, designed as office space for the individual airlines. At the rear of the hangar, which happens to be the street façade, are three separate one-story shop sections, the center one housing a central heating plant. The hangar is divided into three entirely separate airplane-storage areas by two sets of 12-inch-thick firewalls spaced five feet apart. A dozen DC3s could be stored inside any one of the Hangar's six bays. The small Art Deco style Medical Building was built between 1934 to 1938. The two-story building is constructed of load-bearing brick, three bays wide with the end bays subdivided into two and four bays deep with each bay also divided into two sub-bays. Two-story brick pilasters, square in section, mark the major division of the bays.
Until 1939, Newark remained the world's busiest airport, but in that year Mayor LaGuardia of New York City completed construction of an airport at North Beach. Because of ongoing disorganization in the management of Newark Airport, three major airlines immediately moved their operations to LaGuardia's North Beach airport. Mayor Ellenstein closed his Newark Airport for reorganization. In the spring of 1942, the War Department took over Newark Metropolitan Airport for military use. When World War II was over, the airport was returned to the city. In 1948 the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey assumed administration of the Newark Airport and began its major expansion programs, which included much land acquisition.
Newark Metropolitan Airport (now Newark International Airport) is located in Essex and Union Counties between the New Jersey Trnpk. (accessible from Exits 13A and 14), U.S. Rtes. 1 and 9 and I-78. The airport is about 16 miles from midtown Manhattan. The Administrative Building, Brewster Hanagr and Medical Building are located in the northern administrative section of the airport. Visit Newark International Airport's website for further information.
Hangar No. 1 is a two-and-a-half story, two-bay, wood building constructed during World War II at the Naval Air Station Wildwood, New Jersey; now the Cape May County Airport and Industrial Park. With the outbreak of World War II, the Civil Aeronautics Administration constructed the runways at the present-day airport in 1939. In April 1942, five months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, agreements were finalized to expand the airport. Construction of Hangar No. 1 began in October 1942, as part of a project to support the initial group of 108 officers, 1,200 men and 72 airplanes. Hangar No. 1 is the only remaining intact structure from the original World War II construction campaign. Activity peaked in October of 1944, with 16,994 takeoffs and landings, at a time when the station accommodated as many as 200 airplanes. Hangar No. 1 is important for its role in training Navy fighter and dive-bombing pilots during World War II to fight in the Pacific theater. Considered to have been an "exclusive domain" for dive-bombing training during World War II, United States Naval Air Station Wildwood was used nearly exclusively for dive-bombing squadrons from mid-1943 to January 1945. After that time, fighter bomber and dive-bomber squadrons used the facility equally.
Air crews were trained in combat tactics in naval aircraft such as the "Dauntless," "Helldiver" and "Corsair." With the field lighting system at an affiliated outlying field in Delaware, dive-bomber squadrons stationed at Wildwood had the opportunity for night flying practice, particularly night field carrier landing practice which simulated their future duties in the Pacific. Practice dive-bomber targets were constructed in the nearby Delaware Bay and on the Atlantic Ocean coast. After training was completed, pilots would meet up with their air groups at the designated carrier and proceed to the Pacific. The hangar is the "Standard Wood Hangar" designed by the Department of the Navy. The architect, Albert Kahn, a consultant to the military services during World War I, produced many of the designs for naval installations, especially those for air hangars, and it is possible that he designed the Standard Wood Hangar. The siting, heating system design and interior details were designed by Sherman Sleeper Associates Architects and Engineers of Camden, New Jersey. It is estimated that 20-30 hangars of this type were constructed during World War II. The massive building measures 290 feet long by 219 feet wide by 51 feet high, creating 2,558,000 cubic feet. It is constructed of bolted wood Pratt trusses in 10-foot panels at the roof level, bolted cross-braced vertical supports at the north and south interior elevations and bolted center supports, which form the division between the two bays. The structure contains two 120'L x 200'W bays for airplane storage and maintenance and rows of offices and workrooms that form the north and south elevations. Twelve full-height telescoping doors form the east and west elevations of the hangar; these doors retract into door pockets at each corner of the hangar.
After the war the air station became the property of the War Assets Administration in 1946, and station operations reverted to Cape May County. Subsequent airplane-related businesses have occupied the hangar and minimally altered the structure with interior partition walls and removal of windows for energy conservation. Today Hangar No.1 United States Naval Air Station Wildwood is the heart of the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum and houses the TBM-3E Avenger, the U.S. Navy's leading torpedo bomber in World War II.
Hangar No. 1 United States Naval Air Station Wildwood is the heart of the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum located at 500 Forrestal Rd., at the Cape May County Airport in Rio Grande, New Jersey. The museum is open during the spring and summer daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and in the fall and winter it is open 8:00am to 4:00pm weekdays, and 8:00am to 3:00pm weekends. For more information, visit the museum's website or call 609-886-8787.
The TBM-3E Avenger, now located at Hangar No. 1 U.S. Naval Air Station Wildwood, New Jersey, is a rare extant example of the U.S. Navy's leading torpedo bomber. Throughout World War II, Avengers flew with the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marines and the Royal Navies of the Allies in every theater of the conflict, successfully carrying out reconnaissance, bombing raids and anti-submarine patrols and contributing significantly to the eventual Allied victory. The Avenger participated in every major air-sea battle of World War II between June 1942 and August 1945, and played a significant role in search-and-destroy missions hunting German submarines, proving its worth in both night and daytime assignments. The most famous American to fly an Avenger was George H.W. Bush, later 41st President of the United States, who joined the Navy in 1942 and became the youngest naval aviator ever, at the age of 20, in June 1943.
This Avenger is a rare survivor of a type of warplane that was produced in great numbers in World War II, but of which few have survived. Of the 9,839 that were manufactured by Grumman Aircraft and General Motors, it is estimated that only 75 to 100 remain. The TBM-3E was the last Avenger model put into production during the war. It was built in 1945 in Eastern Aircraft's Trenton-Ternstedt plant outside of Trenton, New Jersey. The single-engine bomber is over 40 feet long and stands 16 feet, 5 inches high. With its wings fully extended in flying position, the airplane measures 54 feet 2 inches wide. The body and wings are made of aluminum, and the parts of the airplane that control its movement--rudder, ailerons, horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizer--consist of an aluminum frame covered with fabric. The engine is a Wright Cyclone engine, R-2600. It is not known if this TBM-3E Avenger was equipped with radar, since there is no evidence on the body that it was. Not found on this Avenger, but built as part of the standard body was a gunner's turret, and bomb bay doors, both of which have been removed previously. The airplane was acquired by the U.S. Navy on April 6, 1945, and was delivered in May 1945 to VT-26 (a torpedo squadron) base in San Diego, California. This Avenger remained with VT-18 for the rest of its World War II military career, but never saw action.
This TBM-3E illustrates the massive military manufacturing effort that New Jersey made during World War II. It is one of 7,546 Avengers built at General Motors' Eastern Aircraft Trenton-Ternstedt plant. Formerly used to manufacture and assemble General Motor's automobiles, the plant was converted in 1942 to assemble TBM Avengers and built them from 1942 until the end of hostilities in 1945. In recognition of its great effort to produce war materials, the Trenton-Ternstedt plant was awarded the "E for Excellence Award" for superior war production on January 2, 1945.
The use of aerial torpedoes began several years before the start of World War I, when U.S. Navy Admiral Bradley Fisk (1854-1942) patented the first one in 1912. The British Naval Air Service was the first to use torpedoes from airplanes in World War I, although American development of aircraft carriers was concurrent with those in Europe, and as they developed, so did a new breed of aircraft--the torpedo bomber. The U.S. Navy's first torpedo aircraft were twin-engine converted Martin TM-1s, modified Army bombers, but in the 1930s, Douglas Aircraft Company introduced the first TBD Devastator which became the Navy's leading torpedo bomber. In early November 1939, the U.S. Navy approached a number of aircraft manufacturers to design and build a replacement torpedo bomber for the aging Douglas TBD-1 Devastator and Grumman Aircraft Company received the contract. The Grumman Avenger, or Torpedo Bomber F (TBF), with F being the Navy's designated letter for the Grumman factory, was replaced by General Motors Avenger TBM, with M being the Navy's designated letter for the General Motors factory. General Motors converted automobile plants into airplane manufacturing facilities during World War II, and agreed to produce combat airplanes quickly and in quantity. On January 21, 1942, Eastern Aircraft was born, comprised of General Motors plants in Linden, Trenton and Bloomfield (all in new Jersey), Baltimore (Maryland) and Tarrytown (New York). Plants were emptied of their automobile equipment and converted into airplane manufacturing. As the war went on, streamlined manufacturing and sub-contracting increased the output of planes. By the end of the war, the Avenger had become one of the three most numerous carrier aircraft of all time. The total production of 9,839 Avengers was exceeded only by 12,570 Corsairs (a naval attack fighter) and 12,275 Hellcats (another fighter used for anti-submarine work, to provide air cover for invasion forces, and to provide close air support for ground troops).
This TBM-3E Avenger remained with the Navy until 1950, when it was transferred to the Canadian Armed Forces. In 1960, the bomber was decommissioned, and the rest of its active career was spent as a Canadian aerial tanker for firefighting and agricultural spraying. In 2001, Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum acquired the TBM-3E Avenger from Canadian Aerial Firefighting where it was known as Tanker 312 registered as CF-Mud. An anonymous private donation of $66,000 allowed Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum to purchase the TBM-3E. Shortly afterwards, the Museum received a $60,000 New Jersey special legislative grant to restore its Avenger.
The TBM-3E "Avenger" Torpedo Bomber Warplane is now at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum located at 500 Forrestal Rd., at the Cape May County Airport in Rio Grande, New Jersey. The museum is open during the spring and summer daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and in the fall and winter it is open 8:00am to 4:00pm weekdays, and 8:00am to 3:00pm weekends. For more information, visit the museum's website or call 609-886-8787.
Sources: U.S. government, public domain information from Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms - National Register of Historic Places