The Imperial War Museum in England has five separate locations: The Main Museum, The Churchill War Rooms, and the HMS Belfast are all located in London, while The Air Musuem is in Duxford and the Imperial War Museum-North is in Manchester, England.
Not in play: I’ve been to the first four, need to add the Manchester museum to my to-do list. Highly recommend all the Museums.
The War Rooms are fascinating. Particularly interesting was the telephone room for Churchill to speak directly with FDR. It was so confidential that it was disguised as Churchill’s private loo, so people wouldn’t know when he was talking to FDR.
Not sure where we’re at, but in honor of D-Day and WWII, I’ll make this in play:
Pictures of the D-Day invasion often show what appear to be blimps above the flotilla. These are actually ‘barge balloons’, which are large hydrogen-filled balloons tethered to battleships and other ships. First used in WW I, these balloons were designed to prevent against low-flying bombers and gunners. The cable was designed so that if an enemy plane contacted the cable, it would sever at both the top and bottom and parachutes were deployed to increase the drag on the aircraft. And, oh by the way, sometimes a bomb was attached to the top; when the cable was severed, the bomb would slide down the cable until it contacted the enemy aircraft.
(If somebody can tell me how to embed a picture, I’ll do so!)
Here’s a picture that shows a number of barge balloons on D-Day.
In Animal House, D-Day was played by Bruce McGill
I saw the War Rooms in 1985 and still remember being fascinated that, on the various maps on the walls, you could still see the holes left by Churchill’s military aides’ pushpins decades earlier during World War II.
In play:
In addition to the balloons lofted over the D-Day beaches in June 1944, both the U.S. and the Confederacy made use of observation balloons during the American Civil War, although the U.S. effort was better-funded, better-organized and considered more effective. Among the balloons used by the U.S. Army’s Balloon Corps were two named Intrepid and Enterprise, both of which were later the names of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers as well as Starfleet vessels on Star Trek.
Consider this part of the previous post, if you wish: Intrepid was even honored with a 1983 postage stamp:
“Intrepid” may have been the code name for a Canadian who spied for the British during WWII and contributed to the development of the OSS.
Or maybe not.
The intelligence is unclear.
Probably intentionally so.
Nitpick: I believe it’s “barrage balloon.”
The Moffett Field museum in Mountain View CA is small, but still has many exhibits from World War II and the decade preceding it. Moffett Field was originally intended to be the home base for the USS Macon (ZRS-5), a US Navy rigid airship (or dirigible). In 1935 the Macon was damaged in a storm and lost off the Big Sur coast, though most of the crew were saved. The wreckage is listed as the USS Macon Airship Remains on the US National Register of Historic Places.
Comment — I live near Moffett and am inquiring about becoming a docent at that museum. When I retire I’ll need something productive (and inexpensive!) to bide my time with.
The USS Macon (ZRS-5) and her sister ship, the USS Akron (ZRS-4) were dirigible aircraft carriers. Both airships carried a small complement of biplanes (the F9C Sparrowhawk scout, or the Waco UBF XJW-1 trainer), which were launched and retrieved using a “trapeze” – a boom which was lowered from the bottom of the airship.
The planes were stored within the airship’s rigid frame, and then lowered from the hangar bay on the trapeze for launch; retrieval required the plane’s pilot to re-attach to the trapeze using a “skyhook” which was affixed to the top of the plane.
A photo of a Sparrowhawk biplane hanging from the trapeze on the Macon:
The USS Akron (ZRS-4) had an accident on 22 February 1932 when her tail crashed into the ground while she was moored. On her next operation, Rear Admiral William A. Moffett was on board and the operation was a success.
On 3 April 1933 the Akron got caught in a storm and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. It was a total loss of the aircraft. Rear Admiral William A. Moffett was on board and he died in that crash.
Of course it is! Good catch, and my bad.
In play:
Akron, Ohio, is the fifth-largest city in the state. Known as the ‘Rubber capital of the world’, Akron was once home to the headquarters of four major tire companies: Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone, and General Tire.
Goodyear Tire was named after Charles Goodyear, the inventor of the vulcanization of rubber, a process that prevented it from decomposing in high or low temperatures. However, the tire company has no connection with Charles Goodyear other than the name, which was chosen long after Goodyear had died.
Bullitt, Rear Adm. Moffett’s grandson was the chief librarian at my college. Great guy.
In play:
When the Goodyear Airdock was completed in Akron, Ohio in 1929, it was the largest building in the world without interior supports.
Small world! I was just at the Moffett museum at lunch today talking with its president and getting information about becoming a docent.
In play — Moffett Field’s Hangar One, built in 1933, is one of the world’s largest freestanding structures. It covers 8 acres adjacent to a major freeway, US-101, and it has been one of the most recognizable landmarks of Silicon Valley. It was designed by German air ship and structural engineer Dr. Karl Arnstein, Vice President and Director of Engineering for the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation of Akron OH.
Hangar One measures 1,133 feet long and 308 feet wide. It was so large that, when enclosed, sometimes fog would form near the ceiling.
Hangar One was built similarly to the Goodyear Airdock in Akron.
Hangar No. 1 is an airship hangar located at Naval Air Engineering Station-Lakehurst in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. It was the intended destination of the rigid airship LZ 129 Hindenburg prior to the Hindenburg disaster on May 6, 1937, when it was destroyed by fire while landing. Built in 1921, it is one of the oldest surviving structures associated with that period’s development of lighter-than-air flight. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968. In addition to Hangar No. 1 there are five other airship hangars at Lakehurst, which today are used for training, testing and storage.
Not in play: I’ve been to Lakehurst and inside the hangers (not #1, unfortunately) and stood at the Hindenburg site (not much of anything there).
Ninja’ed!
As of June 8, the world now has a new ocean. According to National Geographic, the waters surrounding Antarctica are colder and ecologically distinct to warrant a unique identifier. Henceforth, the water below the 60th parallel south will now be known as the ‘Southern Ocean.’
All of the buildings at Scott Base, New Zealand’s principal research base in Antarctica, are bright “Chelsea Cucumber” green. The base was established in 1957 and named after the fallen explorer Capt. Robert Falcon Scott of the British Royal Navy.