A Brief History
On August 16, 1942, while on routine anti-submarine patrol, the 2 man crew of US Navy Blimp L-8 disappeared without a trace. The unmanned blimp drifted about aimlessly until crash landing in Daly City, California. No trace of the crew or reason for their disappearance has ever been found.
Digging Deeper
(Note: An unrelated disaster, the 1964 Republican National Convention was held in the modern city limits of Daly City, although History usually refers to the convention as being held in San Francisco. Barry Goldwater was nominated for President, and went on to lose by a record margin to Lyndon B. Johnson.)
A “Blimp” is a non-rigid airship, meaning it is basically a coated cloth bag or envelope filled with a lighter than air gas, usually Helium. The US Navy has used blimps for anti-submarine duty because they can stay in the air for an extended period and fly slow enough to accurately observe and target enemy submarines. First used during World War I, they made a reappearance during World War II for their simplicity and economy. In recent years, the blimp has been resurrected by the US Navy once again. Blimps are also valuable for reconnaissance, search and rescue, and flying laboratories.
The L-8 was part of a class of 22 blimps, and was 147.5 feet long with a diameter of 39 feet 10 inches. Capable of over 60 mph, it could easily out run a submarine, and could cruise at 46 mph for over 11 hours. It was powered by 2 X 145 horsepower radial engines. It was armed with 2 X 350 pound bombs for use against enemy subs, and L-8 had been used to ferry supplies to the USS Hornet for use during the famous Doolittle Raid. Of course the blimp was equipped with a radio, and the last transmission was that the crew was observing an oil slick on the water and was investigating. Incident investigators found the radio, engines and guns present and in working condition. Code books were also present, along with other normal equipment, and plenty of gas (fuel) was left. What they did not find was the crew or what happened to the crew.
Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think happened? Was there a stowaway aboard that murdered the crew and tossed them in the ocean? Were aliens involved? Supernatural causes? Did one or both crewmen go bonkers and commit suicide or murder suicide? Let us know what you think in the comments section below this article. We sure do not know!
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Althoff, William F. Sky Ships: A History of the Airship in the United States Navy, 25th Anniversary Edition. Naval Institute Press, 2016.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="12836 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=12836">69 Comments
That’s weird that they have absolutely no trace of the blimp.
I also think it’s crazy how the blimps just disappeared.
I love mysteries. It’s crazy that the crew disappeared and no one knows what happened. I would guess stowaways on the blimp perhaps.
So they found the blimp itself and all the equipment but no men? Maybe the investigation of the oil on the water didn’t go well, so the other man aboard went to help and then the blimp drifted off. They were just lost in the ocean through no intention of their own.
I didn’t know blimps were used to target enemy ships during both World Wars.
after so long we have no idea what happened to these men I imagine by now there are a lot of good conspiracy theories though!
I had no idea that blimps were used for navy activity. I honestly never really pondered what blimps were, and could be, used for. Given their slow speed, I had automatically assumed that they would be an easy target for enemies.
I did not know that blimps were used in the war. This event is very interesting, its crazy that there was no crew found.
Seems like a blimp was a big step in the war. Weird how the crew just disappeared though and nothing was ever found.
I did not know blimps were used for war purposes. I also have never heard of this missing crew story before.
I find it crazy that they investigators found the radio, engines and guns in working condition, code books, other normal equipment, and plenty of gas was left, but did not find the crew.
I never knew blimps were used in the war, that is interesting. Seems like some kind of conspiracy must be behind the missing crew.
It’s interesting to find out that blimps were used in war. It’s kinda confusing on how the crew disappeared and no one knew about it.
It was very interesting to find out that blimps were used for war purposes i had no idea of that before reading this.
But seriously were did the crew go?
Pretty freaky how the whole crew just disappeared without a trace.
It almost seems as though the crew was escaping for some reason. Bizarre
so scary, how can they just disappear without a trace. it really makes you think how that could possiby happen
Its crazy to think about what about ameilia earhart
For sure aliens.
how does a blimp disappear…. assuming aliens is logical of course..
I am not sure what happen but it is possible that they were lost at sea like other people. It is not like it never happen before for a large ship to become missing.
Considering the crew spotted an oil slick, it is a plausible idea that during their investigation an actual enemy sub surfaced and, knowing the crew would radio their sighting, and not wanting a huge fireball to be seen, the sub had a sharpshooter kill both men, who then fell into the sea, leaving the blimp without any crew.
Just a thought.
How does a large blimp just disappear?
For how huge these blimps are, i’m truly amazed one could just “go missing?” I would have to say this is a similar situation to that of the Malaysian airlines flight where it was lost at sea.
I am not really sure how a huge blimp could go missing.
Did other people even read the article. The blimp didn’t disappear. The crew disappeared. Where the crew went, I’m not sure. I have a feeling there had to be a stow away.
How a huge blimp could simply go missing is very interesting. I feel like that is very similar to today and how there have been a couple missing planes. I wonder if any debris was found from the blimp?
It is hard to believe that something as big as a blimp could go missing that easily.
I was not aware that Blimps were used in the Navy to target enemy submarines because the Blimp was able to stay in the air for an extended period of time and because it was slow moving. I would think it would be easy for an enemy to spot and shoot down.
It is hard telling what happened to the crew. Planes and people go missing all of the time. I think it is a possibility that they were killed but I am not sure of the purpose for it. I also did not know that the navy used blimps for this purpose.
I actually knew about the use of blimps in WWII. These blimps were huge targets too.
I think the disappearance of the crew definitely had something to do with enemy sabotage. I do not know if that means a enemy stowaway, but I do not think it was a result of suicide.
I always knew the “blimp,” as the good year blimp, rather than blimps that were used in aircraft. Overall, I believe that these blimps used in aircraft are very important for the well-being of this country.
I never really knew what the blimps were used for other than modern day advertisements. Learning more about how blimps were used as transportation helped me to understand why they were used during war.
This was interesting. I really had no idea they used blimps for this reason. That is a mystery about the crew, I do think they must have ended up in the ocean.
The fact that all of the materials and supplies were found, but not the crew, makes me think there was some kind of stowaway involved that covered a murdering perhaps. I’m surprised there isn’t some kind of movie about this historical event.
I think that there was some strange reason why the crew had to evacuate such a ship. Maybe they floated to high and the air was too thin
This article is very creepy and the fact that they still are not sure exactly what happen makes it even creepier. I think that it is scary that maybe even aliens or a supernatural entity was involved. There has to be some secret behind all of this!
The stow away theory seems likely since the parachutes and life raft were untouched.
The historical story looks as similar as the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. The truth disappeared in the history and no one can know the truth any more.
History is always mysteries. some of the stories we never know the truth.
I have always found theories at times to be interesting because they are about things that people will never truly know the truth about. Interesting article.
I did not know that they used blimps for this. I found that very interesting.
It’s surprising to learn how so many things were originally used for wars like blimps.
That’s really smart if you think hunting submarines with blimps instead of ships a sub has no defense back then when submerged against a blimp just hope a plane didn’t come I suppose.
I think that it was smart to hunt for submarines with blimps rather than other ships or subs because they have the better view of how things are laid out and can send the attack with more force than with a ship or other sub.
I heard of blimps being used for as flying laboratories, but never for reconnaissance and defense against submarines. As for what happened to the crew aboard the blimp, I have no idea.
Were they anywhere near the Bermuda triangle… Because if so that would seal the deal on my conspiracies.
THAT’S WEIRD BUT IT COULD BE THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE I THINK THAT’S WHERE MOST PEOPLE GO LIKE AMY , sorry for all the caps but its surprising another case similar to all the other people flying and gone with no trace.
The comments about the Bermuda Triangle are funny. But who knows if it actually exists or not and if this could be a possibility.
I feel like it would be dangerous since they fly so slowly! Couldn’t they be shot out of the sky?
It is so odd that so many people randomly go missing in the world. It would be nice to discover where they went.
I believe there is a reasonable explanation, maybe the blimp was forced down and the crew was captured,but i do not believe “aliens” had anything to do with it.
They really shouldn’t have flown so carelessly. A lot of people could have been hurt.
Today a blimp seems outrages to use in a time of war.
That is crazy that there was no reason for their disappearance, and that no one had any knowledge of where they were at the whole time.
I am not sure what could have happened to the crew. If there was a stow away, where did he go and why did he not steal anything?
I would not think to use a blimp in war, interesting! Doesn’t look like it suited them well..
Considering the questions posed at the end of the article and wondering, “Is it possible that someone was hidden aboard and killed them, and then tossed them into the ocean?” What a freaky thing. I wouldn’t think about using blimps as the aircraft of choice during a war. They don’t move very fast and they certainly aren’t discrete.
Mysteries like this are just creepy. No rhyme or reason, just gone. The worst part is that no one will ever know what really happened.
This makes my stomach hurt. Very strange how things happen.
Maybe if they were investigating an oil slick there was a boat nearby and they were abducted?
I think that the blimp was probably unmanned and since it is lighter than air, it launched by itself.
Wish I new the whole story. Instead all we know is that 2 people went missing and the blimp disappeared without a trace.
If only we knew all of the details to this story. We may never know what happened to those two men.
This is creepy. The men just disappeared without a trace.
I didn’t know the military used blimps in WWI and WWII that’s interesting.
I wish we knew the rest of the story about what happened with them… it’s crazy that people can be gone without a trace.