Originally Posted by
Top_Gunn
It is indeed the L-class blimp. L-8 was used to deliver spare parts to the Hornet by lowering them from the gondola to the deck, which was crowded with B-25's. It later became well known when it landed, intact and in good condition but without its crew, who were never found, in Daly City, CA. Here's an account:
https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4380
The gondola of the L-5 is (or was?) on display in the Air and Space Museum. I suppose displaying a whole blimp there would have taken up too much room, and in any event the L-5 had been sold back to Goodyear after the war and its gondola was used on a different sort of blimp. One of the things the L-5 did during the war was patrolling northern Ohio to make sure that blackout regulations were being observed, according to this account:
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/blimp
You're up, Johnny S. Good job. I was running out of clues and would have had to mention the "ghost blimp" episode soon, which would have made the quiz a lot easier.
Are you suggesting that my clues were a touch sneaky, Ernie? Wherever would I have learned to do such a thing?
<Chuckle> Top_Gunn, when I realized where you were headed, I laughed out loud. Good job! I suddenly remembered the delivery of parts to the Hornet by the blimp; and figured you were being playful. Until then, I was lost. But what was the "mysterious incident" to which you referred? Thanks; Ernie P.