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Photographs of World War II surveillance dirigible

 Collection
Identifier: Org. Lot 1452

Scope and Contents

Collection consists of two black-and-white snapshots taken between 1943 and 1945. According to unverified caption information on the photographs, the images depict a dirigible from Naval Air Station Tillamook flying over a house and trees in Newport, Oregon. The photographer is unidentified.

Dates

  • Creation: 1943-1945

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Historical Note

Naval Air Station (NAS) Tillamook was built in 1943 and housed up to eight K-class blimps that were used to monitor ports and shipping lanes along the Pacific Coast during World War II. After the war ended, airship operations at the base ceased, and by 1946, the hangars had been repurosed for local timber company operations. In 1992, the Port of Tillamook Bay purchased the site, which holds the record for the largest clear-span wooden structure in the world, and established a museum on blimp and military history.

Sources: "Major blimp base to be built on Tillamook Bay, Announces Mott," Corvallis Gazette-Times, June 8, 1942, page 1; "Naval Air Station Tillamook / Tillamook Air Museum," by Ulrich H. Hardt, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/naval_air_station_tillamook_tillamook_air_museum/

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder in shared box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Two photographs of a dirigible from Naval Air Station Tillamook above Newport, Oregon, during World War II.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Doris Rhodes, November 2018 (Lib. Acc. 29409).

Title
Guide to the hotographs of World War II surveillance dirigible
Status
Completed
Author
Lewyn Nelson
Date
2026
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240