L-8
L-8, later renamed America and popularly known as the "Ghost Blimp", was a United States Navy L-class airship whose two crewmen disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on August 16, 1942.L-8 briefly made contact with the ground at Ocean Beach, causing damage to the airship, then drifted over San Francisco and crashed on Bellevue Avenue, Daly City.After the United States declared war on Japan in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese Navy sank at least half a dozen Allied ships off of the West Coast over a period of several months.[n 1] Several months prior to the incident, in April 1942, L-8 delivered vital B-25 modification parts to the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) after she departed California carrying the Doolittle Raiders, ahead of their assault on Tokyo.Controllers at Treasure Island lost contact with the crew at 8:50 a.m.[6] Shortly after 9:00 a.m., L-8 dumped ballast, ascended, and headed east – contrary to its intended course towards Point Reyes, which was to the northwest.As the fishermen were unable to hold the airship down any longer, they released it and the ship rose briefly into the air before running into a sloping cliff, causing damage to its starboard propeller and dislodging one depth charge, relieving it of enough weight to gain altitude.[7] An automatic valve inside L-8 was opened and began releasing helium gas, causing the weight of the gondola to give the envelope a sagging V-shaped appearance as it deflated.
L-8 (disambiguation)San FranciscoCaliforniaL-classUnited States NavyRegistrationTreasure IslandairshipPacific OceanOcean BeachFort FunstonDaly CityLieutenant Ernest DeWitt Cody andEnsign Charles Adamsblimpssmall commercial blimpsGoodyear Aircraft Companydeclared warattack on Pearl HarborImperial Japanese NavyAlliedWest CoastEllwood Oil FieldFort StevensOregonBattle of Los Angelesweather balloonLakehurstNew JerseyMoffett Fieldantisubmarine patrolsaircraft carrierUSS Hornet (CV-8)Doolittle RaidersUSS HornetFarallon IslandsPoint ReyesMontaraGolden Gate BridgegondolaLieutenantEnsigndepth chargesmachine gunoil slickLiberty shipstarboardheliumOlympic ClubMission StreetCrocker-Amazonparachutesdeclared legally deaddefecteddesertionNational Naval Aviation MuseumPensacolaFloridaList of missing aircraftList of people who disappeared mysteriously at seaUS Navy airships during World War IISan Francisco ChronicleGaddis, Vincent H.Ace BooksU.S. Naval InstituteAviation accidents and incidentsTWA Flight 3Qantas Short Empire shootdownKNILM Douglas DC-3 shootdownKufra tragedyHerefordshire TRE Halifax crashDunbeath air crashRuislip Wellington accidentAmerican Airlines Flight 28Aeroflot Li-2 Krasnoyarsk crashLittle EvaAeroflot Tupolev ANT-20bis crash