The ZPN-1 was followed by an order for four improved N-class blimps that were delivered in 1954. These airships were designated ZP2N, and re-designated in 1954 as the ZPG-2. Three of the ZP2N airships were modified for an airborne early warning mission in the mid-1950s and were designated, originally, ZP2N-1W but at delivery were designated ZPG-2W.

Another ZPG-2, flown by Commander Jack R. Hunt, in March 1957, established a new blimp record—flying from NAS South Weymouth, Massachusetts, across the Atlantic to Portugal, then to North Africa, and back across the Atlantic to Key West. The flight set a long-distance record of 9,448 nautical miles in 264 hours aloft.

Redesignated ZPG-2s in 1954, the blimps would serve in the antisubmarine role and established quite a reputation for their flight endurance. On display are the framework of a ZPG-2 ruddervator...

2024年3月15日 · 4 March 1957: At 6:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, a United States Navy non-rigid airship, Goodyear ZPG-2, Bu. No. 141561, departed NAS South Weymouth, Boston, Massachussetts, on a long-dstance flight to demonstrate the capabilities of a modern lighter-than-air military “blimp.”

A ZPG-2 airship under Commander Marion Eppes departed NAS Lakehurst for an endurance flight which took her north to Nova Scotia, east to Bermuda and then south to Nassau, the Caribbean Sea and...

Launching from Naval Air Station (NAS) South Weymouth, Massachusetts, the airship made two crossings of the Atlantic before touching down at NAS Key West, Florida. All told, "Snow Bird" spent just...

The ZPG-2 was intended for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) patrols of 2-3 days duration, while the modified ZPG-2W was designed for all-weather airborne warning (AEW) missions. These airships...

ZPG-2 Snow Bird. The museum displays the cockpit section of the ZPG-2 Snow Bird, which on March 15, 1957, established a long-distance unrefueled flight record when it landed at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, after traveling a distance of 9,448 miles. During the flight, it spent 264.2 hours straight in the air.

On March 15, 1957, after having flown 15,205 km (9,448 mi) in 264.2 hours (just over 10 days), the Snow Bird landed at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida. The flight had crossed the Atlantic, flown over the western shores of Africa and Europe and then crossed the Atlantic from east to …

I photographed this Blimp ZPG-2 “Snow Bird” at the Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola.