One Of The Last WWII Blimp Hangars Is Right Here In Oregon And It's So Worth A Visit
By Catherine Armstrong|Published November 30, 2018
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Catherine Armstrong
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Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy.
If you’re fascinated by World War II history, or are intrigued by aviation throughout the decades, you’ll want to check out the Tillamook Air Museum. This isn’t just any air museum – it’s located inside of one of the few remaining World War II blimp hangars in the United States!
The Tillamook Air Museum is located inside one of the last World War II blimp hangars left in the country, and you'll want to pay it a visit.
You'll find the museum at 6030 Hangar Rd., Tillamook, OR 97141.
Two hangars were built in Tillamook in 1943 to house K-class airships that would serve as anti-submarine patrol along the U.S. coast. The hangars were built in less than a month.
Hangar A was destroyed in a fire in the 1990s, but Hangar B still stands. It's 1,072 feet long, 296 feet wide, and over 15 stories tall. This building is so massive that it covers seven acres - more than six football fields!
The hangar had to be immense, because the K-Class airships, or blimps, were huge. The blimps were 252 feet long and 80 feet in diameter. You can see the men in this photo standing underneath - they're tiny in comparison!
The blimps were filled with 425,000 cubic feet of helium, which allowed the brave men aboard to patrol 2,000 miles and stay out for as long as three days before returning to refuel. After World War II ended, the K-Class airships were no longer useful. The Naval Air Station Tillamook was decommissioned in 1948.
Visit the Tillamook Air Museum Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Allow plenty of time to wander through this humongous, and fascinating piece of history.
