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I Forge Iron

Emerald Eyes


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I dunno I couldn’t see the people with the sun beaming on it,

I was standing at the edge of my shop talking with a customer when it passed overhead and I did a double take an just stared at it in disbelief until I had the realization to run an grab my phone to take a picture lol

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We saw the Goodyear blimp really close up at the first running of the Ontario 500, you could see the TV cameras in the side doors. TV cameras were about the size of small steamer trunk in the day so you could see them from a distance. It was still really low, you could see patches in the skin and details. 

 I have no idea what kind of load it can carry though, not much I don't think.

Frosty The Lucky.

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If I remember from the Blimp moored at Watson Island, Miami-Dade county Florida when we lived down there, it could carry 3,000 pounds (1,400 Kg) of cargo. Very seldom did they carry passengers when we were living there (mid '70s). I have a bunch of Kodak pictures of that blimp arriving and departing back then. I would scan one in particular, if I could find it, where the ship appears to be moored to a street light on the causeway.

My dad had a friend who was a Captain of a U.S. Navy blimp doing coastal patrol during WWII. He would tell us about his adventures carrying 6 350 pound depth charges hunting German submarines off of New York City. He said they sunk at least a dozen of them.

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  Interesting.  I read that the waters off the coast of NC were called Torpedo Junction due to uboat activity and blimps were stationed in Elizabeth City too.  There is even a surviving blimp hanger.  The article I read said costal residents could feel their houses shake from the explosions offshore all hours of the day and night.  I imagine some of those explosions were from uboats getting sent to the bottom.

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  You are likely right.  An abysmal failure and a gold nugget of propoganda for us:  

 "Apparantly an Only one made it into the harbor, and it was quickly sunk during the attack that morning. Another submarine washed ashore on the morning of December 8, and its surviving crew member, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured along with his craft. The submarine was studied and then toured the U.S. to promote the sale of War Bonds."  

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The Japanese Navy also used mini subs to attack Sydney Harbor in 1942 but not with very good results.  IIRC all they sank was a ferry.  And the German mini-subs and manned torpedos didn't have much better success.  The Italians had good results at Alexandria and Gibralter with manned torpedos.  The Royal Navy also had some successes with their mini-subs, e.g. serious damage to Tirpitz.

GNM

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I'd forgotten about the manned torpedos, talk about suicidal courage! The problem with mini-subs was endurance I don't think they could carry more than a couple hours of breathable air and the batteries weren't much if any better. 

Heck submariners were suicidally brave in the first place, let alone during war.

Frosty The Lucky.

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  I don't think they sank any battleships. 

  I was researching those manned torpedos some time ago and IIRC one of the designer's of them went on an actual mission in one of his own contraptions and took notes on flaws in the design and how to improve them right up till the end.  I can't find where I read it.

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