Vancouver Archives CVA 1184-3432 - Goodyear blimp marked as NC-7A Volunteer on the ground by Jack Lindsay
Look up in the sky! That's no bird, nor is it the Millennium Falcon! Why, it's the Goodyear Blimp! That signature advertising billboard in the sky is returning to Vancouver, which is a fairly rare event for our skies. The airship was originally scheduled to stay in the vicinity from July 2, 2016 to July 8, 2016, but flight schedules can be hard to predict. Update! The blimp landed in Abbotsford Tuesday afternoon, July 5, 2016, and it should remain here until Friday, July 8, 2016. Check with Facebook for updates. The visit marks the end of an era for Goodyear’s GZ-20 series of blimps, which have been in service for nearly half a century. Two of the replacement Zeppelin NT models are already built and flying out of Goodyear's Ohio and Florida airship bases; the California base is the last to host the GZ-20.
It may come as a surprise, but Vancouver does have an interesting airship history. The first airship seen in Vancouver appeared in 1930. Remarkably, you can still see this ship today! Yes, I am referring to the terra-cotta decoration on the exterior of our classic art deco skyscraper, the Marine Building, seen below. (I now realize this was probably celebrating the short lived British R100 airship that went on to traverse the Atlantic and landed in Canada in August of 1930. It seems the first American airship in Canada was the Goodyear Puritan in 1928.)
Zeppelin! An airship or blimp decorates the terra-cotta exterior of the Marine Building, [adjusted] photo by Jason Vanderhill.
Delving further into the subject of historical flyovers, I came across a fantastic series of aerial photographs in the Vancouver Archives. Taken by news photographer Jack Lindsay, they depict the Goodyear blimp floating across the Vancouver cityscape of the 1940s. The dates noted in the archives are a bit ambiguous, typically stating 'circa 1948'. But another image of the blimp over English Bay stated April 1945. Without having a full historical blimp schedule online, I was forced to dig into the microfilm in an attempt to learn more.
The Vancouver Sun for April 26, 1945, announcing the US Navy Blimp's visit to Vancouver.
It turns out that Vancouver was greeted by a blimp in April of 1945, but it wasn't a Goodyear Blimp—it was a US Navy Blimp visiting for the Allied Services Victory Loan show at English Bay. There were no Goodyear blimps during World War II because they were all taken over by the US Navy to perform various military applications. From protecting war cargo, reconnaissance work, anti-submarine missions, and other feasibility tests, they performed a diversity of duties.
During the demonstration at English Bay on April 28, 1945, the blimp dropped a buoy down to Flight Officer J.F.S. McKelvie in a dinghy, and the plan was to hoist the man up to the blimp to safety. But winds were stronger than anticipated, and the rope somehow got tangled up in his foot, causing him to flounder in the water until a nearby RCAF crashboat came to the rescue. After the ordeal, McKelvie was quoted as saying "I'm okay, but let's not try that again". The story made the front page news in the Vancouver Sun the following Monday.
At the end of the war, Goodyear purchased their blimps back from the Navy and they resumed their flight schedule. The Jack Lindsay aerial photographs presented the next challenge; were they taken in 1946, 1947, 1948, or 1949? I was next in search of the Goodyear Volunteer's flight over Vancouver. I was able to randomly track a few stops of the Goodyear Volunteer via archival newspaper accounts:
Tucson air show, Arizona, December 1, 1946
Salem, Oregon, June 16, 1947
Tucson, Arizona, December 5, 1947
Salem, Oregon, May 8, 1948, and June 22, 1948
San Mateo, California, week of August 23, 1948
San Bernardino County, November 11, 1948
San Francisco, California, August 24, 1949
But alas, no clues about a Vancouver stopover. I appealed to the Goodyear Blimp on Facebook, and I received some helpful suggestions. Goodyear records suggested that the Blimp Volunteer NC-2A first visited Vancouver in June of 1946, but I could find no record of this in newspaper accounts. After continued searches, I finally found a series of feature stories from June of 1947, touting the visit as a sort of media sensation. The lead story on June 4, 1947 kicked off as follows:
"Circling over Vancouver like a giant silver sausage the Goodyear blimp Volunteer Tuesday created more interest and strained more necks than a fan dancer at Granville and Hastings."
The Vancouver Sun writer Bill Gill went on to add that Acting Mayor George Miller and Police Chief Walter Mulligan were to receive a free ride in the blimp that day.
Vancouver Archives CVA 1184-3433 - Goodyear blimp NC-7A Volunteer on the ground by Jack Lindsay
But the mystery doesn't end there. You see, in the photos of the Vancouver Archives, the Volunteer clearly displaying the number NC-7A on the tail. That's where things get a bit fuzzy, as the number NC-7A was apparently used for the Puritan airships between 1928-35, and these ships were all based on the east coast of the US. The Volunteer was supposed to be known as NC-8A. Clearly, there is a discrepancy somewhere in the records, likely further obscured by the Navy's custody of blimp fleet during the war years. The Vancouver Sun reported in separate stories on June 4 and 5, 1947 that this ship was a class L blimp, and it had been built in 1939. It was originally used to train pilots, but also served some active duty protecting cargo. While in Vancouver, Captain R. H. Hobensack was the commander of the Volunteer, and he had been flying since 1929 with more than 13,000 flying hours under his belt. The Volunteer had an estimated 31,600 flying hours by this point in time.
While some confusion may swirl around the Goodyear Volunteer's tail number, I think it's safe to say that Jack Lindsay's series of photographs are most likely from 1947, unless more compelling evidence comes forward in the future. I could find no reports of a blimp visit in 1948. Instead, the daily papers in early June of that year were filled with stories of the ravaging effects of the disastrous Fraser Valley flooding.
Images from the Vancouver Sun, June 5, 1947.
One thing is certain; the photographs Jack Lindsay took are utterly fascinating, showing a hardworking industrial town just waking up in the post-war years. With a little bit of effort, neighbourhoods are still recognizable, despite the massive changes of industrial lands and increases in building scale. In the Vancouver Sun images above, you can see an aerial photograph of Hastings Park, Pier B-C and the CPR rail yards, and an overview of the Shaughnessy Hospital. These three aerial photographs are not attributed, but given that Jack Lindsay's photographs were not taken from a blimp but from a plane, they are most likely not Jack's.
Vancouver Archives CVA 1184-3423 - The Goodyear Blimp flies over Victory Square in Vancouver by Jack Lindsay
In the above image, you can see the blimp gracefully flying over Victory Square, perhaps in tribute to those who served in WWII. Much of Gastown remains recognizable, and the Woodwards complex is the biggest operation in the neighbourhood.
Vancouver Archives CVA 1184-3427 - An aerial view of False Creek, showing the BCER Gasometer, the Georgia Viaduct, and the newly constructed bus depot, photo by Jack Lindsay
The image above shows the BCER Gasometer at the far left, as well as the dramatic diagonal angle that the old Georgia Viaduct takes as it connects with E Georgia Street in Chinatown. And look at all those train cars, right where we put a stadium or two!
Vancouver Archives CVA 1184-3427 - Another aerial view of the rail yard in False Creek, the Beatty Street Drill Hall and the new Bus Depot nearing completion, photo by Jack Lindsay
Above you can see a nice view of the newly constructed Larwill Terminal bus depot at right. The ground broke on the site in 1946 and the Vancouver Bus Depot opened August 1, 1947; it remained on the site until late 1992, when it was demolished and turned into the present parking lot (and it might just become our future art gallery one day).
As the blimp sails over False Creek, you can see just how industrial this part of the city once was. Smoke billows from sawmills along the waterfront, and huge booms of lumber fill the creek (noticeably absent are any yachts and cruise boats!) You'll notice in the photo below, the blimp is just about to fly over the Roundhouse!
Vancouver Archives CVA 1184-3421 - Goodyear blimp above the CPR Roundhouse, taken from an airplane above Vancouver by Jack Lindsay
The final photo in this set shows the blimp about to fly over Strathcona, having just kissed the top of the giant BCER Gasometer alongside the first Georgia Street Viaduct. You can also see in this image just how far False Creek continues North. And at the top right, you'll notice not one but two train stations! The Great Northern Railway Terminal on the left and the CNR's Pacific Central Terminal at right.
Vancouver Archives CVA 1184-3426 - The Goodyear Blimp above the BCER Gasometer, heading towards Strathcona by Jack Lindsay
Just imagine what the kids in Strathcona would have experienced as this giant airship coasted over their neighbourhood at just a few hundred feet off the ground! While I haven't been able to compile a complete list of all the visits the blimp has made to Vancouver, I noticed a few other occasions were mentioned over at The Georgia Straight. In his article, Doug Sarti recounts appearances at the Abbotsford airshows of the 1970s, and the article features an image from 2003, perhaps the last time the blimp graced our skies? I hope to relive a piece of airship history with a few photos of my own as the Spirit of Innovation flies by. Rest assured, there will be more photos taken during this visit than ever before.
