WW1 Aviation > Blimp Car Gallery

Found in the same photo album as the Sturtevant aircraft photos seen elsewhere on this site, the following blimp cars have a definite Boston if not Sturtevant connection.

The houses seen on several of the images prove that this is the Pigeon Spar Aircraft factory of East Boston, MA. An old company dating back to the 1800s when they specialized in spars and masts for ships, during WW1(1917) they supplied cars and fins to the Connecticut Aircraft Company for the B-Class airships (seen at top) which that company was manufacturing for the Navy.

Though no direct involvement with Sturtevant exists it's tempting to consider it indirectly. Sturtevant supplied a pair of V-8 engines for the DN-1, the Navy's first airship and failed predecessor to the B-Class, in 1917 for that same Connecticut Aircraft Company. Since the controlling families of both companies were socially active in the state it's not unreasonable to surmise that Pigeon could have been made aware of upcoming contracts through a social/business encounter.

The eleven photos below show those cars from various angles. It's not stated but assumed they were taken in 1917.