One Of The Last WWII Blimp Hangars Is Right Here In North Carolina And It’s So Worth A Visit

North Carolina is home to the only remaining steel blimp hangar built during WWII. It was constructed from 1941 to 1942 in a nationwide effort to build a lightweight air fleet (of blimps) that would be instrumental in spotting German U-boats. The fact this it is still standing (and also in operation in the private sector) is amazing! Did you know it was here?

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When it opened in 1942, this massive structure had room for 12 Navy K-class blimps, each an average of 250-feet long and approximately 50 feet in diameter. Flickr/Bill Dickinson The Navy's K-class (Goodyear) blimps were designed to patrol the open waters and spot nefarious vessels that posed a threat to the coast and major U.S. ports, including German submarines. Wikipedia/USN - From Grossnick, Roy A When it was completed, the Weeksville facility (located southeast of Elizabeth City) encompassed more than 800 acres, and reportedly contained more than ten miles of railroad lines. Afterall, moving those blimps around couldn't have been easy. Google Maps And it still isn't! Today, the old Weeksville U.S. Navy blimp hangar is still in use by the private sector for building blimps. Flickr/Bill Dickinson Seen on the horizon from miles away, the huge historic blimp garage is still churning out blimps (and more). Google Maps/Mary Warren Pinnell Getting inside may be a bit of a challenge, but you can easily see the outside of the facility just by driving over there. Google Maps/Dougles W. Reynolds. Jr. The original facility also contained a second wooden hangar that burned down in 1995. The wooden building was added during the height of WWII, when there was a shortage of steel. Today, the building that remains at Weeksville is the only one of its kind (the only steel blimp hangar from WWII) in the U.S. Google Maps/Dougles W. Reynolds. Jr.

Did you know this important piece of history was hiding in North Carolina? It’s located at 190 T Com Dr., Elizabeth City, NC 27909. If you want to visit, you’ll only get so close before you’re forced to stop. The facility has a ‘Private Property, Keep Out’ sign posted along the road leading to the hangar.

The Tar Heel State was instrumental in many ways during the second World War. Did you know North Carolina was home to a huge WWII German prison camp? Read on to learn more!