Hangar B
In 1942, the U.S. Navy began construction of 17 wooden hangars to house K-class airships that would be used for anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort. Two of these hangars were built at Naval Air Station Tilllamook, which was commissioned in December 1942 to serve the Oregon-Washington-California coastal areas.
With WW II well under way, construction of the two hangars was rushed to completion. Hangar "B" was the first one built and was completed in August of 1943. Hangar "A" which was destroyed in a 1992 fire, was completed in only 27 working days! Amazingly, there were no serious injuries or deaths on the whole project.
Stationed at NAS Tillamook was Squadron ZP-33 with a complement of eight K-Class airships. The K-ships were 252 feet long, 80 feet in diameter, and filled with 425,000 cu. ft. of Helium. With a range of 2,000 miles and an ability to stay aloft for three days, they were well suited for coastal patrol and convoy escort. With the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945 and the Japanese submarine threat eliminated, Naval Air Station Tillamook was reduced to functional status. In 1948, Naval Air Station Tillamook was decommissioned for good, ending a long and proud tradition.