J. Gordon Vaeth (1921-2012) was an accomplished author and historian on the subject of airships. He was known as the 'leader of the airship underground' during his earlier days with the Naval Airship Program at the start of World War II. During his active duty in the U. S. Navy (1942-1946), he was assigned to Commander Airship Patrol Group One, later Commander Fleet, Airships, Atlantic, then to Naval Air Station Lakehurst. He entered civilian life in 1947, continuing to work with programs relating to airships, including at the Office of Naval Research, the Helios Project, and on Skyhook. Vaeth held many positions for the federal government and was the director of systems engineering for the National Environmental Satellite Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the time of his retirement. Vaeth was a frequent lecturer, including appearances in television documentaries, as well as the author of numerous professional articles and books.

NASM.1994.0011

Arranged and described in 1993 by Christina T. Simcox. Updated and encoded in 2020 by Jessamyn Lloyd.

Vaeth, J. Gordon (Joseph Gordon), 1921-2012

1908-1992

J. Gordon Vaeth, Gift, 1993, NASM.1994.0011

1.97 Cubic feet (4 legal document boxes and 1 oversize folder)

This collection, compiled by J. Gorden Vaeth, consists of documents, reports, news clippings, scrapbooks, publications, and photographs relating to rigid and non-rigid airships worldwide.

No restrictions on access

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Publications

Clippings

Reports

Collection is arranged by type of material. Most publications are housed individually in folders.

This collection consists of documents, reports, news clippings, scrapbooks, publications, and photographs relating to rigid and non-rigid airships worldwide, including the USS Shenandoah; USS Akron; USS Macon; USS Los Angeles; Schütte-Lanz; R-23; TC-14: and the Zeppelins Hindenburg and Bodensee. It was compiled by J. Gordon Vaeth for personal and research reasons.

Photographs

Publications

Clippings

Reports

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

LZ 120 Bodensee (Airship)

LZ 129 Hindenburg (Airship)

Project Helios

Project Skyhook

United States. Navy -- Aviation

United States. Navy. Naval Airship Program

United States. Office of Naval Research

ZR-1 Shenandoah (Airship)

ZR-3 Los Angeles (Airship)

ZRS-4 Akron (Airship)

ZRS-5 Macon (Airship)

Vaeth, J. Gordon (Joseph Gordon), 1921-2012

J. Gordon Vaeth Collection, NASM.1994.0011, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

National Air and Space Museum Archives