19 vintage Goodyear Blimp photos on its 100th anniversary
The iconic airship has flown over Super Bowls, cities, and Rome's Colosseum.
The post 19 vintage Goodyear Blimp photos on its 100th anniversary appeared first on Popular Science.
Jun 3, 2025 - 15:22
0
On June 3, 1925, Goodyear launched its first civil airship. Over the next century, the blimp could be spotted floating over sporting events as an icon of advertising.
Before the branded blimps hit the skies in 1925, Goodyear built approximately 25 airships for the US Navy, starting in 1917. The hangar at the company’s Akron, Ohio-based Wingfoot Lake Airship Base was not yet complete when the Navy placed their order, so production of the first prototype, the B-1, occurred in an amusement park building in Chicago.
Pilgrim, Goodyear’s first branded public relations blimp, returns to the Wingfoot Lake hangar following its official christening on July 17, 1925. Image: Goodyear
Notable moments in the airships’ history include:
In 1955, cameras onboard the airship provided the world’s first live aerial video for a national broadcast at the Rose Bowl game.
In 1989, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit near San Francisco while the company’s Columbia blimp was flying above the World Series. The blimp ended up sending images to first responders to show the damage from above.
A Goodyear blimp could be seen above the Super Bowl in 24 of the first 30 games.
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Goodyear will fly its three operational airships above northeast Ohio June 3-5.
The Goodyear Blimp Mayflower flies over a NASCAR stock car event in 1963. Image: GoodyearGoodyear’s first internationally-based blimp Europa first took the skies in 1972. Here it flies with the Tower of Pisa in Italy. Image: GoodyearThe Goodyear Blimp Mayflower flies around the Space Needle at Seattle’s Century 21 Exposition in 1962. Image: GoodyearGoodyear’s first internationally-based blimp Europa first took the skies in 1972. Here it flies over the opening ceremony of the 1974 World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany. Image: GoodyearThe Goodyear Blimp Volunteer lands at a California railroad station in 1929. Image: GoodyearGoodyear Blimps Columbia and Mayflower fly over the Statue of Liberty in 1964. Both blimps spent the summer at the New York World’s Fair, providing rides to over 4,500 passengers in all. Image: GoodyearPilgrim, Goodyear’s first branded public relations airship, took its first flight June 3, 1925. Image: GoodyearThe Goodyear Blimp Enterprise displays a newly designed electric sign in 1949. Each of the 10 panels held 182 incandescent bulbs. Image: Goodyear NEDCCGoodyear’s first internationally-based blimp Europa first took the skies in 1972. Here it flies over Rome and the Colosseum in 1974. Image: GoodyearVolunteer, the first Goodyear Blimp to be based on the West Coast, flies in Los Angeles in 1933. Image: GoodyearGoodyear’s first internationally-based blimp Europa first took the skies in 1972. Here it flies over Rome, Italy. Image: GoodyearSally Ride, the first American woman in space, christens the Spirit of Goodyear on March 15, 2000. This year the Goodyear Blimp celebrates its 100th anniversary. Image: GoodyearIn the largest gathering of Goodyear Blimps since the 1930s, five Goodyear Blimps, including two newly built and one headed into retirement, fly above Akron, Ohio on September 10, 1969. Image: GoodyearIn addition to introducing a new model of blimp in 1969, Goodyear also opened a new base in Spring, Texas. Here two Goodyear Blimps fly over nearby Houston in celebration of the new home. Image: GoodyearThe Goodyear Blimp Mayflower flies over Super Bowl V at the Orange Bowl. The Goodyear Blimp was present at 27 of the first 35 Super Bowls. Image: Goodyear
On January 1, 1955, Goodyear provided the world with the first live aerial coverage of a nationally televised event. This photo, from 1975, demonstrates the continued development of the aerial TV equipment. Image: GoodyearAs the only airship on the west coast of the United States at the time, the Goodyear Blimp Resolute was officially drafted – crew and all – into the Navy on March 10, 1942. Image: Goodyear
