Goodyear blimp at Wash. Air Post, 4/13/38

Airplanes and blimps above National Mall, Washington Monument, Potomac river and around.

Blimp a large aircraft without wings, consisting of a large bag filled with gas that is lighter than air and driven by engines. In the past passengers were carried in a structure hanging below. In 1852, Henri Giffard built the first powered airship, which consisted of a 143-ft (44-m) long, cigar-shaped, gas-filled bag with a propeller, powered by a 3-horsepower (2.2-kW) steam engine. Later, in 1900, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany invented the first rigid airship.