Houma Blimp Base

The Houma blimp base, once a vital hub for U.S. naval defense during World War II, played a key role in tracking and deterring German U-boats prowling the Gulf of Mexico. While the giant wooden hangar that once housed the Navy’s airships is long gone, its concrete foundation—stretching 1,000 feet—remains a monument to a little-known chapter of Louisiana’s wartime history.

the war comes to coastal Louisiana

Beginning in 1942, German U-boats launched a campaign known as Operation Drumbeat, targeting Allied cargo ships and tankers in the Gulf. The waters off Louisiana, particularly near the mouth of the Mississippi River, were especially dangerous. “You really couldn’t hide it from the public because eyewitness accounts, including my dad, said they saw ships burning in the Gulf,” said Richard Cosse, exhibit manager at Houma’s Regional Military Museum.

the bayou bombers take flight

To counter the threat, the Navy rushed to build a massive blimp base in Houma. “The blimp base was built in months,” Cosse said. The first airship arrived on May 1, 1943, even before construction was complete. Operating under the squadron name ZP-22, the airmen adopted the nickname, Bayou Bombers.

The base’s blimps bore names like Jean Lafitte, Dominique You, and Nez Coupé, referencing notorious Louisiana pirates. The airships patrolled the coastline, watching for submarines. “Blimps can hang in the air for hours, if not days,” Cosse explained. The U-boats, “didn’t attack when they saw a blimp because they knew the blimps were armed.”

houma blimp base featured on tv

Houma blimp base – a massive footprint

The Houma blimp hangar itself was a marvel—1,000 feet long, 300 feet wide, and nearly 200 feet tall. At the time, it was believed to be the largest wooden structure in the world, capable of housing six large airships. Today, only the foundation and rows of concrete pylons remain.

Riley Gros, who grew up near the base, remembers the sight vividly. “It was the largest structure I had ever seen,” he recalled.

disaster strikes houma blimp base

Though the blimps deterred U-boat activity, they were not immune to disaster. In one storm, a Houma-based blimp crashed into the Gulf, killing nine of ten crew members. Just two days later, a second storm destroyed three more blimps, blown out of the hangar. “So within two days, four blimps were destroyed,” said Cosse.

The Houma blimp base was decommissioned in September 1944, its mission complete as the U-boat threat faded. The hangar was later demolished, but its concrete foundation still stands—a monument to the defense of the Louisiana coast when American ships were under attack in World War II.

visiting the regional military museum

1154 Barrow St, Houma, LA 70360

The Regional Military Museum is located at 1154 Barrow Street in Houma, Louisiana. Click here for the museum’s website.