blimp 1916 -- (David Shulman has 1915)

[James A. Landau]

In a message dated 1/16/03 9:46:39 PM Eastern Standard Time, dwhause at JOBE.NET
writes:

> I'm afraid this is folk etymology, but the derivation I remember
>  (unattested) is that early lighter-than-air craft were either rigid, such
as
>  the infamous Hindenburg, or "limp" and that the version adopted was the
>  model B, hence, Blimp.

Apparently an etymythology, although a widespread one.  A derivation from
"Colonel Blimp" is also unlikely.  Here is what appears to be a reasonably
authoritative source:

>From "Glossary of Airship Terms" URL http://www.blimpinfo.com/glossary.html

<begin quote>
blimp: a term coined in 1915 as a friendly synonym for a pressure airship.
The word is said to have mimicked the sound made when a man snapped his thumb
on the airship’s gas-filled envelope. It is not derived from the description
of an apocryphal type of World War I British airship, the "Balloon, Type B,
limp." There was never a "Type B" nor a designation "limp" applied to a
British airship before, during or after WW I. The term most likely originated
with Lieutenant (later Air Commodore) A. D. Cunningham of the Royal Naval Air
Service, commanding officer of the British airship station at Capel in
December 1915. During a weekly inspection, Lt. Cunningham visited an aircraft
hangar to examine a "Submarine Scout" pressure airship, His Majesty’s Airship
SS-12. Cunningham broke the solemnity of the occasion by playfully flipping
his thumb at the gasbag and was rewarded with an odd noise that echoed off
the taut fabric. Cunningham imitated this sound by uttering: "Blimp!" A young
midshipman, who later became known as Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard,
repeated the tale of this humorous inspection to his fellow officers in the
mess hall before lunch the same day. It is believed that by this route the
word came into common usage.
<end quote>

What is a "pressure airship"?

<begin quote>
pressure airship: a term used to describe an airship whose shape is dependent
on the gas inside its envelope having a higher pressure than is found in the
atmosphere outside. With no lifting gas in its envelope, a pressure airship
is only an empty bag on the ground with its control car, fins and hardware
fittings the only rigid structures. Also called a "non-rigid airship."
<end quote>

About this Web site
"BlimpInfo.com is a publication of The Lighter-Than-Air Society, 526 S. Main
Street, Suite 232, Akron OH 44311. Address all suggestions to
Suggest at BlimpInfo.com "

        - James A. Landau
          systems engineer
          FAA Technical Center (ACB-510/BCI)
          Atlantic City Int'l Airport NJ 08405 USA