U.S. airship contractIn 1908, the U.S. awarded its first airship contract to Capt. Thomas S. Baldwin, chosen from bids received on 15 Feb 1908. The request for bids on a lighter-than-air airship had been made by the Chief Signal Officer on 16 Dec 1907. (Baldwin received this government contract just 3½ years since he had made the first successful U.S.-made airship circuit flight in his California Arrow, on 3 Aug 1904and exhibited at the St. Louis World's Fair on 31 Oct 1904.) A week after requesting bids on an airship, on 23 Dec 1907, the government provided specifications and called for bids on its first heavier-than-air military flying machine.« |
