THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9504270154
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
The Museum of the Albemarle and the Lighter-than-Air Museum Committee will host the opening of ``The Pasquotank Patrol'' at the Museum of the Albemarle on May 18, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Retired Capt. Ralph McFarland, a former Navy K-ship pilot and captain of its eight-man crew, will speak on the airship's role in antisubmarine patrols off the coast of North Carolina.
This small but significant exhibit on World War II in the Albemarle will chronicle the part that Elizabeth City, the world capital for lighter-than-air technology, played in keeping our shores safe from enemy fire.
Few Americans know that the German Navy called the first five months of 1942 ``The Great American Turkey Shoot.''
During this period, 63 ships were sunk off the North Carolina coast. In March 1942 three ships were being sunk every day, one every eight hours. Yet, not a single German U-boat was sunk until April.
Weeksville Naval Air Station, or ``the blimp base,'' as most people know it, started operations on May 6, 1942.
As a direct result of this and the concerted effort of the Navy from that period on, the United States lost less than one ship every two and one-half months until the end of the war. ``The blimp base'' made a significant savings of American lives and property, right off our Carolina coast.
For more information on this exhibit, call 335-1453. by CNB