One of the Lighter-than-Airship Hangars Photo courtesy of Dana Ogdon, City of Tustin

The massive size of these hangars can be detected in this interior and exterior view when comparing the hangar to the surrounding buildings and the airship inside Photo courtesy of Dana Ogdon, City of Tustin

The hangars were completed in 1943 when the air station was Santa Ana Naval Lighter-than-Air Base. The hangars were constructed in three main sections; two identical supporting structures of concrete located at each end of the hangar with a massive center section covered by a wood-framed, 484,932 square-foot arched roof. The end sections consists of two pillars, six huge doors and a brace connecting the two pillars at the top. The pillars are used as "pockets" to house the hangar doors (three in each pillar). The brace is also used as a guide for opening and closing the doors. Fifty-one individual wooden braces support the roof. Following World War II, the base was decommissioned. During the period 1949-1951 the hangars were used as a museum for aircraft and a storage area. In 1951 the base was recommissioned and the hangars were used to house helicopter squadrons during the development of the vertical assault, a new military strategy to utilize the quickness and flexibility of helicopters in attacks. The base has recently been decommissioned again. Plans are currently being developed to adaptively reuse the hangars.

The Lighter-than-Airship Hangars are located on Valencia and Redhill aves., in Tustin, California. They are currently not open to the public but can be seen from these avenues.