Guest Post - M.M. Shelley - Mishap & Mayhem

The Ghost Blimp L-8

I’ve recently come across the story of the Ghost Blimp L-8. It’s quite a tragic story, and is a mystery to this day. In the year 1942, August 16th two Navy men disappeared from inside Blimp L-8. Lieutenant Ernest DeWitt Cody and Charles E. Adams departed Treasure Island, San Francisco at 6:03 in the morning for a routine patrol. They were to patrol the coast line for Japanese submarines.

After an hour and forty minutes into their patrol, Lieutenant Ernest DeWitt Cody made his last radio contact stating that he and Charles E. Adams had viewed oil in the water. The oil could possibly be from a Japanese submarine and they were going to lower the L-8 Blimp in order to obtain a closer look of the area.

Later in the afternoon, the L-8 Blimp was witnessed to be in distress by locals on the ground. It was curiously observed as it glided over land and over residential streets where it soon afterwards, fell from the sky. Many locals ran to assist anyone who may have been inside the Blimp.

The curious thing was that the doors to the Blimp were wide open and there was no one who needed help because no one was found inside.

The Navy and the Coast Guard searched the area that Blimp L-8 patrolled for any traces of its two crew members. None were found.

What could have happened to Lieutenant Ernest DeWitt Cody and Charles E. Adams? I’ve thought about this tragic story for some time, wondering what could have been the fate of the crew.

Lieutenant Cody had attended and graduated the Navel Academy at Annapolis and Adams had a long career in the Navy. It just does not seem to fit that these two crew members could have gone AWOL. They were both family men. I don’t believe they would have abandoned their families.

Perhaps they were captured by the Japanese, or perhaps the oil they witnessed was caused by something other then a submarine. Two things we can be sure of;
1)They were both witnessed to board L-8
2)They did make radio contact just before investigating the oil in the water.

This may remain one of California’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

As for the L-8, you can find it at the National Museum of Naval Aviation. What are some of your thoughts on this mystery?http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Thanks for letting me share the mystery of Blimp L-8 with you today. This is mystery that unfortunately has remained unsolved. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Thanks to Donna for allowing me share with you all today. You can find me over at my blog: mmshelley.blogspot.com and on twitter @MM_Shelley and be sure to take a look at my book, Mishap & Mayhem.


Much love,

M.M. Shelley

Bio:  http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

M.M. Shelley is a storyteller, wordsmith and dreamer. MISHAP AND MAYHEM, a captivating story of faerie's and magic, is her debut novel. She has traveled the world extensively in search of the magic which is often overlooked in every day life. M.M. Shelley is a native of southern California, and a student of mythology from which she gets much inspiration.

Links: www.mmshelley.com  / http://mmshelley.blogspot.com/

Blurb:

For centuries magical beings have hidden in the darkness, waiting. Some good, some evil. A battle is brewing, and only twins, Grasiella and Tatiana, have the power to stop it.

Buy links: Amazon, B&N, Smashwords