OtherUS Lakehurst New Jersey Naval Air Station

Cachets should be listed in chronological order based on earliest known usage. Use the postmark date or best guess. This applies to add-on cachets as well.

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        Lakehurst Maxfield Field's history began as a test range for ammunition being manufactured for the Imperial Russian Army in 1916. It was then acquired by the United States Army as Camp Kendrick during World War I. The United States Navy purchased the property in 1921 for use as an airship station and renamed it Naval Air Station Lakehurst (NAS Lakehurst).
        Lakehurst Naval Air Station (Naval Air Technical Training Center) presently occupies 7,400 acres of flat lowlands just north of Lakehurst, New Jersey. Commissioned in 1921, Lakehurst Naval Air Station, became the hub of naval lighter-than-air activity. The first major facility at Lakehurst was Hangar No. 1, a gigantic structure built in 1921 to house the huge helium-filled dirigibles. Hangar No. 1 measures 961 feet long, 350 feet wide and 200 feet high. At each end are two pairs of massive steel doors, mounted on railroad tracks. These double doors are structurally separate from the hangar itself. Each door weighs 1350 tons and is powered by two 20 horsepower motors, although provisions were made to open the doors manually, which required the assembled manpower of nine men. Inside it, Naval engineers assembled the first American-built rigid airship, the USS Shenandoah. On September 4, 1923, the ship made its maiden flight from Lakehurst. The Navy obtained its second rigid airship in 1924. Built in Germany and delivered to the United States as a war reparation payment, the USS Los Angeles shared Hangar No. 1 with the USS Shenandoah.
        Lakehurst Maxfield Field, formerly known as Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst), is the naval component of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL), a United States Air Force–managed joint base headquartered approximately 25 miles east-southeast of Trenton in Manchester Township and Jackson Township in Ocean County, NJ. It is primarily the home to Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst, although the airfield supports several other flying and non-flying units as well. Its name is an amalgamation of its location and the last name of Commander Louis H. Maxfield, who lost his life when the R-38/USN ZR-2 airship crashed during flight on 24 August 1921 near Hull, England.
        When it was consolidated with McGuire Air Force Base and Fort Dix in October 2009, it became the naval component of JB MDL – a United States Air Force–controlled installation – and was placed under the 87th Air Base Wing. However, as with all joint bases, the installation receives support services from the previous installation authorities. Thus, Lakehurst Field also provided certain services from Naval Support Activity Lakehurst (NSA Lakehurst), whose commander also serves as one of two Base Deputy Commanders.

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Thumbnail Link To Cachet Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Front Image	Thumbnail Link To Postmark or Back Image	Postmark Date Postmark Type Killer Bar Text Ship --------- Category

 

N/A		N/A	1925-06-06 USPO Machine Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			Flight to Minneapolis Minn - USS Los Angeles ZR-3

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N/A			1929-08-29 USPO Machine Cancel "Graf Zeppelin / Round-The-World / Flight" Lakehurst NJ
			Round the world Flight cover

Rubber stamp cachet. LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin. (Deutsches Luftschiff Zeppelin 127)

 

			1930-03-31 USPO Duplex Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			Change of Command - USS Los Angeles ZR-3

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N/A			1932-05-06 USPO Machine Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			Coast to Coast Trip Carrying Mail - USS Akron ZRS-4

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N/A		N/A	1932-05-06 USPO Machine Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			Coast to Coast Trip Carrying Mail - USS Akron ZRS-4

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N/A			1932-08-01 USPO Machine Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			Tactical Training Flight Carrying Mail - USS Akron ZRS-4

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N/A		N/A	1933-06-18 USPO Machine Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			Leaving to Greet Gen. Balbo's Air Armada- USS Macon ZRS-5

Cachet by Lakewood Stamp Society.

 

N/A		N/A	1933-10-12 USPO Machine Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			Leaving for Sunnyvale CA - USS Macon ZRS-5

Cachet by Ted Bedell, sponsored by the Lakewood Stamp Society.

 

N/A		N/A	1936-05-11 USPO Duplex Cancel "Sta G" New York NY
			Lakehurst to Frankfurt- Trip number 13, departure May 11th, first North America Trip

Rubber stamp cachet. Airship Hindenburg.

 

N/A		N/A	1954-11-11 USPO Machine Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			30th Anniversary of - NAS Lakehurst NJ

Cachet sponsored by the Ocean County Stamp Club. Cachet features the USS Los Angeles ZR-3

 

N/A		N/A	1961-09-13 USPO Machine Cancel Lakehurst, NJ
			40th Anniversary of - NAS Lakehurst NJ

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N/A			1977-05-06 USPS 4-bar Cancel "Lakehurst Naval Air S. Br." Lakehurst NJ
			40th Anniversary of Loss- LZ 129 Hindenburg

Cachet by Zaso Silk Cachets

 

N/A		N/A	1986-10-19 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Susqpex Sta." Mechanicsburg PA
			50th Anniversary of Flight- LZ 129 Hindenburg

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N/A		N/A	2003-04-04 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Memorial Station" Lakehurst, NJ
			70th Anniversary of loss - USS Akron ZRS-4

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N/A		N/A	2003-04-04 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Memorial Station" Lakehurst, NJ
			70th Anniversary of loss - USS Akron ZRS-4

Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

N/A		N/A	2011-05-08 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Airships Station" Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation - USS Akron ZRS-4

Cachet by USS New Jersey Chapter No. 90, USCS

 

N/A		N/A	2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hanger One Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

Proposed postmark created by Wolfgang Hechler

 

N/A			2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hanger One Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

Cover mock-up for the museum but used the first proposed digital image of the pictorial, created by Richard F. Hoffner.

 

N/A		N/A	2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hangar No. 1 Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

Postmark created by Wolfgang Hechler

 

N/A		N/A	2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hangar No. 1 Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

Hindenburg LZ-129 cachet by Richard F. Hoffner.

 

N/A		N/A	2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hangar No. 1 Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

USS Los Angeles ZR-3 cachet by Richard F. Hoffner.

 

N/A		N/A	2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hangar No. 1 Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

USS Akron ZRS-4 cachet by Richard F. Hoffner.

 

N/A		N/A	2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hangar No. 1 Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

USS Macon ZRS-5 cachet by Richard F. Hoffner.

 

N/A		N/A	2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hangar No. 1 Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

Cachet by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS.

 

N/A		N/A	2021-06-25 USPS Pictorial Postmark "Hangar No. 1 Centennial" NAS Lakehurst NJ
			100th Anniversary

Cachet by Michael Brock.

 

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