The 80-Year Mystery of the U.S. Navy's 'Ghost Blimp'

It began as a routine surveillance mission in the early months of World War II and ended in a mystery that remains unsolved after eight decades.

At about 6 a.m. on August 16, 1942, the United States Navy blimp L-8 took off from a small airfield on Treasure Island, an artificial island built in San Francisco Bay for a recent world’s fair. On board were two men: Lieutenant Ernest DeWitt Cody and Ensign Charles Ellis Adams.