{| |} The H class blimps were observation airships built for the U.S. Navy in the early 1920s. The design originated with a suggestion by Commander Lewis Maxfield (who was to have commanded the ZR-2, better known as the R38, and died in its crash) for a small airship which could be used either as a tethered kite balloon, or be towed by a ship until releasing its cable it would be able to scout on its own. The results was an airship similar to the later Army Motorized Kite Balloons.