Appraisal: 1943 U.S. Naval Airship Service Group
Clip: Season 29 Episode 18 | 2m 49sVideo has Closed Captions
Appraisal: 1943 U.S. Naval Airship Service Group
Check out Gary Piattoni’s appraisal of a 1943 U.S. Naval airship service group in Vintage Raleigh 2025, Hour 1.
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Appraisal: 1943 U.S. Naval Airship Service Group
Clip: Season 29 Episode 18 | 2m 49sVideo has Closed Captions
Check out Gary Piattoni’s appraisal of a 1943 U.S. Naval airship service group in Vintage Raleigh 2025, Hour 1.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGUEST: These are my dad's from World War II.
And as you can see, he flew lighter-than-air.
These are some photographs.
This is actually a piece of the, uh blimp skin with his name on it.
His wings, his dog tags, orders, and his flight log.
APPRAISER: It's a really interesting group.
Let's take a look at his orders.
Here it says "Blimp Headquarters, Squadron ONE."
The U.S. Navy was in charge of all lighter-than-air non-rigid airships.
The Navy at around World War II had about 200 of these.
They didn't perform a huge role, but the U.S. was really the only power to use non-rigid airships in service during World War II.
They were used for air and sea rescue, scouting, mine sweeping and aerial photography.
They were also used for escorting, uh, convoys in the ocean.
Of the 89,000 or so ships that these airships escorted, not one was sunk.
An airplane could be in, in the air for maybe 12 hours, but an airship could be in the air for 60 hours at a time.
So it meant it could do a lot of duty, especially for scouting and minesweeping.
And we can take a look at the flight log.
We see that... your father flew on a number of different ships-- the K-82, the K-92, and that he was on minesweeping duty and air and sea rescue.
So he was doing some heavy duty around the coast to protect it.
What's great about this is in terms of completeness of a group, you have his flight log, orders that list the blimp headquarters, and then you actually have some period photographs.
And these are Navy press photographs.
Is this your father here?
GUEST: Yes, sir.
APPRAISER: It's really unusual to have a Navy press photograph with a family member in it, because generally you just have snapshots.
These were issued by the Navy for publication to promote the service.
And here's a great image of your father and a fellow sailor doing some repair work on the surface of a ship.
Here's another one near the, uh, monument for the Wright brothers.
And then we have your father's dog tags.
And these wings here would have been issued to all air crew member, you know, versus pilots.
The pilots and air crew had two different kinds of wings, and this one had places on top where it might have seen battle stars if he had been in combat engagements.
What's also great is to have an actual section of fabric.
Now, obviously this would have been painted with his name after the fact as a souvenir, but this would have been taken right off the ship and given to him, kind of presented at the end of his service.
So, that's what collectors like to see, is completeness of groups.
Now, I would put an insurance value on it in the $3,000 to $5,000 range.
GUEST: That's fantastic.
Won't ever sell it; it's going to stay in the family.
Appraisal: 1841 Henry Lowndes Stoneware Jar
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 30s | Appraisal: 1841 Henry Lowndes Stoneware Jar (2m 30s)
Appraisal: 1914 Edward Diers Rookwood Vellum Vase
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 26s | Appraisal: 1914 Edward Diers Rookwood Vellum Vase (26s)
Appraisal: 1937 Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 31s | Appraisal: 1937 Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar (2m 31s)
Appraisal: Andre Szenes Dugo Maquettes, ca. 1930
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 7s | Appraisal: Andre Szenes Dugo Maquettes, ca. 1930 (2m 7s)
Appraisal: Bacon Banjo Company Banjo, ca. 1910
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 22s | Appraisal: Bacon Banjo Company Banjo, ca. 1910 (22s)
Appraisal: Chinese Famille Rose Vase, ca. 1900
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 29s | Appraisal: Chinese Famille Rose Vase, ca. 1900 (29s)
Appraisal: Early 20th C. Bracelet with Enamel Charms
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 41s | Appraisal: Early 20th C. Bracelet with Enamel Charms (41s)
Appraisal: Edward Danforth Pewter Plates, ca. 1795
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 27s | Appraisal: Edward Danforth Pewter Plates, ca. 1795 (2m 27s)
Appraisal: Edward Hopper Ink Drawings, ca. 1900
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 6s | Appraisal: Edward Hopper Ink Drawings, ca. 1900 (1m 6s)
Appraisal: Elizabeth B. Custer Letter with Photograph Copy
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 40s | Appraisal: Elizabeth B. Custer Letter with Photograph Copy (1m 40s)
Appraisal: German Bisque Mickey Mouse Figures, ca. 1930
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 10s | Appraisal: German Bisque Mickey Mouse Figures, ca. 1930 (1m 10s)
Appraisal: Harry Bertoia Spray Sculpture, ca. 1960
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 42s | Appraisal: Harry Bertoia Spray Sculpture, ca. 1960 (2m 42s)
Appraisal: Hook & Ladder Fire Truck Model, ca. 1910
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 29s | Appraisal: Hook & Ladder Fire Truck Model, ca. 1910 (29s)
Appraisal: Loetz Medici Vase, ca. 1902
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 4s | Appraisal: Loetz Medici Vase, ca. 1902 (1m 4s)
Appraisal: Malibu Potteries Salesman's Sample Book, ca. 1930
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 16s | Appraisal: Malibu Potteries Salesman's Sample Book, ca. 1930 (2m 16s)
Appraisal: Minnie Evans Collage, ca. 1960
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 10s | Appraisal: Minnie Evans Collage, ca. 1960 (2m 10s)
Appraisal: Missal Pages, ca. 1550
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 38s | Appraisal: Missal Pages, ca. 1550 (1m 38s)
Appraisal: Rhinestone & Brass Armband, ca. 1980
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 25s | Appraisal: Rhinestone & Brass Armband, ca. 1980 (25s)
Appraisal: Robert Atkinson Fox Painting, ca. 1910
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 36s | Appraisal: Robert Atkinson Fox Painting, ca. 1910 (1m 36s)
Appraisal: Staffordshire Baskets on Stands, ca. 1825
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 34s | Appraisal: Staffordshire Baskets on Stands, ca. 1825 (34s)
Appraisal: Steuben Aurene Vase, ca. 1930
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 18s | Appraisal: Steuben Aurene Vase, ca. 1930 (2m 18s)
Appraisal: Virginia Federal Pembroke Table, ca. 1800
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 4m 2s | Appraisal: Virginia Federal Pembroke Table, ca. 1800 (4m 2s)
Appraisal: Walnut Chair with Crewel Seat, ca. 1720
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 38s | Appraisal: Walnut Chair with Crewel Seat, ca. 1720 (38s)
Appraisal: Identified Union Soldier's Bible & Tintype
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 51s | Appraisal: Identified Union Soldier's Bible & Tintype (51s)
Appraisal: Papua New Guinea Slit Drum, ca. 1940
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 49s | Appraisal: Papua New Guinea Slit Drum, ca. 1940 (2m 49s)
Appraisal: Chinese Export Painting, ca. 1850
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 45s | Appraisal: Chinese Export Painting, ca. 1850 (2m 45s)
Appraisal: Crandall Hobby Horse, ca. 1880
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 19s | Appraisal: Crandall Hobby Horse, ca. 1880 (2m 19s)
Appraisal: 18th C. Qianlong Jade Collection
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 3m 34s | Appraisal: 18th C. Qianlong Jade Collection (3m 34s)
Appraisal: American Walnut Cradle, ca. 1775
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 50s | Appraisal: American Walnut Cradle, ca. 1775 (2m 50s)
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Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.