The concept of fixed-wing aircraft being carried and launched from airships was initially developed during the First World War - initially, this proposal originated in the United Kingdom, to allow British interceptors to conserve fuel by being carried to an altitude whereby they could then engage German zeppelins. The increasing use of airships in the armed forces of various countries led to variations on the idea of using aircraft with them, with major uses being for reconnaissance, extending the reach of the airship beyond the horizon, and to provide the airship with a degree of self-defence. In the late 1920s, the US Navy began experimenting with its airships, initially using USS Los Angeles as a platform for testing the concept of the so-called parasite aircraft. The success of these tests led to the decision to build two new airships capable of accommodating an on-board air group of specially designed aircraft.
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Only one intact Sparrowhawk survives today. BuAer number 9056 was pending write-off at NAS Hampton Roads in 1939 when it was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution.
One interesting use of the Sparrowhawks was to act as 'flying ballast'.
The airship could take off with additional ballast or fuel aboard instead of its airplanes.