Goodyear built hundreds of airships throughout much of the 20th century, mostly for the United States Navy. Beginning with the Pilgrim in 1925, Goodyear also built blimps for its own commercial fleet. In 1987, a hostile takeover bid forced Goodyear to sell its subsidiary Goodyear Aerospace, eventually ending the company's construction of lighter-than-air craft. The last blimp built by Goodyear, Spirit of Innovation, was retired in 2017.