Balloons and airships, 1783-1973;: Editor of the English edition Kenneth Munson; (The pocket encyclopaedia of world aircraft in colour)

Lennart Ege

fl"

. III.:mJlrrJ

Lennart Ege

h is nearly IWO hundred yean .inee man finl Idl lhe gf'(KInd andlravcllcd Ihrough the air in a vehicle of hi. own design. His aerial carriage w.. only a (rail, paper. co\'ered en.ft with a burning braz.ier at iu base 10 provide the hot air thai railed it (rom the ground ; but (rom .uch humble beginnin8lllemmed the ilUpinuion that h. . . nee carried him 01.1110 worlds beyond hi, own. Aner hOi air came hydrocen .. the lin· ing medium, and ancr Ihe (rcc baUoon eame the ainhip, which could be poweTcd and lleered in Right. In 80 well-cholcn examples thit volume illuurates IWO centuries of progrca in lighter.than.air flighl , from the M ontgolficr brolhcn' original 'doud in a paper bag' of 1783 to iu pre«nt-day Counierpari #\own by sporumen in many paru of the world . In between lie the (amoul, the in· famoul and the almOit unknown : great pioneer names like Lebaudy, Charla and Parse\'al ; Ihe giant Zeppelin ainhip!lhal operated the world ', finl airline tcrvittl in 1910- 14 before their military brethren, Ihose ' moosten of Ihe purple Iwilight' , rained lefTl)r on LondOfl in the Finl World War; the great Italian polar air· ship! of the 19701 ; Ihe balloon bombl launched by Japan agailll! the Uniled Stales in World War 2; headline·maken like the Hindenburg and R 101 ; the unlung but highl y . UCh 'ul blimp! of Ihe US Navy ; and many m()re . The illustrations arc by Ouo Frello and the book is edited by Kenneth Mumon, aUlhor of the Pocket Encyclopaedia of Aircnft teriQ.

The Pocket Encyclopaedia or World Aircraft in Colour

BALLOONS AND AIRSHIPS 1783- 1973 by LENNA RT E GE Editor of the English edition KENNETH MUNSON from translation prepared by ER I K H I LDESHE I M Illustrated by OTTO FRELLO

BLA

LO DON DFO RD PR ESS

Fifll &,/iJA NitUm 1973

RrfWUtltd '974

English text '973 Hlandford Press Ltd 167 High Holbom, London WCI V 6PII World Copyright C '973 Politikens Forlag A / S Copenhagen ISB~

0 "37

All richlS • CiCnc:d. No pan of mi. hook may be IC..-odooed or trantmitted in any fonn or by any mt:anI, el«-troNc or mcehanical, inc1udinc photocopyirlf, iCCOiidina: or by any inCormation. ltorage and l"Cuicval ry.tnn, without pumi·ion in writin, rrom the: publisher.

E C UNTY UnRARY

01201181

Tat printed and boob bDund in Great Britain by Buder a TaMcr Ltd, Frome and London Colour lettion printed in Dcrunark

PREFACE

I l

1,.e 'World Aircraft in Color' series would be: incomplete without a book. dealing with balloons and airships. This latest tide in the series is therefore essential to the series and deals with a fasdnating subject. Eighty different types ofbaUOOOl and ainhips from '783 up to the present day are illustrated and described in this book, which presents an authentic cavalcade of the development of balloons and airships down through the years. It is not claimed to be: a comprehensive selection. Twice that number could easily have been included, but the author has endeavoured to present in part those 1>3.110001 and airships which represent defmite stept in the development of aeronautics generally and in part those which lcfl their indelible impressions in that field . For the latter reason this book includes lOme LTA (Ligbt.er-Than-Air) types that previous publications dealing with this subject have not described at great length. It should be: obvious that a book on airships will to a great extent be dominated by two names which even today are synonymous with tltis type of aircraft: Zeppelin and Good)'Cllr. This selection ius been made, and the text written, by the Danish aviation historian Lennart Ege; the color plates are tbe work of artist Otto FreIlo. The eompilation of this book would ha\'e been a more difficult task if the Librnry of the Danish Air Force, headed by librarian S. Aa. Jeppesen and located in Vacrle.e, had not made available its vast collection of rare "olumes and series of old periodicals on this subject to both auLhor and artist. We are also especially indebted to Mr C. Sch6nw1lder. an engineer now residing in Copenhagen, who reor.ived his training on, and bec3me: a crew member of, the pa"enger ainhips Vi!tDrUz iIlis" lJansa and Stulum and the first German naval ainhipt L I, L 2 and L 3. He willingly contributed authoritative, first·hand observations and infonnation on their appearnna:. equipment and fates. Further valuable assistance, both with regard to thc selection of tbe aircraft to be dealt with

and in supplying data about them, was rendered by: Colonel Rougevin-&ville of the Mw&: de I'Air in Paris; Lieutenant· Commander W. J. Tuck at the Science Museum in London; managing director Diplom Kaufmann Peter FOrster and library manager Dr Ernst H. Berninger, of the Deutscha Museum in Munich; anistant director E. W. Robisc:hon at the National Air and Space Museum, Smitluonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Lyle Schwilling, manager of Goodyear Aerospace Corporation, Akron, Ohio; curator Olav Wetting, of the Norwegian Tech· nical Museum in OsJo; flight instructor Johannes TIUIIC5C:n, Jakobsberg, Sweden; aviation historian Erik Hildesheim, Copenhagen, and Mrs Milly Ege, Espelgzrde, Denmark. The work of translation and revision necnary for the English edition was undertaken by Mr Erik Hildesheim, an experienced aviation engineer and aviator who has Hown with balloons and airships, and who is well known as a writer in Europe and U.S.A. The editor of the English edition is Mr Kenneth Munson, a specialist writer on aircraft and the author of the other titles in tltis scries.

BALLOONS AND AIRSHIPS

•

11troughout all periods of our civilisation, Man has concemed hilllscif with leaving terra firma and rising into the air. Even thousands of yean ago our anceston, while roaming about wearily. would stop for a moment occasionally and glance skywards in contemplation of the birds who flew about unhindered and seemingly without effort. There are innumerable tales and myths dealing with fiying gods and human beings in various shapes. Dest known is undoubtedly the c1anicallegend from Greece which deab with the young Icarus, who escaped from imprisonment by means of wings, the feathers of which were fastened. with wax. In his exuberant joy over his recovered flccdom, Icarus climbed too high and the heat from the sun melted the wax in his wings, causing him to plunge to his de."\th in the waten which until.ecent years were named the l earian Sea. There are reports of a Chinese emperor, Shun, who more than four thousand years ago a lso escaped from his prison by fashioning himself a pair ofbird's wings. A contemporary compatriot of his, I-I.ik-Tse, became renowned primarily for his sky travels. Among the Canadian Cra Indillill reportJ are spread of one of their tribe who flew in feather garbs. Even the Incas in Peru had their Ayar·Utso who sprouted bird's wings. In A Tlrnsand and OM Jii,/ds, one tale conttJilJ a mechanical Oring horse - certainly a variation of the well-known fiying carpet I In our own latitudes there is the story about Wayland the Smith whOle brother, £gil, procured him a. 'Oygil' (ffight tunic) made from featlltrS procured from vultures. The Finns have their own unique lImarinen, who simply created a Fire Bird. In Denmark the thunder god Thor flashes 3CiC5L the s:ky in fiace: competition with aU JOrts of winged wonden or monsten. Numerow generations have reported boom and uproar, smoke and steam, but nothing definite enough to fix as the date of Man's fint, genuine Right. Yet all these visions are no more imaginary than the 'weightless' sky chariots that only a few years ago invaded our newspapen, radio and television Jets as a

---- ford-aste of the strange contraptions that will carry coming generations into outer space. In our search for something of any substance, we came across a French source which tells of 1\ missionary who once found, in :lrchives in Peking, a report of the way the civilised nations of the east IOlved the problem of aerial navigation by means ofballoons, centuries before the Europeans. And herewith we approach the .ubstance of the problem: there never has been a true fl)'ing human being and there will never be one. Man is defeated by the fact that the weight of the human body is out of proportion to its muscular strength. However ingenious the flying machine schemes may be, they all have one defect in common: their lack of a mechanical power source. Down through the yean many designs have been tried out. With .orne of these contraptions jumps have been made from roofs and towers; they usually ended disaJtrowly. Man's first idea was to copy the flight of birds, the 'heavierthan-air' principle. It had lo be abandoned for a while and at the ~inning of the seventeenth century a new conception came about: air trowel had to be tackJed on the 'Iighter-than-air' basis. nle French author J e..m-Savinien Cyrano de Bcrgerac (16191655) was one of the first to realise this possibility. Around 1650 he wrote some fiction novels about travels to the moon and the sun. This prophetic Frenchman worked out these trips by means of a girdle lo which were fastened bottles filled with dew. ~ the sunbeams he;!.ted the bottles their content became lighter, 10 the wearer of the girdle climbed skywards. Adjustment of the altitude was very simple: one bottle - or more - was simply smashed. This method worked, in theory at least, because he was on the right track even though he failed fuUy to realise the scope of his idea: the finding of a substance lighter than air. For argument's sake he even mentioned some lightweight tanks that climbed when smoke was produced inside them. If the author had carried his thought a bit further, and had provided a hole in the bottom of his tanh, right then and there we sbould have had our first conception of the hot-air balloon. The Italian scientist Galileo ('564-1642) had already proved, ea rly in the ICvcnteenth cen tury, that air has weight. J fe first weighed some air-fLlled bottles, tllen the $.1.me ones again after the air had been evacuated from them. 6

The Jesuit Father FranceKo de Lana-Teni (1631-1687) from Brescia in I taly might be conside.ed the proper 'inventor' of the b:tlloon. In .670 he published a design for an aerial ~l project to be supported by four spheres made from very thm copper sheet. A vacuum was lo be created in them j then, de Lana re,,...ned, the vehicle should rise, for the spheres would weigh less than the air they displaced. This experiment was made possible, at least in theory, thanks to the Gelman p.hysicist Duo \"On Guericke ( .600- 1686) from Magdeburg, who m 1650 had perfected the air pump (the 'Magdeburg semi-spheres'). Dc Lana either did not realise, or conveniently ignored, the fact that atmOSpheric pi essure would limply cause the spheres lo collapse. Thus de Lana's scheme was impractical and his aerial vessel was nC\-'Cr built; yet he pointed the way to a thrilling application of the principle which was discussed extensively and brought him many honours. In 1736 lOme rumours circulated in Europe to the effect tllat a Brazilian clergyman, Father Bartolomeu de Gusmlo, had ascended in an 'airship'. This was an exaggeration. Many years earlier, however, Gusmilo had .ubmitted his ideas on lightcrthan-air Right to the Portuguese king, J ohan V, who became enthusiastic and gave him financial support. After some unsuccessful experiments, Gusm!o successfully dcmorulrated a model hot-air balloon before the Portuguese court on 8 August '709 the first demonstration of its kind in history. It involved a light wooden framework covered with paper below which a fire was kept burning. The later rumours referred to a more ambitious design called the Passarola (Great Bird), which is thought to have boen a p3$'enger-calT)'ing nacelle intended to be raised alon by a large hot-air lxtlloon. There is no ICCOrd that the Passarola ever flew, but there is a remarkable similarity betwee:n its carriage :lnd that of a heavier-than-air C'onvertiplane designed more than a century later by Sir George Cayley. While these groping efforU to build a practical 'airship' \\-'Cre going on, true scientists devoted much of their time lo the study of the various ga.sc:s. In 1766 the English chemist Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen, originally known as 'inflammable air'. In 1774 another Englishman, the natural scientin Dr J oseph Priestley, dealt with this new gas in a treatise on the strength of which Dr J OICph Black (1728-1799) in Edinburgh conceived the 7

10 Rlaid linhip

I. Moorln, point (for attachment to moor!!l, mast) 2. Gunner I platform with speakln, tube to keel J. Exterior catwalk 4. Valves S. Upr,r fixed uU fin with rudder

6. Tal cunner/ observer's sut

ANATOMY OF THE AIRSHIP

7. 8. 9. 10. t I.

lower flKed all fin with rudder Water ballut relent Propeller on rear Mline car Silencer Combined buffer Ind flot:l.tion luI

12. Forward enclne InsUllatlon 13. Door and platform for pa~chute

i,m:r."

14. 8rl Ie IS. Sulrw2y to airshi p hull 16. Water lullut release

21. Passageway runnln, full len,th of keel 22. f ue l unks 23. Water oollast for use In 2...

17. Plan view Ihowln, fixed hor!·

25.

zontll tall surf",e! and ellntors 18. Gas cells (toul of IS)

26.

19. Connectln, puu.•• way from keel to rur observer/ cunner's posi-

27.

t ion

20. Water

ballast

28.

(for emer,ency

relHH)

manoeuvrlnl the airship Crew accommodation Officers' mU5 and ubln. Water lla.\llIt for USII In man· oeuvrl 0c the II "hlp Water blllast (for emercency relelle) PasuCeway for entry from moor· inc nust to all SttCtlons of airship

idea that when confined within a lufJicient1y light cover the laner would rise. It .truck an Italian who lived. in England. Tiberius Cavallo, that it should be possible to demonstrate the coiicdness of this theory in a tangible manner. He did not succeed, though, for he lacked sufficient technical skill to make an imp.cgllated gu-tight balloon envelope. Instead the scene shifted to France, where the world was lOOn to witness the I)'1tematic and purposeful work of two men who transronned the theories about the variow gases into a practical result. They were the brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier from Vidalon-IesAnnonay, near Lyons, who were the first to produce a manCtlrrying hot-air balloon. TIlls type is called the Montgolfibe. aner them. . Once Man had sucooeded in producing a pr3ctical balloon It was only natwa1 that his attention should nat be directed towards turning it into a genuine aerial vehicle which could be driven by sail power or by means of Dan and be steel cd with a rudder. It W3S lOOn realised that, to render a balloon dirigible (steerable) at all, it mwt advance at a higher speed than the air surrounding it. No su~table means of propulsion being available, the last years of the tJghteenth century brought forward a. great number of weird propositions. They comprised schemes employing airscreWi or complete driving wheels operated by brawny ~en or even by horses. Other suggested means of propulsion ~nclud~ hOI-.air or steam jet propulsion. Even the idea of employmg traJned bIrds as draught animals was advanced in aU seriowness. Here eagles were the first choice, but even pigeons had their a.dvocates. ~ng ~e 'bird punge' proponents may be menlIoned Kayser In Vienna (ISoI), MdntOlh in London (1835) and Madame Tessiore in Paris ( 1845). Not everything was pure imaginative fancy. One voice expressing c1ear-Jighted conceptioN abo spoke out. It belonged to the Engl~hman Sir George Cayley ( 1773-1857), one of Ihe most outstanding ligures in the whole history of aeronautics. His contributions in these fie.lds are many and varied. Among the p~blems bckled by him was the development of a real lightWeIght Iteam o~ compressed-air engine, eo.-en of the piston type. But for a long tlIne nobody heeded his revolutionary, pioneering work. Though Cayley remained the ignored 'lonely swallow',

common ~nse lOOn began to prevail, and as early as 1784 a Lieutenant (later General) in the French Corps of Engineen, Jean-BaptiJte Meusnier (1754-1793). presented piaN for a balloon of dongated shape which would ofTer leu resistance in forward movement through the air. He abo introduced a new conception ror maintaining the shape or the outer gas-filled envelope, as gas escaped through it, by means or a smaIler inner bag termed the 'ballonet', which was to be filled with air supplied rrom a pump mounted in the car. This ingeniow principle has ever since been adopted in all non-rigid and semi-rigid ainhips. The Mewnier ainhip was to have been driven by three large propdlen. Suitably shaped propeUen or aincrev.'I had already been envisaged or tried out by such aeronauts as Alban, Blanchard, Potain and VaJlet. However, as already mentioned, a suitable powerplant remained the problem. Steam engines wen: available, or course, but their performance was feeble and they remained too heavy and clumsy ror we as aelo-engines. Mewnier calculated that 80 men should be needed to drive ltis ainhip by hand at the nttesSary lpeed to render the rudder effective. TIlls would mean an ainhip orluch large size as to make it impractical. Yet Mewnier will be remembered rorever as the one who really conceived the luccusrul dirigible ai~hip rorm. The fint serious attempt to build a dirigible airship was made by two Swiss, John Pauly and Dun Egg, living in England. In 1816-17 these two men produced an ainhip with an em-elope or dolphin shape, made rrom gold-beater's skin and provided with a ballonet. One interesting detail or their ainhip layout was a And-filled box acting as a sliding scale in the longitudinal axis or the ainhip by which means the climb and descent was to be controlled. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in Gennany was later to adopt this method in hLs fint rigid airships. Pauly died while the airship was being buill and it was never completed. A t that time airships were aJwa}'s referred to as 'dirigible balloons'. A really outstanding ainhip model, built in 1850 by the French watchmaker Pierre Jullien from Villejuir, outside Paris, and demolUtrated at an exhibition in the French capita1, flew o:cellently. It was pov.-ered by " clockwork engine which drove two propellen placed on each side of the centre-line or the aircraft. In appearance it resembled very much the rigid Zeppelin airship of fifty }'ean later. A rull-size Jullien ainhip Wall

said to have been built in 1852, but if so itJ power.plant and fate arc unknown. However, the rcsultJ aebieved with the Jullien airship model proved an inspiration to the French engineer Henri Giffard, who did succeed in producing a small and light steam engine and thereby truly inaugurated the airship era. The varied story of the development of the balloon and the airship, with itJ abundant triumphs and failures, is told in the type descriptions in the tat that follow and is also illustrated in the colour plates. It becomes evident that no balloon ascent was ever a routine matter, nor ever will be. And every time an airship climbs skywards, be it in times of war or peace, the reigning atmosphere on board is akin to that of the pioneering daY'. The balloon has not become an anachronism; indeed it is still 'going strong' today. At first, balloons were used as an exhibition stunt at public displays. Later, they served scientists as research vehicles; were employed as instrumcnu of war; and, more happily, have become the attractive mountJ of keen sportsmen. By an odd chain of development ballooning, which began with the hot-air type, has now traversed the full circle until today a modern version of the same type is used alongside the gas- filled variety. The future course of the airship is slightly more complicated to plot. Admittedly, small non-rigid airships, mainly of Goodyear manufacture, are still to be seen used for advertising in the skies of Europe and America; and as rttently as Mareh 1972 a 192.5 ft (S8·7m) long Goodyear advertising and TV airship named Europa was built in the historical Cardington airship shed in Bcdfordshire. However, no really large passenger airship of the rigid type has now been built for more than thirty years. It is also a fact that the term 'Zeppelin' has become synonymous with tlle concept of all large airships, and from as long ago as World War 1 some still associate these giant air monsters with a n~w ~nd terrible form of warfare or with massive disasters. Iflarge airships are ever to stage a comeback-and they still have their advocates as well ;u their antagonists-it will most likely be as pure cargo carriers. Some of the present advocates of airship revival include voices from out of the past, so to speak. They number, among others, lhe former American airship commander, Admiral Charles E.

Rosendahl, and Captain Max Pruss, the last master of LZ 129 Hindenburg. The last moving spirit of the Zeppelin yards, Dr Hugo Eckener (who died in 1954 at the age of 86) was, on the other hand, somewhat less optimistic. But at Goodyear there are still leading officiah with implicit faith in large passenger-c..trrying airships. Yet they all realise that iftlle airship is to compete with the modern jet airliner at aU it will be on the score of the convenience that the former offers. In tltis hurried age of fast air travel there still are people left who prefer restful travel at a more leisurely pace. It is principally circles in Great Britain and Russia that now propose the revival of airship travel. The Soviet Union has always needed to transport large quantities of cargo over great distances. In both countries much has been written, and discussions have been held, of both tile advantages and disadvantages of cargo airships. The belief is that they must be able to carry weful loads of between 500 and J ,000 tons if there is to be any justification for them at all. The advantages of the modern airship may be listed as follows: its frame can today be made of plastics materials, and the gas cells will be filled with helium. Today tlris element is available in much larger quantities than formerly; and, what is still more import,mt, is now available outside tlle United States, which no longer enjoys a monopoly of the gas. Conventional petrol and diesel engines or atomic power could be used as powerplantJ, when coupled to eTcctric generators that provide tlle current for the electric motors which drive the propellers, they would have a lower noise level. Bccawe only very low starting and landing speeds are involved, air contamination is also held to a mini· mum. These qualities, combined with an almost limitless flight duration, likewise spell increased safety. Finally, now that passengers, if carried, will travel for pleasure and sightseeing at low levels, they can enjoy comfort to a deglee hitherto unknown and unavailable in heavier-than·air craft. Such vessels will move about with unrestricted ease, at greater safety, throughout their • air voyage. To deal with the unavoidable drawbacks as well (wlrich can never be entirely eliminated from passenger accommodation or cargo facilities), it must be pointed out that the modern airship must necessarily be of large dimensions; lengths of about 1,475 ft

(450 m) have been mentioned. A giant hull of that nature is not meant for high altitude flying, and hence will be exposed to the unstable weather conditions in the lower regions, such as strong headwinds and ice formation. This in turn inHucnces the question of economical serviee which, above all, remains the deciding factor. Thus the t:xpc:rts at present mwt investigate whether it is cheaper overall to transport heavy and bulky stores in airships rather than in surface vessels or aeroplanes. Optimistie calculations favour the ainhip, but IOmething else rowt also be considered - and that is whether it will prove a paying proposition to develop and build new airships unless they can be turned out in sub:st:lntial numbers. Doth the advocates and the adversaries of the airship have advanced long rows of dry figures and finan cial calculations in support of their points of view. Thei r findings really fall beyond the scope of this book, but may be studied in trade j ournals and technical voluDles. One point is not in dispute. It would be a great pity if people of today should be deprived of the magnificent sight which impressed former generatioN 10 much: to witness one of the 'Queens of the Sky' soar by across cities and countryside, unpertu rbed by noisy and smoke-trailing jet aeroplanes hurrying by. Let U5 hope also that the hitherto unhappy associations of the word 'Zeppelin' may also disappear along with that terminology.

HATOMY OF THE CAPTIVE ~BSERVATION BAL LO ON

•

• 4 • ••

Kite balloo n I. Valve openln,

2. Gu·fjlled envelope 3. Sublllsln, ba, 4. Air Inlet to ~lIonet and sublllll n, b,i, S. Valve li ne to basket 6. Buket 7. Nec k B. Atuchmenu for reulnln, nettln, 9. HoIdln, cable 10. Stretcluble stroblUsln, .urflce II . Cone•• haped l ubllhier

12. Main ¥,"'~

hom POI,. ,O T, _

pOrI...,. __

GotI .... in ho.

On 2' s.i>Ii£...... 1852

, .....

--- -

, lowe

L. G6ant

•

jI I T~ldd.ul

5 C.

Low.

I I

" lo_', c.oPbVe ''7'_ I,,,, J' 1......,.... _II ................... Ihe ......

""1_. . . .

_ .. MO _ ~'nGlint .... ," ,,,. Se1'l6"',*g

d",

no ..

8 .. lrn.

,,'CO.,

21 SoI\101 Dw _ _ OIH/'Iop 'NO." ",hocII _ .......... ,hoi Lflol T _ "" " Oc'ober 1901, '''-obo/ ........ ne ,hoi o.u-r. 100.000 trone. pri.. >\bo •• SonlOo1 D~_, ...... ~,I, ~I • • ~ 'No. 9·

Eagla

Pru"la

2i The _

b....... " ' _ (1'NooiI1 ~ _ ot (Iit< ,ncI In _ _ ... l1 Jvtwo 110'

.... T.,, : ;'hoI ..._

" w. """ r ..., _ b.eoo .... ", ; ; ... _ olin... ,• . - .............. ....-. ..... ~_

s ..... n.._ .... .,. ___ ..... b;. ' -' poned _ _ ...... ;

2' ".....,.... b;I: - , ''''' E.,k h.MO ;. - ...... poe., ;e._ :........ iro _ _ . _ ",1M The·

·w" .................. ....

_ on" J .......1

s: ., .......,..

odi, ....... _

..... n. I; :

.....

HZ "LZ1 .... IIoo_........ · .. ..,...... 11. _ _ L.aeCoo 2 ,,.,..- r. 5 .... ill FE ': , _ """,lOgO "" 2 J~ 1100. _ 1

'1 ,

- . . .

,e 1!r.e bel....,.. lor hori.ontOIlri""""" 01 II.. _01 .... on

II.. 1M .. _

U1_

~,nz

H•• n.

_ .... _

iIohAI

:r7 8 _ _ WI 2"",, " f 111 O-U.",_ (Goo" ..,, ) 011110.""';'" ,., ..... _p,wt.od ... ,hdl_ 01 220 ~775zng ........... iI w • •",.... _1M 1 .... 0, ~ Io010.., ...

W..," WoII_ft. AI",. ',. _ oI_an_p,booI_ 110$_ fr_ • _ on S; '"t.., _ ........ , H" ... _ II> " " _ .... A_lie I..... -..... '0 EUtOI)e wnh ..... ""'>i", in "'0 ~ ~ . _ _ ... in I........ ; If .... ~ed do..... .. _ . DvI •

..N....

.....

....,..... ,

M Thi 111011 ....... _ !lie

_"'''II W- _

.....".. 01 ' hi W. . . . II .......... _ h from

'-.I,ll ... lon~ln U." lot ",0 •

!nOd;r;":! ' .. _ 01 "'" _ ... no .. _ Cift fJ/ C.,doII I. ....... • vOIn an_ 10 f'NCh ~1110 1>1' ... from £"111_

II In IJOe 'hi U S A",/'IloC H..... OiI','2,.w"-dl_399 .. " :'...

w., 8'''''' b.'....

,ho DUb .. Oil In!ho ... 'umn Oil "1( _ _ """ w ....... _ by 'ho c......... ""'" _ ..... Ir....t..... 1O!ho I1fIe* "'11M on 11

... ~

1913 tho to ,hIo....,..1III !ho ......

on _ d _ ~ , .... Roghl TM hon, 0,,""01 ". _ ............

~--

Mayfly

Fleurl,',

37 T.... 1",,,,................ No 1 _ co, .... M ,.",., w_ bu,K _~;., 1910 by V"k ........ , ... 2"" , '" ....... " T...... _ .. _ ...... '''''no.,.. ,......." .. 0.., _ ott'-" a..",... '" f " , _ 11 d,-,,*, m. 1_ ... ino _ "",-._

":--"no_'"

J-. '1wN•. _

.. C....... M .. ~.... W' ....

"'my ........... ,9,2...., 1*1.... ",,_ d"' ..... ' ...... _ .. f ..... ""kWV _'w .... ;., I 91l TM .. "hop w_ ......, _ by tho f _ f .."""

"" "1' _ • "....no 1917

_'"

Of , ....

"",""no

Zeppelin LZ 24 .nd LZ 40

:II Zo"

w. Iho lint G_ _ _.: _ ' " "" toetrte ''''__ '''ncoo "'I> _ Iho 54 _ _ "" n f ..........,

'r II jLZU)

_."", 0.. . '

1915 •• 0"'" _ .. _ ... "" Iho '01 ..... InI> fuud Iho _ ' " 10 IMc1 "" Iho 1>1> 01 ,.... 0 . . - ........ f _ . - Iho IlertMn t , "'". w,,*", Iho t .... _Lror,rod ..... ""..... "" Iho booiIC~ _ _ "..., ,n, .. nod on DeM'Ioo!tI ,,,,. , .... _ _ 01 ..... w ..

..:I r .... __OIl 2_z'n ..""", LID (12..:1) ............. 01 28 w .. iIoQ"'*- 'nd"""" _ ,_ _ "" U- " " - On 3 So ...., . 1915

~ y""", lIydrog.n _ _ "" tIIfougr:. - ' t G ....... "" by 2i9h".. "" .""",hI r.. _ ply ....... bu< .."" .......... N""" So. MOL Cw,""'" NOM' .... """' $ J .... uN! _ _ ,.......... _ ,...... ~ .. L l . - hh • C_·.c1"", 01., ;~ ...... ...- , , _ "'" 01 2M bII .. _ .. ~~' " ...... _ ... 0. · ...... M..,,,, """110 ...·g.... _ """"""'" I I • lhn, .. im ...... "" oF' ~9.J13 eu It 155.200 eu "') • • "" It..........." ..",hned huM. l30 ponocopl",d in n,"" rod on

Go", '.".,n 1>0100. "'"'''9 :11(1 III> II tho S-. _ _ ..... Kon,g~ on lho B.Ii", SN ,n ""Gull 1917. Ii... lho .""'-'0 .... cI .. ",,,,, *, in 1920 It Bolgiin '""1"'15.

Zeppell ... LZ 104 . ... d LZ 112

'3 T..........."""'2.;; ; .l.ll(W !U.).\Iie ... · ~ .......... """"""""" ...... _ ........... 011.11 ao to fly .......... fr ...... _ ... _ CO ..... ' 1 ..... Ga .... , , , _ hgI>Io"ll it! hl\ .../roc....- \lie " " _ 01 a-.. _ lanow '10' • ""'" ..... .,.,........ of l~

101M 0 ' ...... ; ..

,, ,

.. w,"' ........... """'p 2_a',n

l1(l11l11!} _ ......." .. " 5 5"'" ,..... _ "'... , ,ood .n f _ _ ........""" t ... po.oI< on ... 5.' .... - ' 0 -'Otm.nce 8U1'", _ "'" ..""'" •

_p . '" _Ih·_

"' .... lllaw ,.,. , ... CoMfM1 CO·_,'od ... "h 11>0 11_ un;, ...... -'to . . . - .. «W' _ _ "" • . TMy could ...,. in ....... to. 24 """ .. or ........

.triou.

23 cia ..

R34

50 T... B _ ... _ p No 2( ... _ lot _ ..........',,",""""''''. lot _ po _ .....IM_.ne oue1M ._~,

lUi..

No"",

'01""""""

if TIM 01,11"1' N IN"",. (NOfW'Y ) wtucll.. _ _ ,1M ~ RoM! """' ......... ,"" P_ ,,Il100 .. , .... ,1> N • /,_ ... _ .. to ,1M Non"' .... "" 23 M.. '928, C,""",,_ by G_., No!:O" 104 •• 'M collided tho iGe.nd , .... o.... 'rol Ur ..... ,orn oil The .... D. 'N ~I 1.,ocI Ij'lhip d ' _.. ocI l "'.... hIt TN tum""" "'_or in , _ rod ,.." on ,ho 1'10

G _ _ Clf"", left , _ 01 ZMC · ' . _...... ",.........110 fino . It

w" '" ......... 1,,11
,

Fu - Go

Barrage balloon,

t 7' Z~ c"",;'" t.olK>oe ~ lho V 5 M..,... Coo",' u .. nino e.n ... ro< tho I'>ondl,"II 01 t../l""" •

,*,_

.. POI"'" loI.nd, SWill C........

6oll." b09l could 110 ,.01_ 10 lho '11,,
71 h~"""''' ..,.,."p oIlho U.S. ZSQ·_ tI-. ,1Mo< d., ••_ .• 01 m. K cion ... _ wH 10 IIK~ _ \j, ~ by GOO
IOmnduct new aperimenu with......,1d

balloona filled with bot air thai obli_ gingly rme in the air. Their IIOI.trce. 0( heal wa:t a mixture ofbuming wool aud moisl llraw, placed below the opening and poiming downwards. In thit manner they produced what they tcnncd 'eloc:tric arnoke'. Without n:ali$ing it.t the time they bad inotinctivdy .tumbled on to the eorn:ct lOIution. Q.le day in J)uxmber of 178:! a 706 m.rt (20 m .m) balloon they ha.d made climbed to an a ltitude of985 rt (300 m). In time the French Acadl:mie des Scienca in Paris leamed of the«: experiments and requested. demot .. tnlion in Annon.y. TItis took place on + June 1783 when the Montgol.6er brothcn let a 118,IIS:! cu.ft (Boo cu.m) balloon ueend 10 an altitude of about -t&ft ( 140m). Before its releNe this balloon had dcvdopcd .uch • lifting capacity that ei8ht .trong men eouId Ical"OI:ly ratrain it. 'Init IUcccaful e:xperilllCnt reverberated in lCien tilic: circlet throughout Europe, to the Acadtmie in Pan. now ..ked fOT a demonltnUon in the French capital. However, here Charla.tole. mueb M the Monl(OlflCrl with his hydrogen ... noon Cw. (tee No. II), and tticnne (who was It&ying in Paria at Ibe time to prepa.n: the demonstration by him_ lCif and hit brot.bcr) wim/ :d Ille other event. Soon it became their ~.

'The MontgoUicr brothen woe .... w ted by their friend and fellow paper. manufacturtt ReveiIJon, and turned up with a large and beautifully decorated balloon wbieh _ 7+'15 rt (lHI-6m) t&l\ and 4Il-65 ft ( 130 m) in diatJV"ler. It WIll decided lint to mIOke • captive trial .-em!, which took place on 14th September 17SS .t Reveillon'. garden in Rue de Montreu.i.l, F.ubourg Sain t.Antoine. Everything went well until. lIonn brok.e out and the ennUn dalr"Oyai the "'11000 com-

sum,

pIeldy. The llituatioo wu now eriticaJ, for the brot.hcn 'Hue .bout to .... , 11(¥ .. IU'ate their *ill bo (y c Kine Low. XVI and hil murt in Vtr"il'r The utua. tion __ mricwd by workiDc anNnd the dock and ___ • ""orca and llimpler bal10M had t p n bo.UJt. II wu S7 n ( 11'4 m) hleb. 41 n ( I ~'S m) in dj.melu and it. YOIume ."""mud to '5,3IScu.fi ( I,ooon....n ). Like ill ~ d EC ... it _ tplcndidly d ....·.... ud in blue and cold. Mer • captive tctt . 1

tbe Revei1lon Cactory on 18 Scpcembcr the I ....... the _ I day 10 V........ The MOIlIlOl6er brothen had lone

"'loon _

inlUldcd to let .'h~ men 77 hw! in their .. 110M on ill lim free trip. but. here they met with the viaorouI Gp}- • tion 01 the kin&. It wu tbt:n:b e drcienx:nl with 0Ihcn.. The Americall doetor mllll have been good-natun'd to have put up with aU the wily mcb ol the irucibJe little Fralchman. At the end of 1114 the balloon and the equipment ror prodUCIion of iu bydrogen were brought to Dovct Culle, where the IiIling ol the balloon ~ place. When weighed olr with the IWO participanu ill the basket, 10 e.>ti ybody'. rurprite the lift proved lea thllll calculated - until Blanchard was roulld out. His ego was deBated when he had to de.... .. his 'own' weight by the removal of an abdominal !catha belt filled with lead, with which be had fortified hitNCIrror tbc OC'C"'ion. It _ a clear and calm day, with only a lIight north-north-westaly bu:ne, when the balloon took olrrrom thecdgeolthcclif&ofOo.u.t 1 p.m. on 1 J Illluary 118~ The balloon _ heavily laden with much IUpcrAuous equipmcllI, even including 8lanthard'l wings. The balwt _ JpCI1t quickly, and lOOn CVU)'thing ebc, even IDOIt ol their clotha, _ dropped, whether- it could really be spared or Il0l. Dr JeRii!l confided later to rrkods that in their frantic efforts to lighten the balloon ~ was alone point a ludicrous q1c to it 'when they did their UlIllOIt 10 rr:lieve thcmIelvel .. much .. poaiblc'. One ill lempted to speculate wbether limit., minute, 1Obct, yet practical elrectl may not have COllverted other 1Ublimc, bislorical evenu limilarly rrom dilaster 10 lriumph. Anyhow, Blanchard and Dr Jelrne. man.ged 10 "ay in the air and .t 5 p.m. pined the French COUt to land in the midst of the Fdmoret rorcst ouuide Cal·i.. where their bal· loon was brought 10 a '1Op by a tree; help Wal lOOn at hand. On thiI Jpot •

,""*"

marble monumenl w.. 1.ler erecled, aowncd with. balloon. Their balloon hoI.bt ia 10 this day on display .t a m\.IIeUm in Cabi., which made Ihem bononry citizcna. Upon his retum to London Blanchard tried to euh in on bil rarne by the ettablil1uncnt ofwhat he termed an 'Aeronautk.l Academy with nrious di5plays'. ThiI proved only a qualified W" ' 'A, 10 be decided to mum 10 Fnnoc. In the yean rrom 118~ to 118g manclurd ~ in both hot-air lind hydrogell baJloons in variool countr;et on the Contiocnt, when: luch lIlI event wall often still a noveIly. When the French Revolulion broke out in 118g, Blanchard wu .rTC'Ited by the A..... trians in Tyrol and cbargcd with tbe distribution of revolutionary propaganda litcralun. He managtd 10 eICIJlC to Ameriea where, on gJaouary '793, he made the lint balloon voya.ge in the New Warid. al Philadelphia in the pcuenec ofGeooge WashingtOll, the PrcaKient of the Uniled SIIIet. Blan· chard relumed to France in 1198 and continued lUI aeronautical can:cr. I n February 1808, at The Hague in Holland, he made a hot-air balloon a"CC"t and on this Iilttkth Illld lut air Y'O)'agC of hillUlrCl'Cd • heart attack rrom which he OC'\'er fully recovuuI. On 1 March IBog he p.,:d awa.y pcacd"ully in Pan., well aware of the ract that he would go down in IUItory II one of the true pioIKUI of balioMting_ To Rlpplancnt the iCCOid of Blanchard, bis widow Madeleine-Sophie became an aeronaut in her own right. In the yean (0110w';ng his death Ihis alcnder little wonWI became a favourite of the PariJ.ians, ihanb to bet co*kMuful ba]lcwm 'Iomu, often at night, 10 the accompaniment of lireworb. On 7 july 181g Madame BIanchant hc:ndr met her death, durin( an '''CC''I &om the Tivoli park

'''+

in Paris when her balloon caught fire rl'OOl the lircwo.-Its the carried akllt. She made a rough landing on the root of a boule in the Rue de Pnwincc and then plungcdto the ground. ~

The coaquest o ( the all' cla.Inu lu aNt vict im s After the French b_ll00n pmecf Jc:&n-Fran~ Pilltre de Roa.ier, on 11 1 November 1783, had made the ..-wid's fint air YOyI(C in lhe company of the Marquis d'Arlanda, he derided _ cYCfI before the suee rill Channel air crc.ins: of Blanchard and Dr jelrtiel on 1 January 1785 (Ke NO·4)to go by air from Fraoec to E.ngland.. F« thiI undcrtakinr he buill a new type of balloon, which _ really a combinatioo of the bot·air balloon with • hydtogcn baUOOfI, 10 after him hal been termed 'Ror.im'. But, aw, it was 10 OOSI him billife. 'The .pbcrica1 bydtogul balloon comprilcd the top part, and de Roa.icr'l idea _ that i, IhouId provide the lin while the cylindcr...napcd hot-ai r baUoon bdow it .."OUId IICtve not only 10 save the hydrogul IiIling but alia 10 regulale the ascent Illld d'P'llI. The hydrogm balloon had a diameter of 511-8 n (10m), the bot.air balloon a width of IS' llI n (4 m) and • heigh t of diptly 1e. than a3 rl (1 m). The circuIu gondola, or plIery, _ futened 10 the ncttio( oovcring the top pan of the bydrogm balloon. The pan with the lin, _ pi _ad in the bottom open mouth of the hot·air balloon and could be railed and Jo ... ued al will. This whole contraption looked for ...1 the world molt like a giant mushroom, and was not too coolidcnceinopUing. l u (7U.tor appeared totally unconotrncd about the dangcroua combination of an open lin, and hydrogen, oonomtrating hit allUltion instead on findin( a faVOl.lrable wind dilCClion lor hiI VUlture. A free balloon iI not

dirigible, but since the windi blow in diifacnt dilCClions al .... rioul altiludes de Rozier figun'd that with hil new type of balloon he would he better able 10 pick a r.vourabJe wind and maintain the right altilude ror it. A youO( girl from Yorkshire, Susan Dyer, had just bc:oome engaged to de Roricr, aoo with reminine intuition bad a Pi( I :ntirnmt 0( the impending danger. She implored him 10 abltain (rom hil project, but he refused 10 give in and would only promiJe that Ihil ahould he his lut UCCcated in many places. Already, in tbe llame year of 1783. l1l'i9.11 balloons were launched in Copenhagen, but the fint manned ucent in the Danish capital WaJ made on I October 1806 by the Belgian 'ProCeuor' Etienne Gaspard RobertlOn

who had previously a.seended in Moscow and Stockholm. The finl Danish aaonaut wa.. Joban Peter Colding, who began in the nOI unuaunl way of ICtlding up Irnali balloom with firework. and animals filled with parachutes. He made his inilialucent in a hot.air balloon on 10 November 1811 from the drill groundtt of the ROICIlborg ea.tle, at which royal palace CoJding had been dccotated at all in~Litun: with the Ordu of Knigbthood of the Danilh Flag Name on 28 June IBog. 'The ehlef distinetio". of thill Danish aeronaut are his initiation of 1..'0 present-day mmmon practices: air mail and aerial psychological warfare. In t808, with the financial and moral support of King Frederik VI of OatmarIt, be acnt a lIumber of balloon, aCfosa the Greal Belt with letten, and sc:veral of these letten have been preserved. That area is mainly mJlde up of many Imall island., and only the Jutland peniltlula ill contiguous to the European continent. The Danish capi· tal is located on one of the two laf'gQt Wands and at ulat time no lubmarine cable had been laid in the Greal Belt ICpaI'Bting lhcm. Foreign news was alwa)'! anxiOU!ly awaited, not ICIlIt in those da)'! of the Napoleonic wan, but sometimes ice or WIll' activities plueliled the maillt from going through; il therd'arc made IC~ 10 investigate whether carrying the letlen by air could overcome the biatua. At that time the Spanish alailiary troopt waiting to aoss these waten had mutinied. and British wal1hipt were cruising up and down to prevent their pa.age. One of them observed a Itrange object afloat. A boat "'... lowered to in"estigate and .... Ivagcd what tumed out to be one of Colding'. mail balloons thai had come \0 grief. The letten at lcan w~ returned to the Admiralty in London and one of them

"'.

F ill still on file in the Public Record Office. In iI, in DiLllish, are printed ilUll'UCliolU 'To the Finder' from Colding, repeating King Fredcrik', command of 8 May 1808 from the Danish headquaners in Copc:ntagen informing everybody of 'our lII0I1 gr.u::iow will that Candidate Colding carry OUI or:na.in KrOItatie expetimc:nu at the Great Belt, making il incumbent on all our public laVantJ or who ebc ;1 be not 10 binder him in any way, bUI to IiUppon bill wk to the best ~ their ability and band in the letten 10 the ncuut telegraph olfu:e for .pecdy transmission, Ihowing this Royal Order and, upon demand, be paid • tuitable rev..ard'. They are to add an endonemenl about the location where the air machine wu found. When Ihortly afterward. King Gustar III of Sweden wlU avaninated, one of those involved fled to Denmark and, convinced that bill native country would be best off by joining the Q)Il1.bined rulenhip of the kin!, of Oenl1Ull'k and Norway in a united Scandinavia, printed a pamphlet to penuade the Swedes to switch their allegiance to the Danish king. Frederik VI seized the oppurtunity and loll no time in having a large quantity 0( thtIC pamphleU ICDt to Colding with inlltr\J.etiom to despatch the copies to Sweden by balloon when the wind wu favourable. In those rqionll the westerly winds predominate, and m in the ahadow ~ the ghost of Hamlet thill aeronaut reo le"S-d a MHoon allMlt daily, each carrying So pamphleu from his quarten at the Kronbort castle in Elsinore. They could generally be obllcrved to daccnd on the other lide in Scania. The guardI 011 coastal duty had orden to tum in their c&l1S0Ci to the local go'VentOI' for dotrueticm, but in the beginning they were reluctant to approach thtIC 'trange aerial visiton. When in time a tpCCimcn wu

retrieved and .ubmitted to the new Swedish king. Gustar I V "",,,me much ina:nsed. al what he considered a mOlt unfair manner of 5Omebody ebc milling himself up in fnreign affain; and "'-id 50 in no uncertain terms when ICllding an envoy with it to the Danish king to IIllicil his assurance of keeping aloof from such despicable praelice:. Frederik VI only made matto:rs .....ane by replying to the effecl thaI if GUSIll.V IV really "''allted to know. he .....ould readily admit to being the inltiptor of this 'Balloon leIter'. 1bac IWO incidents in the history of aeronaulics were only modClI beginninp of what ..... ere, within a cenlury and a half, \0 develop into important and common practices: those fast mail dclivery by air and effective psychological aerial warfare. They forecast coming developmenu, fnr history h.u an odd way of repeating il5Clf. In Shakespeare'l words, 'gTtat oaks from little acorns grow'.

9 The 'Royal VallahaJJ' ballOOD filled with c oal pa The Englishman Charla Green (17S5IS70) mUSI be reckoned one of ballooning'l great pioneen, for he made balloom cheaper 10 operate by being the fint to fill them with ordinary eoal gas. As early all 1807 a number of Itreeu in London .....ere lit by gaslight; Green realised the advantage of using thill gu to fill balloons, bccautC the rilling was cheaper and faster. Since a:.I gas is abo lea affected by changes in temperature, the halloo .... can likewiJe .tay in the air longer, but a good gas of lighl quality is required foc the filling of the balloon. Green made his finl ascent with n balloon filled with coal gas on 19July IS~lI from Grttn Park in London, during the cclebratiolU the coronation of King George IV_ Named

Gttn'" IV &JaJ

Co~io!I &I/(Ioft, its .iu was approximately 15,900 eu-ft

(450 !:U.m). During this avent il climbed to lin altitude of about 10,000 ft (S,05O m) and everything ..'CDI wcll, but only as Green gradually pined experience did he bcmme a .killed aeronaUI. At the beginning of his ballooning career many of his .tarts and landinp wac hazardoU$. By 1835 Green had made a total 200 balloon !lights and had inlroduced the trail·rope which was 1,000 ft (s05 m) long and wu gcne:rally lowered before the landing to dow down tIle balloon', dacenl and regulate its beight. On fa\1O\lBble ",",moOi during an air voyage the trail_rope can allo be used to help conserve ballast, by lIabiliJing the baUoon', altitude, for.u the balloon linb a greater portion of tlle rope will rest on the ground and the ballCXIll Ihereby becoma relieved of iu coflaponding weight. When gl'Ollnd oblltacla are nOI likely to be encountered the trail·rope can aho be paid out at night to iCrve &I a 'feeler' of the altilude of the balloon above the ground. Green'l mOlt adventW'OUI and re_ nowned balloon &$(:Cnt wu undertaken on 7 and 8 November ISS6 with the balloon R~ VIlw1utll of 70,000 !:U_n ( l,gS:I cu.m) capacity, built to the order of the ownen of the Vauxhall amusem*nt park in LondOll, whence itllartCd. I t was an imprCllive red and white ,triped baUoon which had al· ready made three previowt tripi. 'The Unl uccnt occurred al 6 pErnO on 9 September IS,6 and took place befon: a diJtinguished crowd of lPCCtaton headed by Lord PalmenIOD. Thanks 10 the la~ carrying capacity of the balloon the car could on this "('calion bold no fcwcr than nine perIOlU. They were, besida Green and his wife, his brother Jama, the politician Robert: H olland, and five othen. In ipite of

ulis load tile balloon climbed. rapidly and reached an altitude of 1~1.000 ft (3.gfu m) in five minuta. It was a C alive from this $eriouJ mishap. Giffard in his lut attempt aimed 201 a truly large ainhil). It was 10 be: . . .-11

1,g68 ft (600 m) in length; have a volume of 7,769,200 CU.fl, (220,000 cu.m). and be: powered by a .team engine qhing more than So tons. The COlt of building a 1IlO00ter ainhip like this proved prohibitive, 10 the project was eventually abandoned. A (ew yean later this capable and enterprising man bc:eome blind, which .pclled foUl to what fUlure plans he may have entertained for funher conquests in the air. Lowe'a ball_ neiou ia the Americ:aJ:l ClvO War When the nineteenth cenlury dawned, John Wise was the dominaling ligun: in American ballooning circles; he will be rernembc::ted chiefly fOl' his .cherne to UOII the Atlantic in a balloon (_ No. 15). His only equal in !lte New World at that time wall hill constant rival, ThaddCWI S. C, Lowe, who was twenty-live yean younger. Lowe made his lint balloon a.5Ce:nt on I 7 July 18sG and, like Wlsc, 10011 became oJ..cged with the notion of ut&illg the Atlantic in a balloon and 100t no time in endeavouring 10 carT)' out this plan. By 1859 he had railed sufficient money in New York to enable him to J!f'OCCcd with the building of a very la~ balloon, fint named Ci!1 of Nrw York and later Grlot lYutmr. It was of no ICSII than 724,000 cu.ft (20,500 cu.m) c:apacity, with a diameter of 1(4 f' (3 1'7 m), and was more than 200 fl (6 1 m) tall. It was thus the lAiKC't balIooo built up 10 that time. ru \ViJc bad planned to do with his balloon Atlantic, Lowe abo carried a lifeboal below the cnclOlCd gondola. The linl disappointing obllacle that Lowe encountered was the inability of the gasworks in New York to fill his balloon, due 10 lack cI facilities 10 produce !l,e required quanlily of g... However, this was remedied when Ihe praident of the Point Bree~ gasworu II

in Pbi'ldclpbia came 10 the, we with an ....-&DOe 01 bani able to mee' Lowe'l requua .....lta. The .CCOidin,ly tranlIfa.ed to Philaddphia, but had 10 be IIDt'ed there lint few the duration 01 the winter. Finally. on dJWle 1860, the .... 11oon _ ready tOr ill lint trial ....rat. By a ""';ncidmce thil _ the VU")' -me day that Cr.t Emmt, then the world', larpsl llearner, turned up in the harbour 01 New York after her maiden voyare sao. the Atlantic Ooean. The bUIoon ful611ed all Uipa::U1tiont. and ,,",ay eBOn _ aimed al enablin( a nan tOr Europe 10 be made in September 01 that ~. Durin, the ~ 01 GrMI WuImI on 7 September a Itrong 01 wind caUlCd the t.l1oon to toIlKie with an ot-ude and be b.diydamaaal A .)111'1 fillint: bepn on 29 SqMemher, but this tirnc the balloon exploded due to a wuU:ne. .-.uliDc from the lint milhap. Mer this, ibu'e _ no mon: money left to .pend on the pro-

"'loon _

"-.

Lowe'.

lint captive ballooo1 UCUlli b the f*ckral Anny pve no betltt resu1l1 than thole achieved by IUCb other YOiuntcer balloon operaton and ot.u .ai uJohn Wix,Jobll La MOW!. lain, Samue.l Kin(, and the bI'Othcn

j«1ot

extml. bul Nadal- himxlf" wu no lkillcd balloon pilot cilba. Not much ...... heard .... t.eq ...ultly or Nadar .. a balloonilt. Wben P.... ...... buiLled in the .·ranco-PnoMi .... W" of 1870-71 be.nd other balloon pilou PCCKolt in the .' rt:neh capital atablishcd ..... ir mail ten"ice by iI"I£IIi\I of balloona 10 maintain tome MX1 or com· munication ","ilh the oullide world. Nadat alro participated in the: pr0duction of the: microfilml which enabled pi&wc.. 10 carry replies and ocher IT- . p tzck 10 PuiI; and, finaUy. at one .tage of the: Jiqe Naclar maintained IOIDC captive balloon. above M oot. maitre for military ot.c:rv.tionJ. 13 What aldtade did ' MammocJo,' at.. l-l Prot M J - Glaishcr ( 1809- 190S).

the: mcIecIr"OIo&iIt. ...... om of the: a:icltGU of bip$ llandiJJs or hill time. He ....... in charwe of the ","calba !erVKe of the Greenwich Ot.m.. tory in Londool ....d in thai eapacily lOOn yilualiKd Ihc potenlialities of the balklon .. a tool for Ilucla of the: air '",,"n'. Accoodincly. bct.. £CD 1862 and 1866 he made: iOfliC thirty NtCDLJ in IlK CO\11patoy of the balloon pillOt Henry Tracy Coxwell ( ISI9-lgoo). all of them lOr .dmtific pw.-' They IU"VUI. to ettablilh the com~tion of the ..motpberc.....d Glailhcr abo made physic).. qical obtervalionJ the reactionJ living ~tllities .. \..now allitudeJ. Glaishcr wu mcourascd 10 undU1akt this wor\ by. and ~ei\'Cd financia.I.id in carrying it out two wealthy Britilh enginten., WiUiam Fairbairn andJ- Nasmyth. Before pioocedin, with hill pmjcCLJ Gbilher had 10 rind a ruiuble balloon .... d a cap:able pilot. He em- eo....~l1, who opined that a new belloon had better be built £or thrir 1pCC;"1 wlt. C::u:",~11 ..... no ItcMec in the lidd 01 baUoor.. Ai Car back as .8.t7 be pined

rrom,

hill fi ...1 balloonin, apo iehce in hit you~ dafl and dun"" the (oUowina IWO yean be dut>Oll$trated in Germany with hit ..1IootI $JliA how. city muk! be bombed with 'air UMjA""''''' launched (rom • t.lloon; hi. cailKd twin "'keta on Ihae ........... icna, When the F~Pru.ian WIU' broke OUt in 1870 the German Anny ordaed IWO t.lloont .nd Ihe r......' ry pi~cralinl equipment (01' them (rom 50f8 cu..m) capacity - il was later IlIU'DI:d AI. ' lot - the ..'... _ and lIurdy G\aidler trained in order 10 be able 10 lland the (alilue 10 whKb balloon Uemtlto hifh .Ititudes weae 10 ai-lie him. Orilinally be lad not intended to be an aclive panieipant in them himrtr. lie ..Ieetcd hi. instrummtl equally painttakinaly and abo pondered minutely the many inveatigatioru 10 be c:onduetcd. On 17 July 181» };l tk was Iillod with coal pa at the pworb in WoIverhamptOll and then n.e on ba first trial trip which, thouCb brid, IIilI IJroucht GlaiIbe:t and Cox.rdl 10 the conlidc.abk altitude of mort: than 26,000 rt t7,9IJoS m). 5trang.:ly enouch. neithtt then nor later did they eva- avail thenuelva of any OIlyten equipment on their variow a1tilude triJII. They adapted theantclva to tbe thin air of the upper regions, yel they VIae lOOn 10 learn Iilat there VI'U • limit 10 ",hat they CO"kl endme. Tbey made one mOT(: tml lrip in AIJIUII the ame year and then let out, at • p.m. on oS Septembrr 1II6:J, (1ft the altitude aHmt which ,..., to SO down in hiJlory AI one of the peatelt of aU

replied, 'Jr.dt:ed you had, and 10 had I, • 1........' Now thaI they had apio

balloon.chicvementJ. They pelKtratcd the layen of e""wI at .bout •• ,000 n m), there to enoounter brifht aJnIhinr: which .aderatro their (unba climb while AI" ,i continued 10 re..dvc .Jowly IU'OWId her 'l'ertical uis. Neithttoflbe two men apuiu.ocd any diacomfOn until lhey reaclKd an .ltitude of .bout !l9tYlO ft (8,990 m), alt~h the blUthing of CoxVl~11 was occa.ion.!ly heavy. GlaiIhcr attended to hit obIcrvat>oni and read, lOr instance, • temperatun: of bul when the balloon continued to dimb Itill hifber be bad difficully in radinJ the iNtrumentJ. AI the line maaipulatin( the vaM: now .110 sot It\ICk Cox...ell had 10 climb up 10 !be hoop canyinf the ru,·ket 10 £m: !be line. Suddenly Glaisba' ,.... unabk: 10 !'aile fitst one ann and then the ~. He ICcounted Later: 'J tried 10 Ihakc my body in an efl'ort to rid m)'ICI( of my uncuy (celinp and I "1«(: ~ ded p.,tly, but rclt numb, and at I llanced .t the baromeler my head I:UIk on my lefl Ihoukict, then I tumbled baekwardt down in the 1.,ket. I tried 10 talk 10 Coxwell, wbo was IIill _led in tbe }.oop. but no wordt came (orth. I could think elnrly UDtil the very n ........JiI that darknaI mvdopcd me.' Coxwell rea1. thai both be and Glaisba' woe in imminent d'naer, lOr now hill armt likcwite lurned limp. llebc Cox ..~11 abo I"'" uneoalCiow be manaaed 10 link hi. teeth inlO the line 10 the valve .nd pull it M:Veral timea. Then the ..11oon began 10 link, (ollowinl ita previoullteady dimb of about ' ,000 ft (505 m) per minule. Claishcr .woke when Cox ..e!I.tood 0IItt him and ahook him while .cpealing the words 'tem· pentme' and 'oboc:rvations' and limul· tancousIy nd.bjol hill hancb with ( ..... C1aiIber _ sradually able 10 rile rrom the botlom of the t.,kd and, addJ ina Cox ...ell, 10 "claim, 'I had !oat my ...ita complMdy.' C::O-'dl

<s,,"

,,'

Ievd where the oq-wen COIItmt of the air wu more plenti£ul, the two men 100II r ......... aOO and manafCding 'Pro(, . ' W_ (a be Ilyled hiTNCIC by then) otrt'red toor IeI"Vlcco to the Fedtnll lOtus. At thai time it wa common praeticc .moog Ammcan prof, ;-.'.' ~ull to Cillitle themJCIvet 'Phi: 1II',.nd they .11 rdl that

they could .aider valua.bIe Ai .'k
• Ilew idea, but lhey improvced; it ...... then mOOled to a Boat in the Cavendish Dock, an operation wbid1. called for a helping hand from many tugboats and IOfl'\e three twndred marinen. It had been hoped that the maiden air voyage of MttJifJ might become part of the naval ton:Inalion parade before King George V. but the airship had bttome slightly damllg«! while being hauled away from ita shed lind had also proved much too heavy. 10 it had to return to iu shed for a stay of some scvetlll months. As cvcnl5 were to show, the name Ma:JJf:I was to prove all too pr0phetic, for the airship nevcr did, in fact, ny al all. However, by ~il September [91 I. the ainbip had been lightened

()VI.aocmcnt airlhip L 59 (LZ 104), Ance aoy I\utbet time delay would have jcopatdiocd the pyc, ful vr"'n_ plishmcnt of thit importanl expedition. On the morninc oC S November 191 7, L 59 len the Zeppelin factory at Staaken, near lkrtm, and bcadM ror Jamholi. The ainhip cau icd in iu bold an C\OnDOUI _ _ ''''''711 oC muni1M:Jnt u wdl u thirty m'chine I'\IIlI with tpare partt., lixty-one I»p oC

medical atores, alatJe quarllily of mail and variouI bopK:al outfill. Due 10 the -ront kin aDd heal in Africa, L 59 wu without the _'.1 black pocc:ctive _tine· It had aIIO been taken into a«ounl thai the ainhip would DOt mum 10 Europe, 1!\11 thai the fabric romin, of the rramc:w.,..k of the hull could be lurned ID many in F.ul

-=-

and .ldlar 00..:1 vationl. With nishtfall lhe ainhip oookd down and became heavy, and kcepinc it trimmed .urned inlO a lleady W'Ug1e. Shnrtly pul midniah t one oC N,uQl'. lUll

nwnet'OUJ

reca1l IiJnah finally lOt

throuahlOtheai,..wp,andi.thl.llbqan Africa. iu ton.a mum trip IOJambnli., when: i. From Jambnli, Boc=khoh made t_ arrived on. i2S November after an un_ unto ... ' ... attcmpu 10, ch A1iica, intenupted lltay in the air I••,i.... wbue the Cc:rman iC"Olillial fooca ninety-five bou.rs. Under exbemdy nwhile wue in dapc:rate"";tt. difficult and II)'iu( mnditiom the .i.... They could no 10...e _and lhcir .&b.!P had wvered a diJlance oC 40"40 ground .,IUut .he Britiab, wbo had rnik:s (60500 kin), and all Iwenly.l_ nx:ei~ information oC Ihe impending manbcn of the ae ..' wen: ulterly arrival oC L 59. On 121 November the nb.UJled. Cran..ed that L 59 did not ainhip made. thinlallempl .1 aeuina _ ~b what it lei OUI 10 'ccom. throua;h 10 the African at_ plitb, IhlI trip yet rem'i.. one oC the arms, unaware of von Lenow., Vorbeck'J proudest Mes in the annals oC the peat IurTmdc:r the day bd'ore. The po"oful ainhip acb;.c..mocnu, and it remaiN rae;OO 1t'anJm.i1tc:r in N.IM:D, near only 10 add thai upon the return of Berlin, tried 10 rcal! L.59. but in the ainhip 10 Jambol.i Ihae _ Ilill vain. The .inhip meanwhile Qi cd Il1fficien.I fuel Idt in the tann for Turkey and. al 6 p.m. wu c:n.ing the another m.y.four boon' Bight. eastern lip of Crete, where • thunderThere now folkJweci an iIllC!Ve IlonJ1 wu brewin( and ~ rae;OO debate, in which even the German u:ception impo-ible. Early nexl mot ..• _pCiOi became inwolval, rqardinf inc L S9 reached the WUI oC North how 10 IIIe L S9 to belt advantace Africa ncar M_ M'lrub. The b.a "'" ..... I:nrth. The chief of the ainhip .tJttCb of banen Libyan deltrt f.crd tcetioo of the German Navy, Captain the .inhip; the bumina SUD 100II Peter Stra I I, wanted the .inhip heated the PI cdb 10 that the valvet recaUcd lOr lecoMa' I nCI: me, but, iD each Ihm aUlOmatkaUy relemd by-paMin, hit rupc:rion, Rockholt ad, hydroJen. The hull became u dry u dr :d blmidf 10 the N.vy naff a bone ....d ~heavy II lhe ainhip, directly, ~ thai L.59 remain roIlillJ and pitching in the beal waVEl, .. , I.t Jarnboli 10 altack. from eben:: c:ontinucd JOUthwani. At S.'" p.m. .......l1Iy "'aeb in Italy and the Jr.tiddle L59 peucd over the IIaUrianI palm. F.ul. I n Jaouary '918, the Caman tree ilOues of the o.kbjl,b "'iI, with empCiOi finally dujc'..d in Cavour of everythina aboard ...iIl ainhip ,hpe. 8ockbc.lt'. propuilion, aflO" the ainbip An hour laler one of the five msines had been rebuilt lOr that pWJI''IC .t • broke down; il wu the OtIc: drivi .... the worb in Cc:rmany. ae ....... lor ror the radio Innt.miuer and L 59 wu back in Jamboli on wuldnot berepaircd..Thitmeanlthai II February 1918, and on 10 M.rch the rem.ining qines had 10 be .u.cPvd Naples from an .hilude of Duncd in tum. AI 10 p.m. the ainhip 11,800 n (S,600 m). On Ihit '"TaPon al pi the Nile al Wadi Halra, ~ atotalofI4,ooolb(6,S50ka) ofbomt. m

brae"", ..

~ evidmcc of bow accurately Rockholt navicaced by relyinc on hit

dropped on the naval base and importan t industrial etl.ablilhmmll with good effect, acrording \0 Bod:holl, An attack on Port Said on 20 Man:h could not be carried through, .... the ainhip crew W8..I lurpri5ed nt daybreak to meet a llrong headwind. Thi, happened again on an attempt to bomb the Britiah naval ba.$e in the Bay of Suda on Crtte. On 7 April 1918, L Y.I IlJOefIded from Jamboli for the last time. This time the ainhip was headed for Malta, and uo 7:d the Balkan peninsula and the Strait of Otranto behind the heel of Italy. Here the Gennan lubmarine U'53, at 9.30 p.m., oblerved lOme glimpse!! of light fol. lowed by. tea of ftamct thaI lit up the whole horiwn. Simuhaneot.Wy, the ceho of an explOilioo resounded th7'0U8h the atr&..it. L Y.I had finally oome 10 iu end, with the roaming submarine at the only eyewitnca of the diJasU:r. Some oily patcho and a few pieeal of wreck. age lublitantiated to the inVCItigating U'~3 the lpot where the ainhip and ill crew had found their watery graves. Neither thc Italians nor any other allied forca ever cl.a.imed to have brought down L 59, 10 it can only be SUnTIj,ed that the 8Q"ickntal calUC occumed on board thc ainhip. W1U

Sped6cadoo of LZ 104 (L 59) VollUll6: lI,4'9,057 cu.ft (68,500 cu.m) LmtIA: 743" ft (226'5 m) Dill1Ntn: 78.6 ft (23'95 m) &,i1l#: Fivc '240 h.p. Maybach Mb IVa lix-eylinder UufullOlUl: 174,860 Ib (52,100 kg) MIUi.murn spnd: 67 m.p.h. ( l08km/ hr) OpmJiorwl ,riIiIJg: 1I6,goo ft (8,200 m) Cnrisin, flUlge: 4,970 mile. (8,000 lun)

+t- Zepp _]I. LZ II
'"

a reatively rnnda.ry theatn: of war. Hen: it met ill fate on I May 1916 when it plunged into the sea belweeu the Swediah i3land of Godand and d Ie town ol Ku.rland in R ussia. The c:n:w w:a:!I rescued, but the airship ...... completely Wll:clr.ed. The lut dC!lign widl a wooden hull from the Sch u ttc--Lan~ ainhip worb was SL ~2, with a gas content of 1,g88,:l14 w.n (56,300 cu. m). It ....as completed in June 191 8, but the Gaman Navy declined to accept it. ainhip WIllI dismantled aner dIe Annilltice and various parts wen: dilttributed among the Al1iCl for further examination. WIllI

7 '

Thu

Spcd6 ea tioD of SL3 VoJUIIII: 1,147,7:17cuJ\. (3:1 ,~cu.m u..,fIt : 502 ft (153 m ) Di_I#: 14·8 ft (19'75 m) &,inu: Four :110 h.p. Maybach .ix-cylinder Usiful /txJd: so,865Ib (t4,OOO kg) Maximum spud: 53 m.p.h. (85 ir.m/ hr) OJwrolimW ",iii",: 7,875 f'I (2,;fOO m)

The Claquot captive ball_ The French general slaff decided in 19 1:1 to diJcontinue altogether the U$C of captive balloons for observation purp!*I. By the end of 1914 it became evident that the Germaru wen: using kitebaUoolllincvcr-inereaa.ingnumben for artillery observation on the west_ ern rront. The French - and later the Britilh - reacted quickly, but fill' a while countered this threat with !phericaJ balloons that were completely unruited for this purpose in windy weather. A French officer, Captain Albert Caquot, came to the rescue of hi:. genual .taft'. Basing his pl&I1ll upon the German kite balloon .tyle. he

designed a new and beuC!'1haped type equipped with three .tabililing firu spa.....! 1:10· apart. Thil arrangement rendered. th_ b&l.loons very Iteady in the air even ifltrong winds were blowing. The fint two Caquot obicrvalion balloon typel were designated 'L' and 'M' respectively. In their final form they were built in four Itandard si~es: ~4J6 cu,ft (750cu.m) (P) ; :18,9511 cu.n (&ocu.m) (P .2) ; 3:1,843 cu.n (930cu.m ) (M.:I) and S5.S'5 cu.ft ( 1,000 cu.m) (R). The French Navy UItd the I' and 1'.2 si~es en board smaller Vi e!. as protection against German IUbmarine .tlacQ, while large Beet uniu carried the R si~e 10 direct their gunfire. Balioonl of the P size could earry two ol:Jletw;n 10 an altitude of I,/i.t.on (:;00 m), while the R size c:ould carry three oblerven to this altitude or two obJerven to an .Ititude of 3,360 n ( 1,000 m). On I July 1917 the French Navy p-u "ed a total of 10 Caquot b.UoollJ. Twelve mondu later this number had increiUed 10 200, and 24naval Velie!' had lpecial equipment fwthe handling of these halloofll. The French Anny JikcwUc wed Caquot balioonl extensively. CBdually 76 companies were formed 10 guard the ....nous IeCton of the front by day and night by means of these balloona. This task could lClIn:ely h.ve been performed aatisfactorily by means of ordinary lleroplllnCl. Life in the open basket wat far from being pleasant. Not only were the ot.crven eq>oted to the capricious weather, but ol\en they also had to jump hurriedly by parachute to save their lives, when attacking enemy aircraft turned the balloon envelope .bove their heads into a sea of Hames. Certain fighter pilots Oil both lidCl lpecialised ill attaCQ on these captive balloons. For instance, the Gennan 'ace', Captain Heinrich Gontermann, lowan::Is the end olWOI'ld War 1 bad 18 Caquot bal100w -

.68

•

hesida 21 aeroplanes _ to hill eredit. The:n:fore it WIUI ol the utmOIl im_ portance that an observation balloon could be hauled down quiclr..ly when warned of an impending attack on il. To thilend the Fn:nch in 1915 and 1916 used a mOlor winch of Ihe Saconney type, driven fint by a 32 h.p. and hIler by a 60 h.p. Delahaye engine. From 19'7 onwardlthe motor winch wu of Caquot'. own make and driven by a 'JO h.p. de Oien-Bouton engine which hauled the ot.ervation balloon down at a .peed of about 20 rl (6 m ) per ~d.

s......Ce

ballooa. ill World

W~.

I n 1917 the Germans began atlacb against Ensb.nd by day and night with large ac:roplaDel after the ainhip had proven W1Suited IU a weapon ofoffence. The British counter-measures were ICBrehlighta, anti-aircraft gu... and fighter aireran, to which a quite new form of passive defence WWI added in the form of balloon barragel. They were p le.....!ed by many experiments befon: proving their value and in_ Huenc:ing the conduct of aerial warfare to a certain extent. There was a 51-mile-long (8:1 bn) balloon barnge established around London hy the middle of 1918. It was of the to-called net Iype, where the balloo... were arranged in groups or three which were interwnnected by mea.ru of a steel cahle from which a number of light CIIbles of about 1,000 n (300 m) length bung vertically. Thil net banage, or 'apron' as it was abo termed, WIU mounted 110 hiSh that enemy aircraft arriving to attack would have difficulties in lIying above it. German pilou taken prisoner, on being intellogated, apr· ;;«1 great fear of th_ ban-aga, 110 evidently their psyc:hological effect alone was important. Although the balloon barraga

generally were placed in denselypopulated areaa, they remained very much a KClU weapon and. the general public learned lillie about their true purpose. Other nalio ... lOOn followed lUit. I taly had already hung balloon barrages toan altitude of 9,840 n (3,000 m) around Veniee from 1916 onwanb, but there the baUOOnI were not inter_ connecled. France planned the fannalion of 150 barrage balloon detachmerIts witll to balloons each, but had only tltablilhed a total ol7SO ballOOl1l when the war ended. The Germa ..., who never len anything untried in the field of new w.)'1' of active and passive warfare, adopted thil procod~ in J anuary 19 , 8, and lOOn had 10 bal100n detachments, numbering 50 balJO!'lffI each, primarily for guarding indUitrial inltallatioos. BallOO
4B

The SS o r 'Sea Scout" e .... ainhJps of the Royal Navy On I January 1914, lCVen month. before the outbreak of World War I , all govcrnment-owned British ainhips were turned over to the Admiralty. They included Willows IV, a Paneval ainhip dclignated 'No.4' and the three expairoental ainhips Dd14, El4 and. Gtm=tWl which had been built at Famhomugh. The. Britilh Admiralty quiclr..ly realised the value of airship! for patrolling at Ea. The problem, however, W1llI how to initiate a production of really luitable typa for thil IJ)Ccial purpose. The non-rigWl. ainhip, in which the lhape. of the balloon eovclope WIllI maintained by 1'.... un:

aerted irWde the enveiopl':, W&I Idccted .. !he mot/. eJ'prdient type. The prototype of thcx Inlali and limplc·too-build ainhir- ..... ~y Cor ita fint teat ftight in March 19'~' It _ a compoaite of !he envelope Crom Wtlr-.IV (ICICNo. 34) and the ruselage of a B.E.2e aeroplane lIun, \lIKlerneath, complete wilb ita cnainc and propeller. Durina: the WaT tome ODe hundred and fifty 01 thCIc: ainhi~ 'IOae built in three diffCZ'U\t Corma, with a nWDber of them pn, to Franec and Italy. They 'IOue termed the SS cI'u, the initiah ltaDdin, for 'Sea Seout' or 'Submarine Scout'. ColIoqu.ially they alwaY' were rdb lcd to .. 'Btim~'. Over the yCIn ..... ua1 apI-nations have beat advaoad about the Ofigin of thil word. The __t common one ill that in the military vemaeu1ar the Type B _ mU led to .. 'limp baa', whlcb W&I limply abbreviated 10 'blimp', ArI alternati ... e cxplanatioo ill that on ~ Dea:lllbcr 19 15 A. D. Cunningham, R.N., who des~cd the SSZ type, ftipped the envelope 01 a non-rigid ainbip with hil finacn during an iNpcctioo, wbich produad alOUl1d that he pronounced .. 'blimp'; and that the word then caugbt on .. the nick· name Cor a11 anaIl non.rigid ainbip!. The fint a;,.,hip! of the SS claII had a PI content of only ~ w.n (.s8o'~ w_m); in later typcl thill W&I irn;zaKd to 60,000 and 70,000 cu..fi (1,6gg and 1,g82cu.m). In 1917 tbe original type W&I ruccccded by the SSP (P .tandi ... , C(W plllbcr propulsion), with a I(IrneWbat improved peri'onn· ance. A variation of tbQ _ the SST (T Cor Twin, with two entintl.) Neitha the SSP DOl' SST ainhi~ wac ~i· wlarly ....Ct- rul, to only aix and IWO respectively ,",ae buill. Shortly aftu the SSP type the SSZ (Z for Zero) W&I produoed. A total 01 ninety-Ihree of them _ ordered, but only aixty-m WCie dcli~e,cd 10 Ihe Royal Navy. or

the .i" ' Blim pa' transferred 10 the U.S. Navy in 1918, tWO "'~ ol the SSZ type, numbu'cd SSZ 23 and 2+ Only the laller ainhip reachcd America, it bon: the d"ign.tion A~72. 1 and 22 went to France. The SSZ ainbipa rendered 1000 8U"Iicc in 1917 .nd 1918. Their en· vdopc wu made of Iaycn 01 r.bric: reinforced with rubber. The inside prmrurc wall maintained by meaN of two air-fuled balloneu. the PfCllUrc ol wl,iell was rcgulated with intake nor!l" mounted in the di~trt1Ill 01 the propeller. Vkwa:I from the bow, the (OOdola, wongly buill and lhaprd like. boat, ltated -from front to l'C&l"the wirelca opeI.tor, the pilot, and • methanic. The rudder WlII operated with foot pcda1I and the devator wu manipul.ted by mcaru of a wheel mounted on the port side ol the co*ckpit. The ..-mamcnt WlII • Lewis macbinc-gun. The bomb 10ad could vary, but normally compiKd tbK-c 100 lb bombt. The ainhip was even provided with. listening device which, Cutened to • line, dr.ggcd in the water (the forerunner of the tonobuoy). The ainbi~ of the SSZ type wen: built .1 the R.N.A.S. Capela;,- station near Folkatonc. The lint rpccimcn was, .. an aperimcrll, tow«! by one of the una1lcr n.val dl to the vicinity of the Bclaian coast, from where the ainhip continued under ita own power. Non-rigid ainhi~ ",ae.t fint DOt lOG weil adapted to thill proadun:, but with improved tccluUque ,ood I"C$UI~ were later achieved by th .... incrcasin, the ftngc of the air-

tcldom prevroted these small lighterthan..ir craft from peri'onnina: their worIn, wen: unable 10 n:lease rufficient IJU WI enough. The ainhip had been deprived of unimpcdecJ 'free btealhing', 80 to .peak.

The U.s, Navy airship ZR., 'La. AaJe1ea' The United StalCl oC America wu the only one: of the (lUI Allied Powcn DOt to receive anythiDa: in the way of booty when the German ainhi", ...... e diluibuled after Wocld War I ended, although on,inal plans had inchJdcd the alloc:alion of tWO wanime Zcppdi ... to the U.S. Navy. The U.s.A. wu, b(n.'(\'CZ', to be QOIllpenaated in a different way, a\thOush il did finally ra:civc an ainhip. After pn>tnetcd negotiatioN and deliberatioN among the Allies, it wu finally d«:idcd to have the ZeppeLin worb in Fricdriehlhaf~ daign and build an airship of a lile t'OITCSponding to LZ 70 ( L 70) of the X-Iype (_ No. 44) for lhe Amerieau rovcrnmenl_ This 8OIuUon abo mam the wrvival oCthe LuflM:hilTbau Zeppelin, u thi. activity enabled the ainhip worb to keep toscther, and have work rar, an ope.ie:noed wff in 'Pite of the ICVCre financial Itrai... 1'olIowin, the war. I n IgIIS it further led to a parmerl,hip with the Goodytal' Tore &. Rubber Co. in America, .. the IWO ooncerm £ormc:d the joint Goodyear-Zeppelin ~...... ture. The Germana ... ele more or lea oblipl to accept this arrangement bccallle of the aircraft buikling ruwlioN; impcld upon Germany by the Venailla treaty. S-ida the lBnRer ofthc patent righu, the chief enginea of the Zeppelin Worb, Or Ka rl Atmtein, and twelve other tedmic::.al EXpo ~ WCie employed by the Amcric:an

a.inhip company. It it to the credil of the Ccnn...n

,.,

pelio company that in LZ

1':l6

Ib~

pai... takinJly built the bal ainh.ip of which they "'Cie capable. I ncidentally, then: wu ill d.aIUC rulrictiil( it to civilian UIC ocllUively, (Yen though the U.s. Navy h.ad plaoed the oroCf. LZ 126 made itl maiden voyage al Fricdriclahafcn on :17 Aug\IIt ' !r-I4t and three more trial ftighb wen: undCf· laken on II and 1t- :l5 September rupec:tivdy. Then the 4,660 mile I' "100 and thOlCjoining at Lakehunt included Lady Drummond·Hay, as the rcprcICDtative of the Hcant pn:a, thefamout polar explorer Sir Hubert Wilkiru, the American ainhip pilot Captain OIarle$ E. Roscodahl, and the millionaire I Ed .. hUiband or Ihe Grand duch*ess Xenia of Russia. Friedriehshakn _ I

A~"

cotUidercd" the true Iw-ting point 01' thil21.2~o--mile

(34.200 km) flight, &I the airship had returned there from the Uoited Stat", and on I~ AUlfUlt Grll! ZIJI/Itli" Itt out on iea world·wide adventure. The lint stop wu made at Tokyo, 10 whieb Dr Eckenct plotted a eounc aao- Berlin, East PrusRa, the Baltic Stat(:l and Tobob;!. and Yakullk in Siberia. The ainhip landed in Tokyo on t9 August, and tbe nexl ltagc, 10 Lot Angel", was covered bctwu:n ., and !16 Aupot. A rew days later CF4/ Z -H 'Un continued 10 r.akebunt, and thus eircIu:I the northern hemisphere in III days ~ bOUJ"l 31 minutes. Both in Lot Angek:o and New York the airahip, u well all its uew, were Jhol'faed with demonstrations of honour, while the crew wen: feted at a never-cnding arTIly af c:e.leb.-ation luncbeol1l. On .. September the Grtif ZtPJltlilC once mol'll landed safdy in Friedriduthafcn, but without Dr Eckcner, wbo lIayed behind in the United States 10 negotiate a joint German- American Ilinthip navigation concern whieb later led to th-c formation afthe American Zcppc:lin TratIIporI Corporation. On the lut stlI8e of the global trip the muter of Grtif Z~i/NIUr WlII Capt.l.in EmJl A. Lehmann, who was tceOnd in eommand of the ainhip, and this IcgoCthejoumcy wa:I c:ompleted in 57 houro i20 minutes. More suttt ful fli8blS followed. From 18 May 10 6 June '930, the airlhip made a trial run &-om SenIle in Spain 10 Rio de Janeiro in Btuil, as lOttrunncr of a rcgulat airline ltrVice auor the South Atlantic. InJuly 0( the JIlIIIe year followed a lCa$OOal cruix with lourists to Spillbcrgen, and in April 1931 atJOther Mcditemlllcan

when !he tame rate abo

.a. . . '

befell llIe bnnd new LZ 130 ~iII II. evaI though the btter

et-qf b.d.

oo1y flown on very few OCC'I"iona. 51url6cadon of LZ

r..,b-,,:

'Graf

Zeppcllio.·

",08,040 cu.1i

(IO~,ooo

lnIltA:

Iii '

cu.m)

776·2~ Ii (1136.6 m)

Diav/tr: 1()Ool Ii (30.~ m) .&,i1lU: Fiw: 5Bo h.p. Maybaclo VL II Iwdvc.cylinder U#fol t-/: 160,937 Ib CIlUpeaiot 10

",V

some

ZR-] Alvtla, for inItanoe (_ No. ~) . TItUi its ciahl aiJinct wae in· (orponted inside the hUCC hull, with only the po.,.... lien poojcc:tina. Not only wele tboe prop'llen icoallible (10 provldc brUing cfrcc:t during I.»dill(, ir required ), bul tbey coukl aao be lWivdkd and paced in • horizontal poIition, potntinc either upwrnt Of downward to provide an upward or downwatd pab which wu cl imancnte value duriDt: the uartioc aDd I'ndina

Whiloc there had only bceft one P"'ctlay in prev;ou. Zcpto,

(lh,800 q ) P.)'rz': .60,6.M lb (711,86, q )

MIIXi

(140 kmfbr) CnUi",~: 6S m.p.h. ( lOll km/hrl

Mui_ r..,,: 1.~~~ mila (111.110 km) NOll . /,..,. .. ~,480mila (8,82okm) er,.: 60-7~ men

e.oerybody on aware of the .mouanc. of lOOn

board _ lhe Ntualion .. the whole tail ~ion began 10 break ofr. The counlet'" mc:asun:s taken eouk!. not p,'e M_ rrom aharin( the !"ate fI her lister airIhip. It 8000 ruled in the tea, helpkIL The old and kq;-r pled dama(c had at lut got the betltt of the ainhip. Fxcrpt lOr IWO who dwwroed, aU bands on board managed to climb on to the nGIC put of the ainhip, which IF:qJt

'1-1: 87 m.p.h.

Allpiu Wal .-erificd. It was broken up in itllhcd aI LalF:ehunl limply becallK of (car fI what mighl Ilill be in .tore lor lhi:t I. minlly indeItruct.iblc air-Ihip. \\'ben A' 2f 1and M_ a ·bed they bad made." and S4 I!ighlS,. 'i"'".tively with total 8yinc lima of 1,695 and 1."]98 boun.

...

Z.pp'lin LZ • .,'Hl-dF"""" ~ by the attainmenb of GrV z",.lill (lee No. 61). Dr HUCO Eekcnu and hiI enrinccn in FriedricNh'w:n ia I~ d-.i-\cd 10 Uodlc nat lhc ideal ainhip (ot rn.n.Atlantic

~"':um~ ~I::ri!d ::. .;::

10 theCilimatcl ourhtto have bcm.ble 10 carry (rom So to S4 puKn(en. The PI celli were to be inflaled with hyd~ sen. .. in aU prcvioue Zcppdina. Yet. when the R 101 in 1930 ended AI • Nni"& infODO ia France (tee No. 63) the Zcpylip company rcalila:!. that efficiency mUJt yidel to ..rety ia (... Iute ainh..ip ope.... tiom. 10 LZ I~ WlUI mopped ia !"aYOUf of • new layout, 12 12!)- ThiI ainhip wu to have .boou the amc ~ capacity and perIOrmana:: AI the rOCUiU j the m.in difFaax:e bein( that the eare but Clftremely COIIIy hdi\lJn wu 10 replace the cheap but inflammable bydlCje.. in the filling of the ainbip. In Friedridu.IWen they lOOk it foe- granted that the Unit«! SUotCl, which _ the only country when: bdillDl _ prodneM, would c:o-opcrau: by IUpplyinr the required quantity ofthil p.t. In cubic capacity, LZ 1'9 wu to be aJ.mGIt double the me of GrV Qlt;flia, yet only lIIiptly moee than 'l9i n (9 m)

lo..,a.

Wan on um, the ~ainh..ipyrt to

be concrivcd, bcp.n. in the .utumn fI 193 1. Dr Ludwig Oilrr took charrc of the du.it;'n. Hil atmdcd c:xpuiehce in the building ofairshipt wu uorivaJlcd, .. his ....... ~tion with Count Zeppelin d.ted back 10 IBgg. Dr. Arthur FOO'IIU" _ "1owble lOr the important.tfCII ~ and cakulataon., and the lOll of Dr Ec~, Knul Eekcncr, wu WOib ~. Aimin« at impro..·cd $lability. the wbolc pur IUlJ'U" 8eCtion wu mcloMd iNide the hull which ...... a departW'C from the da 'Cn of o,.f Z",ni.. 'I'beft: wae

uppu 'A' aDd a bia 'B'. 'IlIe A deck conlained a dioi", loom ,.-8ft ( 10m) kto&. 1&. n (~ m) wide wbicb _led 54 JI«';1e BcfODd thiI ,"ae • 1 di"l and wrilina loom and • tpaciouI I"'''uce. the pi«e de rbitl'oce of wbicb _ a arnaIl. (\ainty BIQthner lightweia;ht piano. Here wfre'" to be rouod two 49 n (1,5 m) long ptOincUlde decb, one each on the port and .tat'baud aide. The dccb wen: provided with Iatze picture window. affoniing ~ mw.. AU the pa 'en ......~atiom wac painled ia harmonili", coIoun and ckpntly dec0rated.. On the wall. huoa ooicUW paintinp deplctinr the mikstone C\'OIta in the de....k~,.,....,.,.t of .... oc.auUa. F"o.na1Jy. the cc:nttc IICCtion of A deck WlUI divided into twenty·five .m,ieand twin-benh cabilU. Since rn.n. Atlantic ainhip par.a=, both in the northctn and IOUtherD bcmilpberes. wu much in demand, this airship later had nine more cabiN added 011 B deck wbere • email zmokina tOOth _ .-0 provided. Fot rcuonI which will become evidenl later the untWine 10001 keplltrictly iIoIated, and only one lilllle. iF_i.1 Liabter WlUI ~ there. AIIo iD$taI.Icd on B deck ,"ae the toilet. wuh!«·IM and pantry. 'The quartU'l of the »-ma.I1 aew (who wocked in _lebo), and £i,ht holds each fll.IOt Ib (500 q ) capacity. woe provided in the Iattt triancular lattiec ked run· ning the (u1l icn&th of the airship. Bulky (NCbt wu handled and ItOrtd in two additional boIdi of ),5 I 2 Ib and 1.3I1S lb capacity (1I.,ao kr and 600 kr) two paP-"1tt

"""'""'".

dccb.

11ft

With a take-ofr ..cialtt of 5»,518 Ib (2.+2,000 kr). LZ 1119 w;u exuemely difficult to handk: on the pound, 10 it was well that even ~ it ('()uk!. mcwe both IOnvatd and baekwanl wxk:r ita own FJOjJ",a . . the ainbip _ equipped with obock... _binc and retractable

whrr" ......._ the COIttnIoI .... h 'z and ......b abe bou..... tail liD. The pIanI b LZ 129 WCIli awry in one "',_1: the lixtecn large P cd. of the ainhip neva hrn.me inflated with belium. ConlrU'y 10 all ..... P"'tations the Unital Slata rovcmmcnt rm.m 10 van. an f "1"'. I pennit b !hil JUalqic:a1ly imponanl PI- The -,n ~ why bdium _ not reo I.wed 10 Germany wu that the Nub had tome to poha thcR by lhe middk cl the Dinctem-thinieL E\'a\ to batoe the LZI2g co:npktcd. the rd"cu"l Dr Ed:_ bad 10 P'Y U tribvIe 10

1936- On, May,lbe ~p .... Wd!'or the lint time from Friedrio::b.hakn and eompleud the ~ to America in the .c:uwd time af64 boun)3 anioutea. Capuin Emtt A. Ldlmann WlU tht; mula" 01 Hi-hi ,oa lhiI trip and on ... ualoitbelioUowmcma.TballAmc }'QI'!he ainbip aIIo eompkud RVa1 ,...00 triP' 10 Rio de JancinJ and 011 lifty...u. lone and abort b'iJll eanied a

IOIal 01' 1I ,6~ P';z:~n. all or wborn pnbcd the ..... liCmdy uable Hi .....

for lOme brid" yean ..UC:! in axJ1. mand of Ccnnany, Hermann Goerinc.

"'" and commented favounbly (In bowquiel:it_lOtnvdi· ' +lhcairahip hull In Hiv hL., I'eINmCd iq South Atlantic: a' '''p, kavin, Europe on .6 March and arrivillf b.cll: apin £rom the lkuilian capir.ol on I, Man:b, U ....,t £ully booked both

.........

_,...

" ........ , wloetw,.' thc Onitlchc Zeppelin Rc:c:d........ the German naviptim OCJID.

h'uled and ..... tn. . .bjOl W,·11ed on

lherulm.panyinGu"eny.Tbeknd of lbc Gennan Air Miniltry, and later

-'-bu". _"':"'" ----,-, UI , ~ .,......... ,"",,""', ' on> , 1IlIU ..............

.,-ny opu ••;a( the Zcppdin ainhiJl', came wA ; go.Clummt control. 'The PI CElli wCle nlt(ftd in IQOl( 1.£;"Vice &I the parding o{the couts ollbc UnitedStat~ ...... the exdusive domain 0{ the U.S. Army, In that K-I WQ u.ed for experimenta l PWJlOll!l and &I a training ain.bip. The development of 'B1im~' began to make real headway when aU patrol duties in I g111 bec:amc the I cspolUlibility o{the: U.s. Navy, which lou no time in readying lbc404>OOOcu.n (11,+40cu.m ) aU.c K_II povoe.ed by two 5.50 h.p. Prall &. Whitney R-IS40-AN-1I Wup radial Ciliinca. The lall!l" production ofK.c;Jass ainhiJll appean IOmCWhat haphaurd in rClpecl to the Iequcnc::e designation numbcn. For ntana:, K-5 up to and including K-8 belonged to lIIe II!ries, while K·S and K-4 were of the third lJI!I"ia. K'3, K'4-0 K'1 a nd K-8 .aved &I training ainbi~; aU otha K-dul ainbi~ up to and induding K-tS5 performed patrol duties ; and from K_I. OIl, they had mve~ of a capacity 0{ 4-1150000 cu.n ( 1II,OM' 7 cu.m). Several of the K-cl.ut ainhiJll ...ue not allotted any IJI!riaI numben.

.... ,.id,

...

ii notewortby aocf poper to

r OlXild ben that the: lint ilOII-ria:id ainbipa to a .. the Atlantic we.e of the K d,. Thil 0CCW1"ed in '9440 wben the U.S. Navy ordered fix K-daa. airWp! to Port Lyautey in French MOioet:o, wben they were to opuate as the 14th Squadron. K-IOI, K.IIII, K- 123 and K·,SO .... ae rour of them, and they IIew from South Weymouth, M···chUldu, to Morocco via Newfoundland and the Azoi es in !IS houra.. After the wu lOme of the K-daaI ainhipa ... el e modi6ed and rebuilt e:x.tenaively. With a DCW gas c.apacity of Sp e d6 ...do.a olK-'4 to K-'l5 VIIl_: 4-1150000 cu.ft (12,1134'15 cu.m) t-,tA: IIS " 7 n (76·711 m ) Din rn: 6\1·5 (t (19"05 m) r:..p,u: Two 5SO h.p. Prall &. Whitney R- IS40-AN'1I Wup

.... OJ

MIIXiPIMm IpuJ:

m.p.b

(12 1

Iun!",) C..wl!( S;tM: 47 m.p.b. Uu,wJtr: S9ft ( II·8gm) &,illU: Two 14S h.p. Warna" R-.5OO""1I/ 6 radial .M.w._sJMd: 6om.p.h. (g6kmjhr /l41ct,: miles (80s km) Cr_: 4 men

suo

\-ertically and boriwntally.

S21,OOO cu.£! (14,gII3 cu.m) twooflhan tl!Cl!ivcd the: designations ZPIIK and.

The next oo:ica 0{ 'Blim~' at tbe N daaa incorpotated In many change. that they wen: giVUl the new type

ZPsK (lata" ZSG-II and ZSG-3) while the unmodified K ainbi~ bceame the ZPK da•• StiU newer modda ... ue

designation ZPIIN. ThiI became ZPC-II wben the new U.S.N. dd.ignation IyIlun (01" ainhi~ WQ introdl.ll!l!d in

-ne

lint ZP.G-,W aiqhip IIew in July 19,58In June '960 one oC the Z~W alnNp. ....ijaJiKd in. tbe air out 0'rCr tbe Atlantic willo the low 01 am-t all on board. 1"hiI _ a cootn~ £actor in endi,. !be- buildiol 01 air. .... ipt lOr the U.s. N..,., a1lho"'p by then !he latter Iud all' dy raoI-..cd to dieoontioue tbe . . arSon of 1iP__ th'" • i, enit. Tbe fina.I d " rn CO' do Cyd

'"". A total 01 twelve alnhip oIlhe ZPlIN- , cia. _ ordnni and We lint of \hem ~e ie. makien .."... in Muc:b '9M. The extnonlinNy ranee IItMI eoduru1cc were .... danon. waled in a mnvincin( way. Com· rnMdcd b)' c:.omm.nder M. H . £pp ~ .. one of rt , I ~ .mip ~blishcd the

rowed. undWImpd ill. ItS+. cI tt.ay-

inc

in the ... for !tOO hourt 6 minuta withoul m'N'lIil\(. Thm: yean a.1IIa" U10tber Un/tip of UH. cI,., n 7 DO" 5 'irJ, \lOOror the _ 0 0 olemuxkr J . R. Hunt. belltftd th. iCeord by 64- t.ow.. it. ~OJ..e lOr II da.y..oct nipb and '4 minutet. 'I1Ie CIIIlne i>l.1owed __ &om South We1mouth in M " " d!\FId., ...... the North AllzIotic, IOUth around the

. , _ _ MlM7d _~June

,gi"

and lbe Cape Verde

Iaa.ods, then via lbe Vartin l.a.nda on to Key Welt t'"lorielayen .. much u pow.iblc. Ourilll tbe Cennau .tteeh OIl the _them· mc.t Ityiur 6e1ele in Enc:1and and 011 Ute Allied CXIIivoya. Balloon Command played an imporWll part. DuriO( tbe '&ttJc of Britain' about ',..00 . .ILr........ 100ae in the ait. Tbc PC:UOillle! handlil\( than often worked w1der diffic:ulf 000' dilionJ .. many 01 the IIDIIlI tt.atiom \00(1( 1uea1Cd in tedUti ..."")

&"' Ilru;

Caadr-~'

'Super Skytaaalar' WUI.,. $ ..... World War t ended, non·ri&id . ' Jbip exctu.ivdy have b COl iii lei I'lec iD F, '''''X, japan, &be Soetict Uniooot, Great Britain aDd &be Uqj!330 (1,660("\1. ...) city. He: ~ OQ, this ..." zion to 0.::.0 a diItanee oIz8., mi ...... (3oOh bIl), which hal D("\.'tt hem Z 1, On this world', dillalI("e tCC"Oid bballooN Bc::rliftC"1' ,u.yed in thc air [or much thc

Dim

cu.n

cap'·

lUI,

" houn.

sen

«28,2,..,

fled battks C"OI"Itaininr

C"OmjA

bydroccn. Another 1110 containcn wae ,I«ed in Aruaba in Tanpnyib. AI the OUIaCt 0/7965], iF bq:an iu .... UUIi.na oJ the A!ricaD iXIIlti.....,L It Cltendod G'I'a' a nwober oJ wceU and " ~ . . . . .0 ... " •iAtal ......... •• te 1..Yllop GIn' and n:6Uinp. The ez . . . litioa COQri"ed of four Ir+ "'bc:zot. 0IlC 01 them beint: the weI.I·knowtt pboIoiJ apber AlaR Root from. KGlya. With his 16 mID Am&::.: moYie camet a atFd" mm mitt"or n:1Ie. camena, thb C"llpert 1CCW'Cd a Joq apex: ion oJ mlfP"lifieent Fhocs, with IOUtid dI'octa. oJ the und. IUi'bed anima.. The hia;hlicht _ a _ -,z oJalI-UYc:ompuIiIIc .,aclNl oJ ~ mDII8 bc:zda 01 animab in the Nat;""- I Part, in Tanpoyika, where the C"llpe. didoo 1iniIhcd_ They ... ae« a IJreMh. taIJq cbaracter and ,Je_....ralCd wt Smith "'" richl in COIUidainc the &u the ideal vebiC"1e lOr an aerial ..w;, The animak DDt only toIu-atcd

"'\000

}# N, but often _

Iooicd

ujXJn

......

lhe ,,11oon .. bdoniJinl 10 their own

"'''Q

10 n.. modcra 1Ioot..!r In Today ~, people take it for vania:! that Wge,lhinin(~ .. ~-··Ir IrUIttcr-of.~, vdlida tnln$I'tt them 10 dinant vacation 'POu in a rew houn. One reBec.u tbc:rl with rupeo::t thaI there are ,till Angular individuall Id\ who enjoy nothinjj: better than 10 en· In.t Ihw.d_ to a wi.ektt b"kelt tltl"l below a ruther-light "lIoon 10 be borne 10 ,\OCh unprcdktabk: ck:stinationI .. lbc wbimt 01 the: wind may whilk them. Thil a.ama CYCI more d a romantic Up""1 when the adution rdtltlU 10 the pOirll wbenoe it ttaned: lOr the aerial ........, mounted by thae modem'" roamcn often .e.aL 10 the bot.air principle 01 the: Montgol6a brothen' balloon. The re-binh olthe MOfIIJOIIib-e bal· 100II type iJ due mainly to economy, for the hot·air balloon iii the e:heapest way 01 indtllging in thiJ (working OIIt 10 roushly [I ·SO po- hour per pamngeI'.) I n Ie.a al c:ountria aeronatlb may 1611, by JOOd fortune. be able 10 pr0cure hyd.. goo c:heaply lOr the Iillm, 01 their baUoonl, the ... chanc:el1O be a by.product 01 the kol c:banic:al Ot!....... iIe a 1ilIin( with c:oaI PI may nut 10 about ['X)O.

"""t

woru.

u::;:;:

~ ~lOb~81~m~

StatCI, where tome IOrty 01 them are privately owned. I n Greal Britain there are _ than 'aO hot·air ballaona, and in tehial othc:r (OtIntria two Of tI\ree _ thouch thae filuru may well be obtole:k' by the time thae Iinel appear, U "Uoonin( - DOt leut with the bot-ait type _ lItc.dily gains new adbucnu.. In Amcric:a Don Piocatd. a r.epbew 01 the

. .~ OplOiU A.af\llle ~lCcard, .... Clltablirbed hiInKlf .. a m&I1wacttlftt of bot-ait balioonL Tbe enwJope of a modem lMx·air balloon it generally made ofleal"-ptool nyian with ~ of an &1_ 1eIni. cin:u.1ar aba~ '1lIcre are both a val,'t apmillg and a ripping·pucl in the en'l'1:lope. HOtIIeJ withOtlt conntttkm to g.. pipclina, and Ql'llvans o/\en UK a p i ttlpply in the Corm of butane ,~ in 'teel bonks. Propane g .. in liquid _Ie iJ a limilat heating kKIr«, 8UlCIalini m\OCh lint and ..cd extOl· lively for induttrial applic:ationa; and Pn,pute p i iii wdllItIited ... a healiq; -.n::c ror bot-ait twllotr .. This au D

fed £rom pi Jre boulct tnOtI.Dted aboo.'t the: ear ilIto evaporatitm ipiI'lll Itlbet in the b.orna. TbeK Ipinb auTOtIDd the ftamcI that are iii wilh a match. The balloon UI'I'1:1ope it filled with hot air on the JTIiUDd by plaring the burner below the opwins: (mouth) in the envelope, and when the bot air .... call1Cd the c:n.....dope 10 rile the II.' bottle ;. mounted in iu place abcm: the car. Thc:n the balloon iJ ready to axcnd. By applyinc the full ph .. re of the burner lOr ..... w; ICco""b, 1.1 inta"vah of about '" lett. ." the balloon will maintain ia altitude 01' dimb. When the air inride the emclope mob 011" the twlloon ric nnda. Matly look tlpon the combination ol baBoon cnvdope and ope.. lire ... the hcis::hl of m:kICII lOI.Iy. bul lhe nylon material iii otten coated with poly. urethane alld doCI DOt ignite:. ['"CIl iC the fabric: ahould be KIMc:hed, the boks created c:auee no ill cll"ec:I. It it obvious that the OtttIpiUlt 01' OtttIpanu 01 the hot-air balloon are DOt anxinuJ 10 run any WtlCi riIb, d~-' iany .. their cquipmaulcpoCiCIlb a monetarY valt1Ci d.ome["~

GLOSSARY

ANrrwliJt. 'The circular neck bf;low the balloon envelope throtl,b which it u filled with gu. 1lle appendix iJ Id\ open dwi"l the trip 10 allow p i to ocape when the balloon iii heated by the mn. &dr-to A Jq)antle: bac: inlide the en'l'1:lope in ~t non·ricMl. and 1CIIli·ri3ld ainhipi which, by meant of a bIo""Ci, can be 611ed with aln""I'bcric air 10 maintain the: pumrc in the enw:1opc if p i itlollt. and thereby keep the trI'I'1:iope CtllIy expended lkm " ",.m.,. A vaI\'t mnunted atlhe bottom of an ainhip UlV'\Li;X! and ac:tins: ... a II.kty valve, bnc:e it 0JiUI' if the pi 're in.jck the en'l'1:iope cxc:ccdt the...rety limit (from _&.necnth 10 _twentieth of the yield point ofille envdope). (ApI •• A lilhtcr-than-aitcrall with no piopubion 7 .... normally _ed

~""

""f .

.......

Ep,cr. The muimwn borimntal drc:umf.:rcftc:c of the balloon cmdope. /0'_"'", I . A lishtcr-than-ait crall with no poopubion mean .. that iJ not mtiOied. GAs uU. A c:ontainc:r. locally cylindtic:al L'Ml 611ed with pi, whic:b providca pari or the lift or an airship. The ntlmber or II.' ce1II varies depending upon the zitt: or the airship. Thcy may abo be d difkrml Wca; thc:n the !arrett celli will be Cound amKbhi .... 'The more l ecellt ainbi ... v.CiI: provided with (rom t" to 16 pa celb varying in zizc (rom about 99,000 10 990,000 NJ\ (",Boo to ,,8,000 cv.m). IItl._. The kooud licblCIII of all elements Cs5.315 cv.n, I N .m 1.1 0· 0 ~ ,,",55 Ib, 0-16 . .). with a lifUnc capacity 93 per ant of that or hyd>. gm. Helium it derived Crom natvnt1 ...... a br-prodt.ac:t and .... the advantap of brina: noninBammabk. H;; .b".. "The 1iPL$ of all clo 1I~1a (sS.SI5 aaJ\, I c:u.m, 1.1 0*C, wdcIu Ci"'24" Ib, 0-11 . .). Can beproduc:cd by varioua methods and it inflammable:. Hrdrawul abo !w. _ c:xpkwive by the addition of ... liltJe ... 6 per c:cnt of air. Nflft-ritii anlrip. An ainhip ill which the ape of the: envdope it mailltaincd only by the iNick: pi. LI!J'C. P.,ltd. The l't\'Ciluo-producint load c:ompriling pall:nacn and/ or c:arp R~. The kmgul dittanoe that an ain:ntfi can tntvd. Ri,id .inAi,. An airship in whkb the wpe of the btil1 iii maintained by mcaJU or a ri,id Cnmework. Ri".·" , /ltMt1. A pancI glued on the: inside of the ba lloon c:nvdopc. When pulkd durina' landing it IU'VCI 10 CU'lpty the balloon quic:kJy of ib ... c:ontent. s-i,fltiJ An ainhip with. non-ripI CII'I'1:iope that it attac:hal 10 a c:omponent (ked) whic:b iI rip:! OfaxDPlI :d of c:onncc!cd, rip:! tec:IionI that carry' the load Rl«. A valve mounted 01'1 lOp of the: balloon 01' ainbip CI1WJopc:. Actuated autom&ticaUy or by band.

.i,IIU,.

r.,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

H. YOIl Abuc.on;

~ .·abnen

FreibaUon. Berlin ,~

It Ad.oM-Ray ; The And:ft Diana. New YGrk 19]0, loodon 19'1" S. Oene: Tnil Blazing in Ihe Sky. Akron 'Sot3' C. Mlliw; Les BalIQIY.. PariI 1960. DoIlr~ H . 8el.uboil and C. Rou8uou ; L' Homme, L'Air et \'i:'spve. Paris , g65L. 00rT: ,~Jahre Zcppdin.Lufi· .:hiffe. Berlin 19R+ H . Ed:cuer; My ZeppeliN Londoa.. jo'.bril _,.L FaclOfT c.talOlJUC: • Publithcd by A. R.icdinp. Aupbur; ca.. 191 3. J. C. Fahey: The Shi . . .nd Aircraft of 'The Uniled StaI05 Pkec. New York 1945Richard Fern, : How 10 fly. London 19 10 . K. Grieda': Zeppdine. CicaDtcn da' UJf\e. ZUricb 1971. P. Haini",. The [)ream MachiDCL London 197;)· R. Hicham: The BritiUI Rip! Air· 1g08-193 ' .lond.... 1961. J. F. ~: The St«y of !Unhi...

.ru ..

Loadoo ..... K.. O. Hoffmann : Die: Gachichle dcr

Ainbi.. in Peace and w.... I nMon 197 1. Jane'. All the WoOd', AircnI\. Lon. doG 1909-1938W. Kirchl\U': Fddballon und Luf\. IfiU I(n. Berlin '939J. Kininen-; The Loot: Lonely l..c.&p_ New York 1961. F. KoUnwm : Dall ZcppdinlufiKhilT. Berlin 1!P4.

W. YOIl Lanpdorif: TatehcntNcb

Luftfloucn 19'8-1!P9- Frankfurt Main u.l. J. I The Millionth 0Ian«. 1....ton 1957. It Mabky: The Motor Balloon 'Ameriea'. VenDOl.t 1969. J. MaKhil: V'U'IIt Cinq ~ . d'Aho '1tique F~. Paris

.01=_:

",.

C. Martinc)t.I ....rde: Les Nou'l'CllWl MOlcws d 'AYiation. Paril I9'l1. Miw. Maybom (F1yinJ Entap;iIeI): Early Militaty AireraA of the lint World W .... ; Vol. II: Ainhipt. Oall. , T.,...., 1971. W. "iOOcbcclt. : Twbcnblacb IUr .1UCICChnika" und Lufbchiffu-. Berlin ' 9113. N ....al Aviation in Review. U.s. N • ...,. 0fIi0ce of the Chod" of N.val

Opo.tiooL WaabinalOrl 1958· Neumann: Oi:> Intemationakn Luft·

Luf\naehridltcnllUPPC IJ,I. Nechl8ullilnd 1 96~ and 1968.

J.du..... :

lil:hitre. I hrc Ilauarl und EigcIlKhaf". ten nadi dcm Stande \ ·00 t'cbruar 1910.01dcnbwJ 1910. R. NUniuh,: LcilWkn da Lun· tchiffahrt und tlu.tcchnik. Vienna a.nd Lci~ '909. Umbo1o Nobile; With the I"";' 10 lhe North Pole. London 19)0. UmbcrlO Nobile: M y l'oIar tligbtl. London 1961. E. Nargird: The Book of B..l .......... New York 197 1, E. QbenaUl: Bau und FilhnIna: von IWlonrabneuaen unlcr bcIonderer Benlcbichtifun« dcr MotorluflSChiffe. Lcipzic 19-:z6. 11.. Picca.rd: Mdlun lI immd Of Jord. Copenh:t(cn 1!»6. J. Poachd : 1..ufu-eiKn. Lcipzia IgoB. O. H. Robirwon : The Zeppelin in C'.oro.b.u. A lIutory of the German N.y.a.I Ainbip DiviaiOll 19'11-1918. London 19M. D. 1-1. RobWoo: LZ 1'29 ' HiDden· burt'. New York 1964. L. T. C. Roll: The Acrona.uu.. II. Hiltory of ll.a.IJoooinc: 1783- 1903.

Loadoo ..... 11.. S.nIOl-Dumont: My Ainhi ... Lon· don 190... R. A. S.... ille-Sneath: Britiah Aircnf\ IJ,I. Harmondsworth 19+4. J. Schutte: OU' LuIbebillbau SchOlleLam 1909-1925- 8U'lin 19116. II.nlborly Smith: Throw Qui Two Ii andi. Londoa ,g&,.

R. K. Smilh: The Ainhipl'Akron' and 'M acon'. Annapolil I950. C. Sprig: The Ainbip. h. Daisn, Hutory, Opualion and Future. London 1931. t'. C. Swanboloua:h .nd P. Bowen; Uniled Statal NaY)' Ain:rafi aince 1911. London I g68. C. Tiaandier: I.e Grand Bailon Caplir. Paris 1879C. T.andK:r: Histoire de mcs Ateen· Nona. Pant 1887. G. T-oo.icr: HislGire d05 BaJlons 1-11. Paris 1887 a.nd l&go. P. 8. Wllkn : Early Ayiation .t Farn· boitOUJh. LondoilI97'. Peter Wykcbam: SanIOl-Dumont, • Ilud y in ot.e.ion.. London 19M. Zeppelin. l'ubliahcd by Zcppdin-MetaBwU"ke C.m.b.H. Fric:drichahafm

.....

pm...~: Aviation yean).

~tapzinc.

Paris (nriow

AeropI.anc. Toodon (nrioUl yean). DculKhe ZeiIKhrin filr Lufbchiff· 1"Ihrt, Berlin 1910• fli.hl. London (variow yca.n).

t'orta Amenne Fn~"" Revue M cneneU.. de l'Auule de l'Air . Paris (va.riotw yean). L'A&onautique. Paril (Yllriow yun). L'Abophi1c. Pa.riI (variow yurt). The Iloya1 Air Forca Q,=1u-ly. Lon· don 1940""1945-

", -

INDEX

"'Iorcw

The first part ofthit inda: IDw aU and ainhi.,. ill.... trated and d. ribed or rderred to. Thc K ' 0''0(( p;u1lDw the balloon and ainhip ,,",*pdio LZ .8 L 3 ainhip, K'C Zcppdin U 24 L 4 ainhip, _ Zcppelin U 21 L 6 ainhip, lee Zeppdin U 31 L 10 ainhip, II':C Zeppelin LZ 40 L . , ainbip, tee Zeppelin LZ 4' L 16 ainhip, lee Zeppelin LZ 50 L SO ainhip. IC'C 7.eppelin LZ 62 L 31 ainhip. lee Zeppelin U 72 L 32 ainbip. K'C Zeppelin LZ 74 L 33 ainhip, ice ZeP?' lin U -,6 L 35 ainhip. ice Zeppelin LZ 80 L S? ainhip, Ke leW'lin U 75 L 4 1 &inhip. lee Zeppelin LZ 79 L 48 ainhip, lee Zeppelin U 95 L 49 ainhip. lee Zeppelin LZ ~ L 53 ainhip, lee leW'lin LZ HID L 56 ainbip, lee Zeppelin LZ I(t] L 51 ainhip, lee Zeppelin LZ 102 L ainhip, lee Zeppelin LZ 105 L 59 ainhip, lee. Zc:ppelin LZ 10" L 61 ainl:iip, lee Zeppelin LZ 106 L 6] airship. .ec Zeppdin LZ .,0 L 14 airship, tee Zeppelin L.Z .og L 65 ainbip. lee Zeppelin L.Z I II L 7D ainhip, I « Zeppelin U 11 2

...

F,_

I.""

J .. balloon (,,). t U

Ew".

L 7' ainhip, _ Zc-ppclin LZ 113 L 12 airahip, _7.eppelin LZ 11 + (..,4 ainhip. _ V«'n, co (..,5 airship, _ &d«;rw 1.-6 ainhip, lee ilniat, (..,7 ainhip, _ Rft'hll' L-8 airship. I«; R-,;' L'A~ ' ..., Vi ' Itainhip, ' 41 L. ainhip ( . ,), 1ft-127, 135, '48, 155 lA ] _ ainhip, _ l.o IF "']rJ1;" , I.. Vilk _ Fb_-, "Iioon, 119 I.. Villi J'OrIhu balloon (It>. IllrlU ".].0., I ainhip, ' 39-' 40 L. Otuk balloon, 120 L. FIIJNltu balloon, 99 IA Ciat balloon (10), 1I~1I1 IA Ntp'lX, balloon, 11 9 L'EaJr'/M' 1111' ball00a (6). 106-107 L. PI/, Nn ballooa, 11 2 Lu £/4ls-Ulfil '-IIoon, 119 1 itu,Uainhip, 139 Linll~N4111 &111 _ Bt .. 'b"i ainhip, 1]9 1.-• • ainbip, 155 /AI A'Wtu airship, lee 7.R-3 Lunanli balloon (,). 101-113 L.7.. caplive balloon, 214 12 I ainbip, etc., _ Zeppelin LZ I

M d . . airship' (ItaJy) (56), 1111 M cw. airshipa (U.s. Navy), 210 M II ainhip, _ Cra.-8uI':nach M II M_ ainbip, lee. ZRS-5 AI&: a .. " baUoon (13), "7-"90 111]-

'..

Mq,,'p

ainhip,:zoo. 211 "'• •

E DAWN OF WORLD RAILWAYS •__ ,. [LWAYI IN TIfE fORMATIVI': 'ttAtU

ILWAVI; AT TIfE TURN OF THI. fTURY ,.,,..,., LW AVI IN' THE YLUI.S OF ~ DUN'tNCE .f&$- ' f LW AY1 AT THE l.l.N'JTH OF STE.A M

...

• 7"7

os6I X

io r ORO FR ESS LTD.

Iilk Holbono,

00111 WC,V 6FH

Balloons and airships, 1783-1973;: Editor of the English edition Kenneth Munson; (The pocket encyclopaedia of world aircraft in colour) - PDF Free Download (2024)