BRITISH WAR DIRIGIBLESAdoption of Small Type.German designers have continued to pin their faith blindly to the huge rigid type, despite the fact that prior to the war almost a dozen of these costly machines met with disaster as fast as they could be turned out. Since the war started, their destruction has kept pace pretty closely with their building without their accomplishing anything of military value. The British naval aeronautic service, on the other hand, appreciated the futility of such tremendous and unwieldy construction and, after a single demonstration of its uselessness, abandoned it altogether. This single attempt was the ill-fated Mayfly, which was most appropriately named, since its performance resolved into a certainty the doubt expressed by its title. In being taken out of its shed, the framing of the airship was damaged, and it collapsed a few minutes later so that it never did fly. One of the early types of small British dirigibles is shown in Fig. 20.Attention has since been concentrated in most part on the construction of aeroplanes in constantly increasing numbers, although the dirigible has not been given up altogether. However, its restricted usefulness as well as the necessary limitations of its effective size has been recognized. Early in the war Great Britain planned the construction of fifty small dirigibles, of both the rigid and nonrigid types, all of which have undoubtedly since been completed. They are small airships designed chiefly for scouting and short-range bombing raids over camps when in army service and for coast patrol and submarine hunting as an aid to the naval forces. While no specifications are available, the cubic capacity of these patrol airships probably does not exceed 50,000 to 75,000 cubic feet, their over-all length being approximately 100 to 125 feet.Fig. 20. An Early Type of Small British DirigibleFig. 20. An Early Type of Small British DirigibleAeroplane Features.To simplify the construction and at the same time minimize the amount of head resistance, the car consists of an aeroplane fuselage of the tractor type, fitted with a comparatively small motor—under 100 horsepower—and having accommodations for a pilot and an observer in two cockpits, placed tandem. The control surfaces are also similar to those used in aeroplane construction. Despite their low power, these dirigibles can make 40 miles an hour, owing to their greatly reduced head resistance. Instead of employing either an auxiliary blowing motor or a blower driven by the motor itself, the supply duct to the air balloonet is made rigid and is sloped forward so that its open end comes directly in the slip stream of the propeller; thus the latter serves to inflate the balloonet as well as to drive the dirigible. The desired amount of inflation is controlled by a valve.Fig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol ServiceFig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol ServiceUse in Locating Submarines.Many of these small scouting and naval-patrol dirigibles have given a good account of themselves and comparatively few have met with accident or have been destroyed by the enemy. On frequent occasions they have been very successful in locating submarines below the surface, since the body of the under-water boat is readily detected from an altitude of a thousand feet or more, even though submerged to a great depth and despite a heavy ripple on the surface that makes the water absolutely opaque when viewed from the deck of a ship. Doubtless they will be employed to an increasing extent as the hunt for the submarine becomes more and more intensive, though their use is very much restricted during the winter months, owing to the frequent and severe storms encountered.British Astra-Torres.A number of comparatively small Astra-Torres dirigibles have also been built in Great Britain for coast patrol and anti-submarine work. The line drawing at the left of Fig. 21 illustrates the general design and construction of these small airships, while the various letters indicate the different parts of the gas container, air balloonets, suspension and car, and the end view at the right of the figure shows the small amount of head resistance offered by the suspension of this type as compared with that of the usual form of nonrigid dirigible.Ais the balloon itself, or main gas container, the pressure relief valve for which is located atM.BBare the air balloonets connected with the blowerHin the car. In the illustration these balloonets are shown fully inflated as they would be after the gas bag had lost a considerable proportion of its original contents through leakage or expansion. At the beginning of a flight, when the gas bag is fully inflated with hydrogen, they lie perfectly flat along the lower side of the envelope, being brought into service only as they are needed to keep the envelope distended to its full volume.The novel method of suspension to which this type of dirigible owes its greater speed and fuel economy, because of the reduction of the head resistance, is shown by the numerous supporting ropesO-O-O, which terminate in a comparatively few cables attached to the car. In the small British airships referred to here, there is but one small car designed to carry a crew of two men and the engine is of comparatively low power, driving a propeller at either end of the car, but in the large French dirigibles of the same type, two large cars are placed tandem some distance apart and are fitted with 500-horsepower motors. The various parts indicated by the letters are:CCpropellers,Dmotor,Fspace for pilot and crew,Gfuel and oil tanks,Jguide rope,Kgas valve,LLair valves,NNballoonet cable,Prudder,Qstabilizer,RRbracing cables, andSthe car itself.
BRITISH WAR DIRIGIBLESAdoption of Small Type.German designers have continued to pin their faith blindly to the huge rigid type, despite the fact that prior to the war almost a dozen of these costly machines met with disaster as fast as they could be turned out. Since the war started, their destruction has kept pace pretty closely with their building without their accomplishing anything of military value. The British naval aeronautic service, on the other hand, appreciated the futility of such tremendous and unwieldy construction and, after a single demonstration of its uselessness, abandoned it altogether. This single attempt was the ill-fated Mayfly, which was most appropriately named, since its performance resolved into a certainty the doubt expressed by its title. In being taken out of its shed, the framing of the airship was damaged, and it collapsed a few minutes later so that it never did fly. One of the early types of small British dirigibles is shown in Fig. 20.Attention has since been concentrated in most part on the construction of aeroplanes in constantly increasing numbers, although the dirigible has not been given up altogether. However, its restricted usefulness as well as the necessary limitations of its effective size has been recognized. Early in the war Great Britain planned the construction of fifty small dirigibles, of both the rigid and nonrigid types, all of which have undoubtedly since been completed. They are small airships designed chiefly for scouting and short-range bombing raids over camps when in army service and for coast patrol and submarine hunting as an aid to the naval forces. While no specifications are available, the cubic capacity of these patrol airships probably does not exceed 50,000 to 75,000 cubic feet, their over-all length being approximately 100 to 125 feet.Fig. 20. An Early Type of Small British DirigibleFig. 20. An Early Type of Small British DirigibleAeroplane Features.To simplify the construction and at the same time minimize the amount of head resistance, the car consists of an aeroplane fuselage of the tractor type, fitted with a comparatively small motor—under 100 horsepower—and having accommodations for a pilot and an observer in two cockpits, placed tandem. The control surfaces are also similar to those used in aeroplane construction. Despite their low power, these dirigibles can make 40 miles an hour, owing to their greatly reduced head resistance. Instead of employing either an auxiliary blowing motor or a blower driven by the motor itself, the supply duct to the air balloonet is made rigid and is sloped forward so that its open end comes directly in the slip stream of the propeller; thus the latter serves to inflate the balloonet as well as to drive the dirigible. The desired amount of inflation is controlled by a valve.Fig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol ServiceFig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol ServiceUse in Locating Submarines.Many of these small scouting and naval-patrol dirigibles have given a good account of themselves and comparatively few have met with accident or have been destroyed by the enemy. On frequent occasions they have been very successful in locating submarines below the surface, since the body of the under-water boat is readily detected from an altitude of a thousand feet or more, even though submerged to a great depth and despite a heavy ripple on the surface that makes the water absolutely opaque when viewed from the deck of a ship. Doubtless they will be employed to an increasing extent as the hunt for the submarine becomes more and more intensive, though their use is very much restricted during the winter months, owing to the frequent and severe storms encountered.British Astra-Torres.A number of comparatively small Astra-Torres dirigibles have also been built in Great Britain for coast patrol and anti-submarine work. The line drawing at the left of Fig. 21 illustrates the general design and construction of these small airships, while the various letters indicate the different parts of the gas container, air balloonets, suspension and car, and the end view at the right of the figure shows the small amount of head resistance offered by the suspension of this type as compared with that of the usual form of nonrigid dirigible.Ais the balloon itself, or main gas container, the pressure relief valve for which is located atM.BBare the air balloonets connected with the blowerHin the car. In the illustration these balloonets are shown fully inflated as they would be after the gas bag had lost a considerable proportion of its original contents through leakage or expansion. At the beginning of a flight, when the gas bag is fully inflated with hydrogen, they lie perfectly flat along the lower side of the envelope, being brought into service only as they are needed to keep the envelope distended to its full volume.The novel method of suspension to which this type of dirigible owes its greater speed and fuel economy, because of the reduction of the head resistance, is shown by the numerous supporting ropesO-O-O, which terminate in a comparatively few cables attached to the car. In the small British airships referred to here, there is but one small car designed to carry a crew of two men and the engine is of comparatively low power, driving a propeller at either end of the car, but in the large French dirigibles of the same type, two large cars are placed tandem some distance apart and are fitted with 500-horsepower motors. The various parts indicated by the letters are:CCpropellers,Dmotor,Fspace for pilot and crew,Gfuel and oil tanks,Jguide rope,Kgas valve,LLair valves,NNballoonet cable,Prudder,Qstabilizer,RRbracing cables, andSthe car itself.
BRITISH WAR DIRIGIBLESAdoption of Small Type.German designers have continued to pin their faith blindly to the huge rigid type, despite the fact that prior to the war almost a dozen of these costly machines met with disaster as fast as they could be turned out. Since the war started, their destruction has kept pace pretty closely with their building without their accomplishing anything of military value. The British naval aeronautic service, on the other hand, appreciated the futility of such tremendous and unwieldy construction and, after a single demonstration of its uselessness, abandoned it altogether. This single attempt was the ill-fated Mayfly, which was most appropriately named, since its performance resolved into a certainty the doubt expressed by its title. In being taken out of its shed, the framing of the airship was damaged, and it collapsed a few minutes later so that it never did fly. One of the early types of small British dirigibles is shown in Fig. 20.Attention has since been concentrated in most part on the construction of aeroplanes in constantly increasing numbers, although the dirigible has not been given up altogether. However, its restricted usefulness as well as the necessary limitations of its effective size has been recognized. Early in the war Great Britain planned the construction of fifty small dirigibles, of both the rigid and nonrigid types, all of which have undoubtedly since been completed. They are small airships designed chiefly for scouting and short-range bombing raids over camps when in army service and for coast patrol and submarine hunting as an aid to the naval forces. While no specifications are available, the cubic capacity of these patrol airships probably does not exceed 50,000 to 75,000 cubic feet, their over-all length being approximately 100 to 125 feet.Fig. 20. An Early Type of Small British DirigibleFig. 20. An Early Type of Small British DirigibleAeroplane Features.To simplify the construction and at the same time minimize the amount of head resistance, the car consists of an aeroplane fuselage of the tractor type, fitted with a comparatively small motor—under 100 horsepower—and having accommodations for a pilot and an observer in two cockpits, placed tandem. The control surfaces are also similar to those used in aeroplane construction. Despite their low power, these dirigibles can make 40 miles an hour, owing to their greatly reduced head resistance. Instead of employing either an auxiliary blowing motor or a blower driven by the motor itself, the supply duct to the air balloonet is made rigid and is sloped forward so that its open end comes directly in the slip stream of the propeller; thus the latter serves to inflate the balloonet as well as to drive the dirigible. The desired amount of inflation is controlled by a valve.Fig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol ServiceFig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol ServiceUse in Locating Submarines.Many of these small scouting and naval-patrol dirigibles have given a good account of themselves and comparatively few have met with accident or have been destroyed by the enemy. On frequent occasions they have been very successful in locating submarines below the surface, since the body of the under-water boat is readily detected from an altitude of a thousand feet or more, even though submerged to a great depth and despite a heavy ripple on the surface that makes the water absolutely opaque when viewed from the deck of a ship. Doubtless they will be employed to an increasing extent as the hunt for the submarine becomes more and more intensive, though their use is very much restricted during the winter months, owing to the frequent and severe storms encountered.British Astra-Torres.A number of comparatively small Astra-Torres dirigibles have also been built in Great Britain for coast patrol and anti-submarine work. The line drawing at the left of Fig. 21 illustrates the general design and construction of these small airships, while the various letters indicate the different parts of the gas container, air balloonets, suspension and car, and the end view at the right of the figure shows the small amount of head resistance offered by the suspension of this type as compared with that of the usual form of nonrigid dirigible.Ais the balloon itself, or main gas container, the pressure relief valve for which is located atM.BBare the air balloonets connected with the blowerHin the car. In the illustration these balloonets are shown fully inflated as they would be after the gas bag had lost a considerable proportion of its original contents through leakage or expansion. At the beginning of a flight, when the gas bag is fully inflated with hydrogen, they lie perfectly flat along the lower side of the envelope, being brought into service only as they are needed to keep the envelope distended to its full volume.The novel method of suspension to which this type of dirigible owes its greater speed and fuel economy, because of the reduction of the head resistance, is shown by the numerous supporting ropesO-O-O, which terminate in a comparatively few cables attached to the car. In the small British airships referred to here, there is but one small car designed to carry a crew of two men and the engine is of comparatively low power, driving a propeller at either end of the car, but in the large French dirigibles of the same type, two large cars are placed tandem some distance apart and are fitted with 500-horsepower motors. The various parts indicated by the letters are:CCpropellers,Dmotor,Fspace for pilot and crew,Gfuel and oil tanks,Jguide rope,Kgas valve,LLair valves,NNballoonet cable,Prudder,Qstabilizer,RRbracing cables, andSthe car itself.
Adoption of Small Type.German designers have continued to pin their faith blindly to the huge rigid type, despite the fact that prior to the war almost a dozen of these costly machines met with disaster as fast as they could be turned out. Since the war started, their destruction has kept pace pretty closely with their building without their accomplishing anything of military value. The British naval aeronautic service, on the other hand, appreciated the futility of such tremendous and unwieldy construction and, after a single demonstration of its uselessness, abandoned it altogether. This single attempt was the ill-fated Mayfly, which was most appropriately named, since its performance resolved into a certainty the doubt expressed by its title. In being taken out of its shed, the framing of the airship was damaged, and it collapsed a few minutes later so that it never did fly. One of the early types of small British dirigibles is shown in Fig. 20.
Attention has since been concentrated in most part on the construction of aeroplanes in constantly increasing numbers, although the dirigible has not been given up altogether. However, its restricted usefulness as well as the necessary limitations of its effective size has been recognized. Early in the war Great Britain planned the construction of fifty small dirigibles, of both the rigid and nonrigid types, all of which have undoubtedly since been completed. They are small airships designed chiefly for scouting and short-range bombing raids over camps when in army service and for coast patrol and submarine hunting as an aid to the naval forces. While no specifications are available, the cubic capacity of these patrol airships probably does not exceed 50,000 to 75,000 cubic feet, their over-all length being approximately 100 to 125 feet.
Fig. 20. An Early Type of Small British DirigibleFig. 20. An Early Type of Small British Dirigible
Fig. 20. An Early Type of Small British Dirigible
Aeroplane Features.To simplify the construction and at the same time minimize the amount of head resistance, the car consists of an aeroplane fuselage of the tractor type, fitted with a comparatively small motor—under 100 horsepower—and having accommodations for a pilot and an observer in two cockpits, placed tandem. The control surfaces are also similar to those used in aeroplane construction. Despite their low power, these dirigibles can make 40 miles an hour, owing to their greatly reduced head resistance. Instead of employing either an auxiliary blowing motor or a blower driven by the motor itself, the supply duct to the air balloonet is made rigid and is sloped forward so that its open end comes directly in the slip stream of the propeller; thus the latter serves to inflate the balloonet as well as to drive the dirigible. The desired amount of inflation is controlled by a valve.
Fig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol ServiceFig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol Service
Fig. 21. Side and End Views of British Astra-Torres Dirigible Used for Anti-Submarine Patrol Service
Use in Locating Submarines.Many of these small scouting and naval-patrol dirigibles have given a good account of themselves and comparatively few have met with accident or have been destroyed by the enemy. On frequent occasions they have been very successful in locating submarines below the surface, since the body of the under-water boat is readily detected from an altitude of a thousand feet or more, even though submerged to a great depth and despite a heavy ripple on the surface that makes the water absolutely opaque when viewed from the deck of a ship. Doubtless they will be employed to an increasing extent as the hunt for the submarine becomes more and more intensive, though their use is very much restricted during the winter months, owing to the frequent and severe storms encountered.
British Astra-Torres.A number of comparatively small Astra-Torres dirigibles have also been built in Great Britain for coast patrol and anti-submarine work. The line drawing at the left of Fig. 21 illustrates the general design and construction of these small airships, while the various letters indicate the different parts of the gas container, air balloonets, suspension and car, and the end view at the right of the figure shows the small amount of head resistance offered by the suspension of this type as compared with that of the usual form of nonrigid dirigible.Ais the balloon itself, or main gas container, the pressure relief valve for which is located atM.BBare the air balloonets connected with the blowerHin the car. In the illustration these balloonets are shown fully inflated as they would be after the gas bag had lost a considerable proportion of its original contents through leakage or expansion. At the beginning of a flight, when the gas bag is fully inflated with hydrogen, they lie perfectly flat along the lower side of the envelope, being brought into service only as they are needed to keep the envelope distended to its full volume.
The novel method of suspension to which this type of dirigible owes its greater speed and fuel economy, because of the reduction of the head resistance, is shown by the numerous supporting ropesO-O-O, which terminate in a comparatively few cables attached to the car. In the small British airships referred to here, there is but one small car designed to carry a crew of two men and the engine is of comparatively low power, driving a propeller at either end of the car, but in the large French dirigibles of the same type, two large cars are placed tandem some distance apart and are fitted with 500-horsepower motors. The various parts indicated by the letters are:CCpropellers,Dmotor,Fspace for pilot and crew,Gfuel and oil tanks,Jguide rope,Kgas valve,LLair valves,NNballoonet cable,Prudder,Qstabilizer,RRbracing cables, andSthe car itself.