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Aviation History
1913
1913 - 1336.PDF
fftlGHT DECEMBER 13, 1913. "THE COMING AIRSHIP." THE DISCUSSION. AFTER Capt. Water low, R.E., had concluded the reading of his paper on " The Coming Airship," at the meeting of the Aeronautical Society, on the 3rd inst., the author illustrated his remarks by lantern slides, showing the construction, method of working, and the control of the " Gamma," " Beta," and " Eta," and the Willows, Parseval and Astra Torres airships. In opening the discussion, Lieut. Usborne, R.N., said he considered that the lecturer had been too moderate in estimating the future speed of airships. France had under construction at the present time no less than six dirigibles capable of a speed of 55 miles per hour, and two of these, which would carry out ttteir trials in March next, should attain 60 miles per hour. Russia was now building a 63 miles per hour airship, which would be able to carry enough fuel to enable it to travel for from 30 to 36 hours at full speed, and it would therefore be possible for such a vessel to remain in the air for two or three days, if the speed were reduced to about one half. This airship would be also capable of ascending to a height of between 8,000 and 12,000 feet with little difficulty. He thought that the prospects of attaining a tpeed of 70 miles per hour in the near future were very excellent, and he emphasised the importance •of high speed, as it would enable an airship to face any gale, and be largely independent of weather conditions, which are always a factor in aerial navigation. Major Baden-Powell remarked that he had been accused by the author of saying that non-rigid ships could not hope to exceed 35 miles per hour. This he had been unable to verify, but he found he had said, some years ago, that the aeroplane was capable of double the speed of the airship, which statement was true, even at the present day ; and hence if the airship ultimately attains a speed of 70 miles per hour, it is probable that the aeroplane will then be capable of 140 miles per hour. Speed was a vital factor not only in war but also in commercial undertakings. As regards the inflammability of the gases, he thought that the production of a gas that would not readily ignite, but which would be suitable for the inflation of the balloon, would add greatly to the value of an airship, and he understood that the National Physical Laborato y was •engaged in experimental work with this object in view. Mr. Willows objected to the comparison that had been made by the previous speaker between airships and aeroplanes, as the speeds which had been quoted for the latter applied only to racing machines. The proper basis of comparison, he considered, was between the speed of an airship and that of a weight-carrying aeroplane, and then so marked a difference would not be exhibited ; while he believed that a greater proportionate increase in speed would take place with airships than with aeroplanes. Mr. Mervyn O'Gorman expressed the opinion that the lecturer did not go far enough when he alluded to the airship of the future. His idea was to have a ship six times the size of a Zeppelin, for so long as these small airships were built, it would be necessary to deprive them of many of the necessary accoutrements that were almost essential. The great point in favour of airships was their safety—the risks were comparatively small—but as the result Of this there was nothing to appeal to the imagination. As illustrating this aspect of the question, he cited the case of Lord Haldane—when he was Secretary of State for War, he made several ascents in a dirigible without any special notice being taken ; but so soon as Mr. Winston Churchill became a passenger in an aeroplane, it was immediately the subject of much comment. Against the airship it had been urged that its size made it a good target, but he said size is relative, and the airship made an extremely difficult target. The idea that had once obtained, that the non-rigid dirigible was incapable of high speed, had now been entirely dUpelled, because of the performances of this class of vessel, and with the new high tensile strength steels that are now available, he had great hopes for the future of the airship. He also had great hopes of the aeroplane, but no aeroplane had the endurance of an airship, neither could any heavier than air machine carry 30 people. He did not consider that fire was a< important a< Capt. Waterlow indicated, because once you knew what may cause the fire, it was an easy matter to set to work to prevent it. He mentioned that Berner had proposed using a double shell to the gasbag, and to fill the intermediate space with some inert gas, which would thus afford sufficient protection. Major-General Ruck here interposed that as Captain Waterlow had referred to the action of the Press, perhaps some representative would care to say something on the matter. Mr. Turner, in accepting this invitation, said that he thought the remarks were fully justified, but, at the same time, he considered that the author might have made some exceptions, as long before the Army did anything serious, there were many who favoured the airship and had been consistent throughout. He hoped that there •would not be the series of catastrophes such as had happened in Germany recently, as there would then be probably such an outcry that the Government would be unable to proceed any further in this branch of work. Capt. Wood said that although Mr. Willows had suggested that the fighting aeroplane had a speed of 60 miles per hour against the airship's 50 or 55, he (the speaker) thought that 75 miles per hour was more in accord with modern work for the former, and that if the dirigible could ascend to a height of 5,000 or 6.coo ft. and the aero plane to 9,000 or 10,000 ft., the latter would be somewhat of an opponent for the airship. Capt. Lefroy, R.E., was asked by the Chairman if he had any remarks to make, especially relating to wireless telegraphy, and, in response, stated that he usually allowed one pound weight per mile for wireless outfits, and found no difficulty in receiving aircraft at any speed—the signals being ouite clear. They magnified the signals one hundred times, and used a wave length of 500 metres. The sending apparatus occupied a space of about 20 ins. by 10 ins. by 6 ins., and weighed about 70 lbs., while the receiving apparatus weighed about 20 lbs., or, roughly, 100 lbs. for the complete outfit, including intensifies. With this, they could send for 100 miles. He added that the generator could be worked off the main engines, but they had found that a Douglas motor cycle engine answered admirably. Mr. Green, of the Royal Aircraft Factory, pointed out that the airship was much harder to design than was the aeroplane, as the information available was much smaller, and the drawing office work was much greater. He ventured to say that the airship was not really far advanced, and that the airship of the future would come to finality long after the aeroplane had attained a high standard of perfection. The Chairman (Major-Gen. Ruck) remarked that they always endeavoured to have a chairman at their meetings who had been closely identified with the subject of the paper to be read. But on this occasion they had found great reluctance on the part of the gentlemen they had approached, probably because of the secrecy attaching to the work and because they were now designing machines. Hence it was more desirable to have a discussion in the absence of official views, so as to let the public know unofficially what was being done. Capt. Waterlow, in replying to the discussion, agreed that the speeds he had given as reasonable were low, but he did not wish to quote too high a speed, as it might be thought that he was drawing upon their imagination. In a combat between an airship and an aeroplane, he considered it doubtful whether a speed of 85 miles per hour would be exceeded by the latter, in view of the tact that it would have to carry a wireless set, passenger, gun, fuel, arid ammunition in order to be of any service, and so soon as an airship sighted an aeroplane, it would start to rise, thus rendering a successful attack from the latter a very difficult matter, in view of the superior armament of the airship. The question of a suitable weapon had hardly been considered, but he would remark that there were great possibilities in the use of vortex ring-;, such as had been used in France in connection with vineyards. To show the destructive effects that they can produce, he stated that when fired horizontally they were capable of breaking up a wooden fence at a distance of 100 yards. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to Capt. Waterlow for his excellent paper. ® ® ® %> New Airships for the Navy. THE progress of the new airships for the Navy is indicated by the appointment by the Admiralty, referred to on p. 1358, of engineer officers to superintend the work of construction of the rigid airship now being built by Messrs. Sir W. G. Armstrong, W hitworth and Co. and other airships building by Messrs. Vickers Ltd. Edinburgh Aeronautical Society. ON December 18th at 8 p.m., lecture on "The Aeronautical Engine " by Mr. John Hutcheon, one of the entrants for the War Office engine trials, in DowelPs Rooms, George Street. There will be a discussion afterwards. Professor R. Stanfield, M.I.M.E. in the chair. The " Sachsen " Fogbound. LEAVING Dresden at a quarter to six on Sunday morning, the Zeppelin liner " Sachsen " cruised to Hamburg, where she arrived at 3 p.m. On account of the dense fog she was unable to land, and an hour later, when at a low altitude, she tore down some telephone wires at Quickborn. Shortly afterwards the airship landed on Quickborn Heath, and was taken in charge by a detachment of the airship battalion at Fuhlsbuettel. 1362
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