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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0932.PDF
(/ycHf] of LZ17, " Sachsen," were taken by the Government as Z3, the " Ersatz," 4, i, 5, 6 and 7 respectively. There remain but three other types to record, LZ14 (Li), the first naval ship, LZ18 and LZ24, two other naval ships. The former and latter were similar to, but larger than, the " Hansa " type, whilst the LZ18 OCTOBER 26, 1916 was peculiar in the absence of the usual " cat-walk." It was by far the largest ship yet built, measuring 518 ft. in length and 54 ft. in diameter. It was destroyed by fire in October, 1913. With the war, further record is in abeyance, but now, through just retribution, we can deal with • == L/. 3 3. A -xwv-ix-)®- It is through the courtesy of the authorities we are able this week to place before our readers illustrations and notes dealing with the Zeppelin airship " L. 33," which, following a raid, was forced, after having attempted to make the return journey, to turn about and steer inland again, there to finally come to grief, as was recorded at the time. How the little cottage seen in some of our photographs escaped damage from fire must for ever remain a mystery (the weather boards of the former have not even had their paint scorched), the distance from the nearest portion of the wreckage to the walls of the cottage being only a number of bays in the main hull, which would certainly lead one to guess at a greater number than 19. It appears probable, however, that the rear cells did not contain any ballonnets, the extreme stern forming merely a tailpiece to finish the streamline shape. There were four cars, one near the nose, two about half way, slung from the sides of the main hull, and one some distance further back. Coming now to the detail construction, it appears better, in order to facilitate reference, to deal with the various items under separate headings. Beginning with the main hull, £ Qt/ICA r/KIHG CMS MAX 0/A 75 // A "RECONSTRUCTION " OF " L. 33."—Although the above drawing does not purport to be an exact scale drawing in detail, it may, generally speaking, be taken to be fairly accurate in proportions. The first thing that impresses one is the striking similarity, in shape and in the distribution of the gondolas, to the Schiitte-Lanz airships. Aerodyna'mically " L. 33" would appear to approach very closely to that type of airship, while retaining the typical Zeppelin construction. few feet. Although having now remained over a month where she landed, the wreckage of the airship has sagged very little, thanks to the unceasing vigil ance of the R.N.A.S., who are constantly at work propping up any portion that appears to be in danger of collapsing, and keeping everything as far as possible in its original shape, until such time as the experts have finished their examination. Although the middle portion of the wreck is some what badly battered, it has been possible to ascertain with tolerable accuracy the chief dimensions of the airship. Her length overall appears to have been in the neighbourhood of 680 ft., and the maximum diameter about 75 ft. As far as is possible to judge the hydrogen has been contained in 19 ballonnets, the number given in some papers as being 24 being incorrect, and probably arrived at after counting the The Longitudinal Girders will be dealt with first. These, as, indeed, the whole framework of the airship, are of the lattice girder type, and are all triangular in section. Generally speaking they are in two sizes—the larger measuring across the two sides of the triangle about 15 ins., while the base of the triangle is about 10J ins. In order probably to standardise as far as possible, it appears that the smaller type of girder has been so proportioned that its sides are the same dimensions as the base of the larger girder, its base being about 8 ins. Each girder is built up of three corner rails— 18-gauge in the larger girder and 20-gauge in the smaller—connected by the riveted crosses illustrated in our description of the relics at the H.A.C. These crosses are 23-gauge in the smaller girder, and about 22-gauge in the larger. There are 13 of the larger 928 %
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