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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0068.PDF
05 !ffi JANUARY 16, 1919 AIRSHIP TRANSPORT BY MAJOR S. NIXON, R.A.F. BEFORE considering the question of aerial transport, it is interesting and instructive to review the progress made by steam propulsion installed in surface craft. In 1825 the first P.O. steamboat made the passage to India. Eight years later the Royal William crossed the Atlantic in twenty-two days. Steady progress has been made until the present time, when such ocean leviathans as the Maure- tania cross from England to America in under five days. In 1914, 45 per cent, of the tonnage of the world sailed under the British flag, earning about £50,000,000 sterling annually. 1* Rapid transport is an essential factor of commercial activity, and there would appear to be little doubt that the country which adopts the more progressive aerial policy will be most likely to achieve commercial supremacy in years to come. Various opinions have been expressed as to the comparative merits of H/A craft and L/A craft, but a dividing line as to the utility of both types appears to be : Aeroplanes for land work, and airships tor work over sea, in a similar way that railways convey the traffic on land and ocean vessels on sea. At the same time it is thought that the seaplane will have distinct value for distances up to, sav, 500 to 1,000 miles. iw^From the foregoing it will be observed that it has taken the greater part of a century to arrive at the present standard of ocean travel, whereas it has been possible in the space of ten years to perfect and produce an airship with a radius of action of 8,000 miles at a speed of 45 to 50 miles an hour. It is thought that airship lines will follow in a somewhat similar manner to the ocean traffic routes with a chain of coaling stations in the form of airship bases. Airship Bases Eastern Hemisphere Western Hemisphere England Halifax, Canada Marseilles, France New Yonrk Port Said "\ _ Pernambuco "\ TJ__ .. Aden Egypt Riodejaneiro)^2'1 Western Hemisphere. Buenos Ayres, Argentina Vancouver, Canada Eastern Hemisphere Bombay \ T ,. Colombo J Singapore, Malay Hong Kong, China Perth *> Port Darwin VAustralia Sydney J Wellington, New Zealand Airship Routes 1. British Isles to America. 2. British Isles to Egypt, India and Australia. 3. British Isles to South America. 4. British Isles to Africa. 5. British Isles to China and Japan. 6. British Isles to Scandinavia. 1. British Isles to America.—Distance, 3,000 miles. Steam ship time, seven days. Shortest passage, five days. Airship time, at 50 m.p.h., 60 hours. 2. British Isles to Egypt, India, Malay States, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan. Steamship Airship London to Marseilles and Malta Marseilles to Port Said Brindisi to Port Said . . Constantinople to Port Said Port Said to Aden Aden to Bombay Bombay to Colombo Colombo to Singapore .. Singapore to Hong Kong Hong Kong to Shanghai Singapore to Port Darwin (Australia) Sydney to Wellington .. tfiles 1,506 925 791 i,310 1,650 883 i,S77 1,440 1,000 1,650 Time Days 5 2 4 5 Si 2* 5i 5 3* Si Time Hours 30 18 16 16 33 17 31 30 20 33 1.233 OUR AIRSHIP FLEET.—A couple of units at rest, as seen at night from outside. of shed. 68 Note the " outlook " on top
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